Successful brokers thrive when they focus on clients, not busywork. The more you automate your practice, the more time you free up time for high-value activities.
This week we spoke to 7 BrokerEngine power users to learn how they’re automating client communications, customising mortgage broker workflows, and delivering a 5-star customer experience at scale.
Here are their best tips to help power quality growth:
1. “Ask Credit Assessors What They Want, Then Give It To Them.”
Travis Carruthers
Principal Lending Specialist
Virtus Mortgage Broking
Back-and-forth delays with banks can frustrate clients and derail deals. To avoid this, we created custom lender summaries using SmartDocs in BrokerEngine, giving assessors everything they need for fast approvals.
We reached out to lenders, asked what their ideal summary looks like, and built templates in BrokerEngine based on their feedback. Now, when they see our logo, the hope is that they choose our files first because they know they’re clean, well-formatted, and complete.
Instead of long notes, we include screenshots of payslips, income statements, and more – making it more like a picture book than a novel. These templates are “living documents” that our team updates step-by-step, keeping the process seamless with no admin burden.
The best part? We have found that BDMs seem to prioritise our files because they’re easy to process.
In one case, we turned a deal around from initial call to formal approval in just 18 hours!
“Set Up Interview Guide Templates For Lenders & Products”
Reece Sacino
Director
Equitas Mortgage & Finance
Prior to BrokerEngine, I was writing $40M/year and nearly had a nervous breakdown from the time and stress I was putting in. Today I’m writing $70M/year and working normal business hours.
A huge time-saver for me has been building out custom templates in the Interview Guide for the lenders and the products I use most frequently. Now within a few clicks I get my exit strategy, compliance notes, ApplyOnline, “Reason For Selecting Lender” notes, etc..
If you’re starting from scratch, this level of customisation can feel daunting. My advice is to just get started. I blocked out a few hours one weekend and started with the lender I was using most frequently. Then moved on to the next. And then the next. Pretty soon 80% of scenarios were covered.
If you’re still writing your notes from scratch or manually copy/pasting snippets from old deals, do yourself a favour and set this up once and forever reap the time savings.
“Use Video Invitations To Boost Loan Reviews & Reduce Clawbacks”
Nicole Cannon
Director
Pink Finance
Every six months we send clients a short video invitation to review their loan.
BrokerEngine notifies us when a client is due for a review. We batch 5-10 reviews at a time, and I sit down to record a Wistia video. In the video I provide a high-level perspective on what’s going on in the property market, rates, lenders, and so forth.
This provides some context around why now is a good time for a review, which front-loads some value for the client. It’s not just a vague evergreen email suggesting they might benefit from a call.
(If we’re already speaking with the client, we simply ‘snooze’ the task.)
We send the videos using ActiveCampaign so we can track opens and clicks. We see a 61% open rate, and 1 in 4 clients book a review call.
Before BrokerEngine, we were doing this on an ad hoc basis at best. Now, it’s completely systemised and no one slips through the cracks. Despite the volatility in the market, we’ve only had one clawback where a client left us — and even that was an error partially refunded by the lender!
“Automate Referrer Updates With Custom Workflows”
Mark Kevin
Managing Director
MAB Sydney
Most of our new business comes from builders, developers, financial planners, and accountants, so keeping them updated on the progress of their referral is crucial.
Before BrokerEngine, we were good at reporting on successful settlements but lacked consistency in updating partners on deals in progress or those that didn’t eventuate.
We built custom workflows to keep our referral partners as informed as our clients. Now, referrers automatically receive timely updates at key milestones throughout the loan process.
These touchpoints have strengthened relationships, and the feedback has been phenomenal. It keeps our referrers engaged and takes one more task off our brokers’ plate.
“Standardise Naming Conventions For Convenience & Compliance”
Johnny Floridis
Director & Finance Broker
Realise Finance
With clients transacting frequently and for different purposes, it’s vital that our team can quickly and easily find the client files they need — particularly as multiple brokers and support staff manage different deal stages and loan types.
To avoid confusion, we created a standardised naming convention with templated client folders for each loan type. One of our loan processors follows a checklist to set up each client’s file when documents land in FinanceVault. Part of this process is assigning a unique identifier to the deal in BrokerEngine (e.g., “ACME Pty Ltd – Asset Finance – 2024 09 25”) and a corresponding folder – with the exact same name – on the cloud. All documents related to that specific deal are stored in that folder.
This small step has streamlined our operations and made it possible to manage hundreds of loans efficiently and access documents faster. It also helps prevent costly compliance errors and ensures we never miss opportunities.
When you’ve got dozens of files for a single client, being able to quickly find the exact deal and its related documents is a game changer.
“Consistent Client Communication With BrokerEngine’s Outbox”
Keegan Rezek
Director
The Lending Alliance
Before BrokerEngine, we relied on Word documents for our templates, but managing different versions became a headache. We’d often catch brokers using outdated versions or copy-pasting snippets from old emails, which led to inconsistencies.
I highly recommend BrokerEngine’s Email Outbox feature. It centralises all our templates, ensuring consistency across the business. Whether it’s greeting a new lead, sending a settlement message, or requesting a Google review, we know every message is the latest and best version.
While our templates are solid, we occasionally have new ideas to improve them. These updates are discussed in team meetings and deployed quickly across all workflows.
For instance, when BrokerEngine shared their home loan progress bar graphics, we added them to our templates once, and they were instantly available to the whole team.
It’s really an invaluable tool in our business.
“Boost Engagement With SMS From Lead To Post-Settlement”
James Schulze
Head of Operations and Customer Experience
Rise High Financial Solutions
We’ve implemented a powerful SMS communication strategy using BrokerEngine, ensuring clients get real-time updates at every stage—from lead to post-settlement.
SMS cuts through the noise far better than email, and clients love the personal touch. Not a week goes by without a client complimenting us on the personal communication.
Each message feels like it’s coming directly from the broker and is customised based on loan type, stage, etc.. ChatGPT has been surprisingly helpful in brainstorming SMS ideas, which we refine with the team.
One standout feature is our post-settlement review SMS. Every six months clients receive a “personal” review from their broker (regardless of who has done the work behind the scenes). This simple step keeps clients connected and reminded that we’re always here to help.
We’ve also driven over 800 Google Reviews with targeted SMS nudges, and even simple birthday texts from brokers generate high engagement. This automated process ensures no one slips through the cracks, keeping clients loyal and happy.
Connect, Share, and Scale with Growth-Minded Brokers
How many of these next-level strategies are you using already? Which one will you implement next to take your practice to the next level?
BrokerEngine gives you a level of visibility and control never seen before in the mortgage broking industry. If you’re ready to harness powerful automation to delight your clients and grow your firm, make sure you check out our latest demo here.
