How We Helped Mortgage Brokerage Got Control of Pre-Approvals, Underwriting, and Follow-Ups Without Hiring More Staff

How We Helped Mortgage Brokerage Got Control of Pre-Approvals, Underwriting, and Follow-Ups Without Hiring More Staff Client Overview Our client is a mortgage brokerage based in Canada. Each agent received 40–60 new leads weekly from online ads, referral partners, and inbound calls. They were using Zoho CRM, but only for storing contact info. Everything else — from follow-ups to deal tracking — was being done manually. Emails were written one by one. Tasks weren’t assigned automatically. Referral updates were sent by hand. Zoho wasn’t built around how they actually worked — so most of the team didn’t use it actively. Challenges The agency had a strong client base, but their backend systems couldn’t keep up. Here’s where they were struggling: New leads weren’t getting handled properly Leads were coming in daily, but there was no way to track who had been contacted, who booked a call, or who was waiting on documents. Some got missed entirely. Others sat too long without a response. No one could clearly see who was in pre-approval, underwriting, or ready to fund. Follow-ups took way too much time Every agent was sending the same pre-approval messages, document reminders, and updates manually — over and over. If someone was out for the day, their leads didn’t move forward. There were no triggers or automations in place. Referral partners kept asking for updates Partners who referred leads weren’t being updated when a client booked a consult, submitted their mortgage application, or closed the deal. Everything had to be remembered and sent manually — which meant it often wasn’t. No one could track the deal pipeline There were no proper stages inside the CRM — just names and numbers. The team couldn’t answer questions like: “Has this client submitted their docs?”“Who’s working on this deal?”“Which files are taking too long?” Zoho CRM wasn’t doing much They had the tool, but it wasn’t set up for mortgage workflows. No deal stages. No automation. No tasks assigned when things moved forward. The CRM wasn’t helping the team — it was just sitting there. Long-term leads were forgotten If someone didn’t move forward in the first couple of weeks, they were forgotten. There were no monthly check-ins, follow-up campaigns, or reminders to re-engage. Cold leads and expired pre-approvals just sat in the system, untouched. “We don’t have a clear view of our process. We just want something that runs without us checking every step.”