Mortgage lenders are waking up to the reality that they have to get their marketing automation in place now, or someone else is going to get the business when it comes back next year. That was the conclusion that jumped out at Usherpa leadership after reviewing the company’s fourth quarter performance.
The fourth quarter of 2025 is shaping up to be the best period, from a new customer perspective, that the company has seen in over a year. Lenders are starting to sense that the industry may be returning to normal after more than three years of reduced activity.
As Usherpa CEO Chris Harrington put it in a recent press release: “The real estate market is finally starting to normalize, and our production numbers and new client onboardings reflect that.”
Adding the industry’s best CRM will help, but if lenders really want to win next year, they’re going to have to beat mortgage servicers to the borrower.
That’s because one of the biggest threats to mid-tier lender success in 2026 is the mortgage servicing industry.
Servicers are aggressively marketing refinance products to the borrowers in their portfolios. Unless the lender can maintain an active relationship with their past customers, they’re very likely to lose their business to the last party that contacted them.
This is prompting some lenders to conclude that even if rates continue to fall, they may not see a significant jump in their own originations because the servicers will capture it. But that’s not necessarily true.
“Now is the time for lenders to solidify their relationships with past customers,” Harrington said. “Our SmartCRM makes it easy for lenders to prioritize the borrowers most likely to need a new loan and reach them before anyone else does. With Pipelines from Usherpa, every loan officer on the lender’s team can market as effectively as their very best.”
Usherpa’s relationship engagement approach, which combines its award-winning Pipelines automation, Done-For-You marketing content, and gold-standard support, positions loan officers and lending teams to build sustainable repeat and referral business.
Usherpa eliminates the barriers that have historically prevented lenders from adopting robust marketing automation. There are no high upfront costs, no multiyear contracts, and no nickel-and-diming for essential features.
Loan Officer Assistants and Admins are still included at no additional charge, and implementations are fast, getting teams up and running quickly without a lengthy, costly onboarding process.
If you’re not already using Usherpa marketing automation technology, you need to see a demo today. Don’t let someone else beat you to the borrower when the business returns next year.
