Podcast #21 - The Digital Broker

In episode 21 of the Growth Series podcast, Iain Cunningham, Corporate Account Manager at Accord Mortgages, is joined by Clayton Shipton, Managing Director at CLS Money. They discuss how CLS, an award winning whole of market mortgage broker, has embraced the digital revolution and let technology play a powerful part in how the business is moving forward, from having their own custom CRM to a cutting edge website.

Technology presents an incredible opportunity for brokers to grow and explore new ways of engaging customers. And the industry tide is drifting toward digitisation of the mortgage experience; everything from the initial meeting to remortgaging can happen remotely without the need to travel. Unless of course the prospective customer prefers to meet brokers face to face, in which case brokers can log individual customer preferences in a CRM and apply a personalised service in each and every meeting.

Clayton uses the example of video chat, when he witnessed a young person using FaceTime while shopping. He says mortgage brokers need to prepare for when the current younger generation enters the mortgage market with the expectation that they can experience video chat no matter which service they choose.

It’s all about giving customers choice and making the process of taking out a mortgage as easy as possible using the available technology. Traditional brokers might have a large existing customer bank, but if they’re not embracing new tech and attracting new customers, they risk losing out to banks that are taking that leap into the digital future.

The future of the online mortgage market looks very different for those used to a traditional model. Clayton sees banks competing with big tech firms that might come into the mortgage market off the back of having access to ‘Big Data’. 

The Growth Series is a dedicated resource that aims to help mortgage brokers grow their business using digital and communications marketing techniques. For more hints and tips on how to grow your business, you can sign up to the Growth Series for free, here.

Podcast #21

0.00 - 0.46 Welcome and introduction

0.47 - 27.43 Ian and Clayton discuss how technology has transformed the intermediary market and created the space for digital brokers to grow.

27.44 - 28.55 Outro