An increase in self-employment, furlough and ever-changing products in the market, means mortgage cases are becoming more complicated and time-consuming for mortgage brokers and financial advisers. It all adds up to extra admin and time spent researching criteria and products, and less time actually advising potential clients.
Get more of your time back with these top timesavers for mortgage brokers, along with a way to manage those cases faster.
1 - Take control of your inbox
According to a McKinsey report, the average professional spends 28% of the working day reading and answering emails. And while some of these could involve building relationships, sending recommendations to clients and liaising with lenders; chances are that most emails have no direct benefit to advising clients and completing applications.
Try turning off notifications and set aside time each day to check your email instead of pausing tasks every time an email comes through. Action emails during your designated time slots wherever possible to avoid re-reading emails again and again. Don’t create lots of folders to file emails in - it may feel organised, but it can actually take up to 50% longer to find an email hidden in a folder, than using the inbox search function.
Estimated time saving
30 minutes per day
2 - Walk and talk
We all know the physical and mental health benefits of getting some form of exercise but we don’t always have the time. So why not combine work with your daily exercise by turning one of your half-hour meetings into a walking meeting?
Meeting a client in a local park, instead of in the office or on Zoom, could be a great way to connect that your client might appreciate too.
Estimated time saving
30 minutes per day
3 - Don't multi-task
Multi-tasking is one of the biggest time wasters there is. Repeatedly switching from one task to another can reduce productivity by as much as 40%.
So focus on one task at a time. It may be tricky when you're waiting for a client or lender to get back to you with a response, but try to assign group tasks based on the action rather than case-by-case (for example, get all your criteria research and mortgage/protection sourcing done in one go, block time for typing up letters or chasing documentation). You’ll then be in the right systems with the right mindset to get the tasks done quicker.
Estimate time saving
25 minutes per day
4 - Stop screen hopping
Most advisers run more than one software system to research, source and apply for client mortgages. You may even cross-check products across similar packages while skipping back to your client’s fact-find to input data again and again. Screen hopping can waste a lot of time and increase stress levels. Multiple applications are also more likely to slow your computer down or make it crash.
So think about how you can avoid screen hopping. Can you close down distracting applications and notification alerts?
Even better, you could manage all your research, sourcing and applications from a single end-to-end platform like Xplan Mortgage. It seamlessly integrates all the software you need from CRM and fact-finding to research, sourcing and mortgage application.
Estimate time saving
20 minutes per day
5 - Try a better way to fact find
How many hours a week are you spending on fact-finding phone calls going through the same standard questions until you can start giving your clients the advice they need?
A branded client portal in your corporate colours not only makes your business look super professional but provides secure two-way communication with your clients from any device (including the ability to sign and share documents digitally in real-time). We've heard that brokers and clients alike enjoy the fact that questions can be completed at home, significantly reducing the time spent in meetings.
Estimated time saving
30 minutes per client
6 - Criteria research
Did you know there were over 52,000 changes to mortgage lending criteria in 2020? That’s a lot to keep up with! And how many times have you recommended a mortgage, only to find they have introduced stricter criteria for that product? Not only is it frustrating, but a waste of time.
In March 2021, Knowledge Bank and Iress announced the first fully integrated criteria and sourcing system within Xplan Mortgage to solve this problem. Brokers and financial advisers can now check the lenders’ criteria across the market and apply for the right product seamlessly from one platform - making it far quicker and easier to source the best mortgage for non-traditional mortgage customers.
Estimated time saving
70 minutes per ‘non-traditional’ client
7 - Stop rekeying now
Typing the same client data into your different software packages is time-consuming and increases the risk of typos and non-compliance. It’s a huge bugbear for many financial advisers and one of the leading motivations behind Iress’ product development over the last few years.
Lender Connect can pre-populate Trigold data and Xplan Mortgage data (richer pre-population) directly into the lenders’ application portals, giving you confidence that the information is correct before clicking send.
Estimated time saving
20 minutes per application
8 - Work on the go
2021 is not a time to be desk-bound! The last 12 months have shown we need to be more flexible with where and how we work. Specialist lending cases are increasing, more people are working between home and offices, and we’re all the more reliant on our mobiles.
Of course, it’s essential to take breaks from work, but if you get a call from a client while you’re out or you receive an alert about a case, we now have the technology and software in place to access case files or process applications from any laptop, tablet or phone. With Trigold, make sure you download the software on a Windows laptop so you can take your work to meetings instead of re-doing everything when you get back to your desk. With Xplan Mortgage, you can do all your work via a tablet or smartphone so you can access everything in need, whether you’re in meetings, commuting or walking the dog.
Estimate time saving
20 minutes per day
Get your mortgage business moving
To see how much time you could be saving on cases with Xplan Mortgage, join us for a demo.
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