Broker firms increasingly utilise general and specialised mortgage technology to streamline their processes and enable clients to do things online. But what tech are we talking about? Lilla Dilliway, Director at ClientTree Group, tells us more
Website
As basic as it sounds, online presence is a good starting point, and considering how much people use their mobile phones, a responsive website should be in place. Yet not every firm has a website – some find that they do not need it, as they serve a certain community or have already built up a solid client base where word of mouth provides enough leads for them.
However, if you are just entering the industry or setting up on your own for the first time, having a website will probably be on your to-do list along with search optimisation, so potential customers can find you.
Client portal & CRM system
To gather the necessary information about a client, they need to complete a fact find questionnaire. This may be done by sending the client a Word document, but increasingly, clients can complete the fact find through a client portal or online questionnaire.
This portal would normally link to a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, where the broker can review the information.
The CRM system also enables the broker to:
- Keep track of clients, mortgages, insurances, payments, etc.
- Run reports
- Analyse where leads come from and referrals are made to as well as keep track of related payments
- Have an up-to-date view of the company
- Be compliant, check compliance of employees and enable a compliance department/firm to audit cases.
Via integrations with other systems (listed below), data re-keying can be minimised and processes automated.
Client portal & CRM system
As a broker, you may wish to access several other functionalities via separate providers or as integrated within a CRM system:
- Credit reports
- Online banking pre-populating a client’s spending by category
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks (including Politically Exposed Person, i.e. PEP checks and monitoring)
- Electronic ID checks (including biometric ID checks and liveness test)
- E-signatures
- Automated emails for marketing purposes or triggered by certain events, e.g. when a client’s remortgage is due
- Property value monitoring and remortgage opportunity monitoring
What is the cost of all this technology?
As the list is growing longer, the cost of these systems is something to bear in mind. Providers all have their own pricing models and it is often the case of comparing apples to pears, as each system offers something slightly different from the next one.
Ultimately, there is no one size fits all and the above systems all have a role to play, so it is prudent to have a look around and choose the systems that you like and feel comfortable with.