When things seem unpredictable, our natural defense mechanism is to just survive. Just sustain and hold on. Just wait for the threat to pass. This may be true if you’re facing a T-Rex, but it’s not great advice if you plan to have a long career in the mortgage industry.

That’s because there will always be another downturn, another recession, another crisis. You may not be able to set your watch by real estate cycles, but the laws of gravity tend to apply where economies and housing are concerned.

So you don’t stand still. You don’t sustain. You grow. You do that by skating to where the puck is going. You dive into new customer acquisition strategies, new product education and new service offerings.

Refinances are the low-hanging fruit right now, and I totally get it. Close as many of them as you can. But take some time to step back and determine how you’ll also grow your new-home-purchases clientele. This doesn’t just mean first-time buyers, but everyone looking to upgrade, downgrade, expand or contract.

It also means taking a look at your current clientele and seeing where you can grow. Not sure where to begin? Identify a few holes and work to fill them.  Your growth will come from new markets, new offerings and a combination of the two.

Examine the areas and demographics of your client base, and see where your numbers could improve. Do you primarily focus on young families? Seniors? Vets? Review your web traffic, digital advertising, social media and web content analytics to see what’s resonating with whom, and what’s not.

One cohort that should definitely be on your radar is Millennials. This generation accounted for 38% of homebuyers in 2019, according to NAR. Now, this information should mean much more to you than “got it. I’ll call my contacts between the ages of 22 and 40.”

It means you have to be where Millennials are. It means you have to market to Millennials. This entails up-to-date websites, a consistent stream of timely and relevant content and clearly expressed facts about the value you bring to the table. You can’t market to a Millennial if you don’t know what they want.

And don’t forget about your referral partners! Work collaboratively on a plan to expand your client pools and target new customers. Remember, a Millennial’s needs don’t stop once they’re out your door. Be a full-service solutions provider and integrate your partners into your acquisition strategies.