How Castle & Cooke Mortgage Drives 1 in 4 Loan Productions Through Homebot

How one smart marketing leader used Homebot to simplify his tech stack and help his loan officers win more business

A Marketing Team Built Different

Scott Kirkessner thinks about marketing a little differently than most. As VP of Marketing and Business Development at Castle & Cooke Mortgage, he's not focused on making pretty flyers or catchy social posts. Sure, his team does that too. But Scott's real mission? Helping loan officers find new business and grow.

"Our team is really more of a business development team masquerading as a marketing team. We dive into a lot of data analytics and consumer insights and customer behavior to try to drive business to our loan officers, surface opportunities and help them grow their business." — Scott Kirkessner, VP of Marketing & Business Development

When Scott discovered Homebot, he knew he'd found a tool that matched the way he thinks. It wasn't just another platform to add to the pile. It was a way to put real insights in the hands of his loan officers and their clients.

Seven Platforms, One Problem

Five years ago, Scott saw a big problem. His loan officers were drowning in software. They had to log into almost seven different platforms just to do their jobs. That's seven passwords to remember. Seven systems to learn. Seven places to check for information.

Scott knew this wasn't working. His loan officers needed to spend time talking to clients, not clicking through software. They needed quick access to insights that would help them reach out at the right moment. And they needed it all in fewer places.

"Marketing technology consolidation is something I believe every marketing leader should be looking at. How many tools do your loan officers have to learn and have to master to get their job done right? If it's more than three, that's probably too many." — Scott Kirkessner, VP of Marketing & Business Development

Scott set out to fix this. He wanted to cut the tech stack down and find tools that actually made his team's lives easier.

One Platform, Unlimited Possibilities

Scott found his answer in Homebot. It wasn't just another tool to add to the pile. It was a platform that could replace others and do more at the same time.

1. Giving Clients and Loan Officers What They Need

What makes Homebot special for Scott’s team? IIt puts powerful information right in the hands of homeowners. They can see what their home is worth. They can see how much equity they have. And they can explore all the ways to use that equity.

"Homebot is one of the most powerful customer engagement platforms out there. Being able to know exactly what your home is worth, what your equity is, and to be provided all these different options on what you can do with that equity is incredible information to put in the hands of the consumers." — Scott Kirkessner, VP of Marketing & Business Development

But here's where it really helps Scott's loan officers. Homebot gives them a great reason to call their clients. They can review the report together and talk about options like paying off debt, buying another home, or refinancing into a better rate.

"These are things that loan officers would be hard pressed to do without a tool like Homebot."

2. Making Total Expert and Homebot Work Together

Scott's team also uses Total Expert. So the fact that Homebot connects with it? That was a game changer. Here's how it works:

• When a loan closes, the client info flows from Total Expert right into Homebot
• When Homebot spots a client who might be ready to sell or refi, it sends an alert back to Total Expert
• The team can then put those clients on email campaigns or send texts
• Loan officers get notified right away so they can reach out

"The Homebot Total Expert relationship is a key partnership between both of the leading platforms in the mortgage industry... It's a great way to make sure that clients are being pushed into Homebot, but also we can take immediate action when Homebot's insights detect client activity." — Scott Kirkessner, VP of Marketing & Business Development

3. Cutting Costs with Partner Intelligence

Then Homebot released something that made Scott's day: the Partner Intelligence module. This feature lets his team look up real estate agents and see their production numbers. They can use it to find new partnership opportunities. They can even research loan officers they might want to recruit.

The best part? Scott was already paying for another platform that did this same thing. Now he could cancel it.

"This Partner Intelligence module allowed us to save about $3,600 a month by rolling in features from a competing platform into Homebot, and now it's just a matter of loan officers just having to utilize the knowledge from that old platform, but all they need to do is log into Homebot." — Scott Kirkessner, VP of Marketing & Business Development

4. Staying Ahead of the Market

Scott's team keeps a close eye on interest rates. They follow MBS Highway, HousingWire, and National Mortgage News. When rates start to drop, they know exactly what to do. They tell their loan officers to check the Key Client Lists in Homebot. That's where they find clients with high equity who might be ready to refinance. It turns market news into real business opportunities.

The Bottom Line: Measurable Impact

Scott set out to simplify his tech stack and help his loan officers succeed. Here's what happened:

• They save $3,600 every month by using Homebot instead of a competing platform
• They went from 7 platforms down to just 3 (Total Expert, nCino, and Homebot)
• Loan officers have fewer logins to juggle and more time to focus on clients
• The team gets automatic alerts when clients are ready to take action

That's the kind of change that makes a real difference for a marketing leader like Scott. Less complexity. More opportunities. Better results.

Why Homebot Works: The Power of the Client Digest

When we asked Scott about his favorite Homebot feature, he didn't hesitate. It's the Client Digest. It's the thing Homebot started with years ago, and it's still the best part. Homeowners can open their digest on their phone or computer. They see their home's value. They see their equity. They see options like renting on Airbnb or paying extra on their mortgage. It's all right there. But for Scott, what matters most is the partnership. Working with the Homebot team has been different from other vendor relationships.

Looking Ahead: A Partnership That Delivers

Scott came into this looking for a way to simplify. He wanted to cut costs, reduce logins, and give his loan officers better tools. Homebot delivered on all of that. Today, Castle & Cooke Mortgage runs on just three platforms. Their loan officers spend less time in software and more time with clients. And Scott's team can spot opportunities faster than ever before. For other marketing leaders out there, Scott's advice is simple: take a hard look at your tech stack. If your team is juggling too many tools, it might be time to find partners who can do more with less.

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Ready to simplify your tech stack?

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See how Homebot can help you cut costs, find new opportunities, and build stronger client relationships. Book a demo today.

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