Not all CRMs are the same

Promoted by Purple Circle Financial Services9 minute read

the adviser native image the adviser native image

Every GOOD mortgage broker possesses the following three traits;

  1. They are friendly and interpersonal.
  2. They manage and communicate the loan process well, keeping their clients informed every step of the way.
  3. Of course, they are smart too!

Every GREAT mortgage broker possesses these three traits too, however there are several additional traits that come into play, separating this group from the rest; 

  1. They ensure their clients are thrilled by the entire experience.
  2. They want their clients to be so thrilled they can’t wait to tell everyone they know; family, friends and colleagues alike.
  3. They work to ensure their clients contact them for any and all of their future finance needs.
  4. They inspire their clients to be enduring advocates for many years to come.

30 years ago when mortgage broking was at it’s infancy, the gap between the good and the great mortgage brokers was enormous. This was because the good mortgage brokers did the basics well and the GREAT mortgage brokers did the basics well, BUT they also invested extra time documenting and diarising things like client’s loan anniversaries, their kids’ birthdays, wedding anniversaries, dog’s names, hobbies, favourite sporting teams etc. They would then post cards, and call on a regular basis to ensure they remain front and centre in their client’s minds.

The good news these days is, the gap between good and great doesn’t need to exist at all. CRM software has been introduced, which automatically enhance client experiences, both during the loan application and beyond. Good becomes ‘Great’ with the simple click of a button.

This is where it gets interesting… all CRMs are not the same!

Again, going back a few years, brokers had to travel to their client’s homes armed with their trusty Hewlett Packard financial calculators and doctor’s briefcases full of paperwork, such as lender rates, loan product profiles, loan application forms, mortgage insurance premiums, stamp duty scales, notepads and loan quote books. As you can imagine, quite a few brokers ended up with shoulder and back issues! (Remember computers weren’t around during mortgage broking’s pioneering days).

Recognising this was not conducive to long-term health, mortgage brokers demanded more from their aggregators and broking partners, and the very first basic spreadsheet software information summaries were introduced to cut down on the paperwork needed during client appointments. 

These early spreadsheets gradually morphed into databases, capturing and recording client information; data which in turn could be used for loan lodgement purposes, commissions management and ongoing client communications.

Aggregators then began investing a lot of time and money into the manufacturing and building of their own software. As they dove deeper and deeper into the software development arena, we saw finance people become self-proclaimed ‘experts’ in IT.

Fast-forward to today; dedicated IT businesses have now entered the aggregation software space and we are seeing fully intuitive digital finance software platforms built using today’s powerful engines, competing in the same space as aggregators.

John Tindall of Accumulus Home Loans found himself having to double-enter his client’s information into 2 separate software platforms. 

“The aggregator I was using at the time mandated the lodgement of my client’s loans through their own software portal. Their software fell short of what I needed for my client experience, so I also used Salestrekker’s CRM capabilities.

I guess a good analogy would be that most aggregator’s software programmes are like toolboxes. If you search around long enough you might find what you need. Salestrekker is a Swiss Army Knife. Everything is seamlessly integrated.”

“When I heard boutique aggregator Purple Circle had engaged Salestrekker as its broker software platform, I knew this would make my life a whole lot easier.”

Frank Paratore, Director of Purple Circle Financial Services said “I think some aggregators have made the mistake of forcing their brokers to stick with outdated clunky software. We didn’t want to make that same mistake, so here we are, 5 years into our journey, engaging with independent and market-leading industry platform, Salestrekker.”

“If we went down the track of building our own, we felt we would end up with a generic same - same version of what other aggregators have built. Why we chose to go the independent route is because the Salestrekker team live and die purely by the quality of their software. They aren’t focused on anything else, which can and will get in the way.”

The bottom line is, you can choose to be a GOOD or a GREAT broker. CRM’s matter.

To find out more about how Purple Circle’s CRM software can work for you, click here.

the adviser native image
magazine
Read the latest issue of The Adviser magazine!
The Adviser is the number one magazine for Australia's finance and mortgage brokers. The publications delivers news, analysis, business intelligence, sales and marketing strategies, research and key target reports to an audience of professional mortgage and finance brokers
Read more