Repeat clients and referrals account for nearly three quarters of what brokers write. Protecting that number is a systems problem, not an effort problem.
The MFAA and Deloitte's Value of Mortgage and Finance Broking report puts repeat customers at 44% of broker business and referrals at another 28%. That is 72% of what the industry writes coming from relationships brokers had before the deal started.
That reframes what a loan book actually is. Not a record of settled deals, but the asset generating most of the business. Three things follow from treating it that way:
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Trail income that compounds without acquisition cost
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A referral pipeline that produces your next generation of clients
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Transferable value, because a book with strong retention is worth more when you scale, bring on a partner or sell
The mechanic that erodes it is scale, not care. At 100 clients you can hold the rate changes, the fixed rate expiries and the life events in your head. At 400 you cannot, and the things that slip are exactly the ones clients notice: the review that never got booked, the rate move nobody flagged, the referral conversation that lost its moment.
Where technology carries the load
AFG’s Smart marketing program automates the parts of retention that are easy to know about and hard to stay on top of. Review reminders, rate alerts and milestone communications run in the background, so clients keep hearing from you between transactions and every client gets the same attention regardless of how big the book gets.
Craig McGregor of McGregor Finance Group has been using it for more than two years.
"Prior to using Smart, maintaining regular contact with clients was inconsistent and managed through external email systems. Since adopting the platform more than two years ago, it has completely changed the way we communicate with clients through regular newsletters, website blogs and automated engagement campaigns.
Red Alerts have been particularly valuable in helping us retain clients and ensure we don't miss opportunities within the existing client base, while also saving 1-3 hours per month on manual loan reviews and processing. Features such as Red Alerts, Haven and birthday emails have helped deepen client relationships and improve retention outcomes. Smart has effectively given us a seamless marketing and retention capability without the additional cost of building that internally."
Integrated, not bolted on
Good technology is being built outside the aggregators, and brokers should not have to wait for it or wire it up themselves. AFG builds direct data integrations with partner technology, so it arrives in Suite360 already working on your book.
Stryd is a recent example. The Perth-based fintech specialises in open banking powered back-book management, and Stryd Broker is now available to AFG brokers through Suite360. Because the two systems are connected by a secure API, your loan book is already in there. No export, no upload, no mapping fields on a Friday afternoon. You open it and your clients are present.
With Consumer Data Right consent from the client, Stryd then monitors real-time loan data and generates alerts on the clients who would benefit from a review, a sharper rate or a conversation about changing circumstances. It runs under each broker's own branding, so the client experience stays yours.
That is what an aggregator is for. AFG does the evaluating, the contracting and the building, so new capability reaches your business faster than you could reach it on your own.
The bottom line
Retention is not the alternative to growth. It is where most of it comes from. The strongest broker businesses stay relevant to the clients they already have, and that relevance often compounds into referrals, repeat business and a book worth more than the trail it generates. That is why AFG keeps investing in Smart and in integrations like Stryd.
Interested in learning more? Download AFG's information pack >
Thinking about making a move? Talk to the AFG team about joining >
This article contains general information only and does not constitute financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. The information does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. Before making any financial or business decision, independent professional advice should be obtained where appropriate.
