Mortgage broking has always been a relationship-first profession. But as workloads increase and client expectations shift, brokers are being pulled in two directions: keeping pace with fast-moving processes while still acting as a trusted and present adviser.
This is where relational intelligence comes in. It helps you to read emotional cues, adapt your communication style and respond appropriately to each client’s situation.
AI tools can support this by providing deep insights into client behaviour, for example, flagging when a client may be feeling uncertain, prompting a follow-up at the right time, or tailoring the tone of a message. AI can help brokers strengthen relationships without increasing your daily tasks.
In this blog, we’ll look at how relational intelligence fits into mortgage broking and how you can harness AI tools to support you.
For brokers, relational intelligence isn’t an abstract soft skill, but something that already plays out in your day-to-day, whether that’s through listening to clients, guiding them through complexity or maintaining trust over time.
It might mean picking up on a client’s tone and adapting yours to best serve them, or recognising that a first-time buyer is overwhelmed and pausing to check in. It could even be as simple as sending a message at the right moment.
Staying attuned to multiple clients’ needs can be demanding, especially if they’re all at very different stages of the process, and many brokers find it difficult to personalise their interactions on a deep level.
This is where AI becomes highly useful. While it can’t make decisions for you, it can help you keep track of key signals, surface relevant information and act at the right time. The broker still leads the relationship, but the tech makes it easier to stay close to their needs.
AI’s strength is not emotional intelligence, but pattern recognition and timing. The right tools can give you prompts and visibility that would be difficult to manage unaided, especially across a large and diverse client base.
Some options include:
There’s no one-size-fits-all system, but several types of tools are emerging that can support brokers who want to bring more relational intelligence into their workflow:
Some systems are starting to offer consolidated views of client activity - from website visits to loan milestones - to help brokers spot changes in behaviour or upcoming needs, such as fixed rate expiries or refinancing opportunities.
Certain communications tools can analyse a message and flag when a reply might cause stress, confusion or hesitation.
Platforms that map the client journey and allow tagging of ‘emotional’ moments, e.g. settlement delays, valuation issues, or big life events, give you a running history that’s useful in future interactions.
Automated email sequences tied to application stages or anniversaries can be effective, but only if it’s personalised to your tone of voice. Some tools allow personalisation or layering of human input, which keeps the message relevant without requiring manual work.
Some Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms now include sentiment indicators, response tracking and lead scoring - all of which can give you clues about engagement and potential drop-off points. This helps you prioritise follow-ups and tailor your messaging.
A broker looking to strengthen client engagement could use HubSpot or a similar CRM platform to refine their follow-up process. With sentiment analysis and activity tracking, a broker could quickly identify when a client opens key documents or stops responding.
Through workflow automation, brokers can set up relational triggers like prompts to check in when engagement drops or hesitation is detected. The simple approach helps ensure every interaction feels timely and considered, turning routine follow-ups into meaningful conversations.
1. Activity tracking for client emails and calls
Turn on activity tracking in your CRM’s settings (usually under Tracking & Analytics → Activity). This lets you see when emails are opened, links are clicked, or calls are completed.
2. Add ‘engagement’ or ‘sentiment’ custom fields
Go to Settings → Properties → Create property and add two custom fields - one for engagement level, i.e. high, medium, low, and for sentiment, i.e. positive, neutral, negative.
3. Build an automation workflow for follow-ups
In Automation → Workflows, create a rule that triggers a reminder or task when engagement drops or sentiment turns negative. You can also send a pre-drafted check-in email. For a deeper dive into how to build and refine automated workflows, HubSpot offers a complete workflow guide (PDF) and a practical overview of automation features to help you get started.
4. Review analytics weekly
Check Reports → Dashboards or your engagement dashboard to review activity trends and spot clients who may need a personal touch.
For further insight into turning data into action, check out HubSpot’s guide on marketing reports and analytics as well as its resource for creating custom analytics views to sharpen what you track.
Keeping up with individual client needs at scale takes work. When your workload grows, even the most experienced brokers can struggle to maintain the same level of presence across every interaction.
Relational intelligence is already part of how most brokers work, but to do it reliably across dozens of conversations, some form of assistant is needed. AI tools that track activity, surface changes, and flag useful reminders can help brokers respond with the right level of attention, without relying on memory.
Personal, well-timed contact is more valuable than ever - it’s a core part of a robust retention strategy. As the lending experience becomes more digitised, it’s easy for clients to feel like they’re dealing with systems instead of people. When technology takes care of the legwork in the background, it becomes easier to focus on tasks that require judgement.
What matters is finding ways to keep the client experience consistent and thoughtful, regardless of how busy things get.
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