The art of slowing down: The key to effective client advice and case management

In the mortgage industry, the pressure to deliver results quickly can sometimes overshadow the fundamental need for meticulous case management and thorough, high-quality client advice. This is particularly the case within new build transactions, both in terms of how quickly you can revert to the developer and how fast you can secure the mortgage offer.  

This front-loaded urgency is designed to make the client feel secure, and give the developer confidence that the sale is confirmed. However, the common mistake across our sector as a whole is allowing this kind of pressure to bleed into the advisory stage.

Advice is the one area where speed doesn’t benefit, as crucial opportunities get missed along the way. The art of slowing down is one of the most effective tools in our skillset, but isn’t used half as much as it should be. We must focus on working smarter — prioritising our depth of knowledge, maintaining robust customer relationships, and using systems and tools effectively.

The value of upskilling

There’s cause for concern that brokers use the need for speed to justify limiting themselves to a select number of lenders, defaulting to the most familiar routes to get the job done. However, this is simply not good enough for our customers. By slowing down the initial advisory conversation, you open up opportunities that are frequently missed.

Your competitive edge, alongside your duty to your customers to ensure the best possible outcome for their needs, lies in your expertise. In other words, taking the time out to invest in yourself by deliberately upskilling your knowledge. The current market offering is more innovative than ever, with more high LTV products, low deposit options, and nuanced criteria for applicants like foreign nationals. But, just how aware of these solutions are you?

Can you confidently articulate all the significant changes in long-term rate solutions, affordability criteria, and specialist lending criteria that have emerged in the last month? Investing in this type of knowledge can unlock solutions for complex cases that seem impossible on the surface, so don’t put off tomorrow what can help you today.

Using your connections

As brokers, we worry about taking the time out given our volume of business and leads to undertake additional training, but we should see this as an opportunity in itself. By not finding out about the full range of solutions available to secure the best possible outcome, you’re actually doing your customers a disservice by not finding the most bespoke solution for their circumstances. 

A key resource (and resolution) that is often vastly underutilised is your BDM network. Many brokers hesitate to use BDMs for a complex case that they believe is a ‘non-starter’, but this is precisely when the relationship is most vital. By telling your customers’ backstories — such as their unique circumstances, the mitigating factors, and why you think they’d suit their specific lending criteria — you actually empower the BDM to advocate on your behalf.

Even when you think finding a solution is impossible, having that inside knowledge and connections can really benefit you. Lenders are more accepting of lifestyle changes than ever before, but have you actually taken the time out to enhance your knowledge in this space?

When you achieve an incredible win, share it! Our industry is often quick to highlight its worst days, but poor at celebrating its successes. Shout about your wins with your partners, developers, colleagues, and wider professional network. This not only highlights your competence, creating a better impression when you have a tougher case, but also provides a vital resource for the wider mortgage community to take inspiration from. That single win story could be the 'butterfly effect of goodness' that helps a colleague save a case they were about to turn down.

Make sure to lean on your communities, whatever they may look like. From internal communication platforms and online forums, colleagues, and peers, understand your limitations and recognise that there’s a whole network of industry peers out there willing to help and share. Being an active member of the mortgage community will benefit you in so many ways - after all, you only know what you know. 

The art of the human connection

Effective case management starts long before the mortgage application is submitted. In fact, it all begins with managing the lead as well as the case. Once advice is given, many brokers wait for the customer to return to them only after they’ve found their chosen property. However, this passive approach is dangerous. In the interim, that customer is more than likely being actively courted by other brokers and other opportunities for advice. That means if you don’t actively engage the customer throughout their journey — from first contact all the way through to the property being secured — you’re at risk of losing them.

Think of the mortgage market like a dating app: there’s so much opportunity to be sought out elsewhere. Unless you stand out by being a supportive, connected presence, you’ll be overlooked. AI will never replace human connection, and a generic email cannot replace the impact of personalising your communication with a small yet meaningful fact about their life that you remembered. The mortgage industry will continue to thrive on human connection, but we have to invest the time in creating it first before we reap the benefits. 

Do you remember when you, your partner, or family member bought a home for the first time? How did you or they feel going through that journey and having that initial conversation? It’s a stark reminder that buying a home, even for those within the industry, is one of the most stressful things a person will do. The customer often feels helpless and vulnerable, feelings as humans we naturally dislike. With this in mind, you can never have too much communication, and the more you offset those feelings with proactive, clear communication, the better the customer experience.

Managing expectations

It goes without saying that communication in case management is critical, especially in a sector like new build, where managing expectations is paramount. Whether the client, the developer, and the lender, every party has their own limitations, but as a broker, you are at the centre of them all.

A simple, non-negotiable step would be to check and communicate the lender's current Service Level Agreement (SLA) on every case. If a lender states it will not look at a case for three days, communicate that specific timeframe to everyone who needs to know. Only then should you chase it after those three days.

We must learn to trust each other and the systems in place. The quality of your process degrades rapidly the moment you start to interfere with the system by chasing prematurely and putting your case even further behind. Let go of control slightly. As long as you have told everyone it is a three-day wait, what will be will be.

Many lenders offer dedicated new build desks staffed by administrators specifically trained for this sector. When this service is offered, use it. Stop defaulting to ringing your BDM (who is likely on the road or between appointments) when there is a dedicated phone line service designed to answer your specific questions. We often feel compelled to ‘go to the top’ in certain situations, but these teams exist to serve you and they will be taken away if they are not used. Use the right resource for the right job, as it will make your role far less stressful.

Adhering to SLAs

By adhering to and communicating lender SLAs, you can prioritise your time effectively, only chasing items that are legitimately outside the promised timeframe. In doing so, you’ll tend to find that lenders very rarely miss a publicly stated timeframe.

A simple yet effective strategy is to work on the SLA plus one day. If the lender says three days, tell your customer it will be four days. By the time the offer comes through on day three, you look like you’re constantly exceeding expectations and providing a better, more streamlined service. This isn’t 'smoke and mirrors', but rather a form of strategically managing expectations. By continuously allowing yourself that buffer zone, you create an impression of an organised, efficient broker, while still providing customers the desired outcome.

Lenders exist to help your customers achieve their financial goals, but we must work with them to make the most of the opportunities that come our way. Use the support facilities they provide, respect the SLAs they have given, and the integrity of the process is the most important. Stick to this structure, and your customers, the developer, and yourself will benefit.