Tomorrow's tablet broker

UNTIL ABOUT five years ago, the typical mortgage broker sales kit included a few glossy brochures, a comparison rate chart, a document checklist and some blank application forms.

Then, the widespread adoption of laptop computers along with a need to show consumers advanced calculations on borrowing capacity and product comparisons led to the development of PC-based sales tools and CRM systems, with an emphasis on pre-sales and data collection.

And while that all sounds great, in reality, the process was very interrogatory, with the consumer on one side of the laptop ‘wall’ and the broker on the other, asking myriad questions so they could ‘populate’ their CRM.

So, how can you remove that atmosphere of interrogation from the client interview?

I believe the introduction of tablet devices in 2010 changed forever the way we should do business. Why?

First of all, humans love them, and you can let the consumer play with your tablet device, but not with your laptop.

The familiarity of single app access provides comfort to brokers as we know that the consumer can’t access our laptop information.

In addition, tablets are now commonplace and consumers are comfortable viewing information on and entering information into an app.

The second way in which tablets have changed the way we do business is that they provide information on demand.

From calculator apps, such as ‘My Mortgage Kit’, and product information repositories like ‘MortgageFinder’ to loan application tools such as ‘eFind’, your tablet device gives you and the consumer instant access to all the materials you need to facilitate a mortgage acquisition.

Thirdly, tablets have a certain ‘wow’ factor – never underestimate the importance of the consumer going “wow”.

Tablets give you the ability to impress your customers with high-quality presentations and instant gratification. Imagine the ‘wow’ factor that comes with letting the customer enter their information into the tablet and you instantly submitting it to your back-end CRM system for processing.

Now, put yourself into the consumer’s shoes: they have a broker who comes in using the ‘old fashioned’ laptop and interrogates them about their needs, or you have a broker who has embraced changes in technology and uses a shiny new tablet that lets them control the data discovery process.

Which one would you choose?

You need to understand that the use of tablets or other devices must be part of a business strategy in which you or your sales reps are using the tablet to overhaul your sales process.

Also, I’m not just talking about the iPad. As good an entertainment device as it has become, it will never compete with the new generation tablet PCs that combine the best of the iPad app world with the everyday essentials of running a business.

The new range of Windows8 tablets enables you to run your business entirely from a combined tablet/PC, so you can have your cake (mobile sales tools on a tablet) and eat it (access to your enterprise CRM system)!

With careful planning and a commitment to the best tablet technology, you will exceed your sales objectives and write a lot more business.