Starting from last week's letter
The broker has sourced the product, run the DIP and discussed it with the client. Now they need to write the recommendation letter. They open a similar letter from last week, save it under the new client's name, and start changing things: names, property, loan amount, term, product, rate, fees, the lender's name in several places, the reasons.
An hour later the letter is done. The broker is fairly sure every detail was changed. Then the network's checker, or a careful colleague, spots last week's client's lender name in paragraph four.
Why letters take so long
Recommendation letters are partly standard and partly personal. The standard parts are the same for every case of a type. The personal parts, the reasons, are specific to the client. Because both live in one document, brokers edit whole letters rather than filling in what changes.
Case facts live in the CRM and the sourcing tool, and have to be copied into the letter by hand. Every copy is a chance for an error.
- Letters built by editing the previous one.
- Case facts retyped from the CRM and sourcing results.
- Standard sections included or removed by memory.
- Old details left in by mistake.
- Different brokers writing in different styles and structures.
Checks add pressure. Letters that are reviewed by a network or a senior broker come back for small factual slips, and each return adds another round of editing to a document that was built by hand in the first place.
What hand-built letters cost
| Issue | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Previous client's details left in | A data problem and a file check failure |
| Rate or fee copied wrongly | Letter disagrees with the offer |
| Standard section missing | Letter returned for rework |
| Time spent assembling | Less time advising |
The personal reasons are what make the letter worth reading, and they are the part brokers have least time for, because the assembly eats the time first.
The letter assembly we build
- We work through your brokerage's letter templates and mark every fact, standard section and optional section, with its source.
- Client, property, loan and product details are filled from your CRM and the sourcing record.
- Standard sections are included by rules, such as case type, whether it is a remortgage, or whether fees are added to the loan.
- The reasons section is left for the broker to write, with prompts drawn from your template about what it should cover.
- Before the letter is sent, facts in the letter are checked against the case record, and any mismatch is flagged.
- The finished letter is saved to the case and sent to the client for acknowledgement through your usual route.
The recommendation and its reasons are the broker's. We do not generate them. If your brokerage wants a language model to help tidy a broker's own wording, that is optional, and the broker approves every word.
What brokers notice
Letters start with the right facts in the right places. Brokers spend their time on the reasons, which is the part that matters to the client. Old details are never carried over, because nothing is copied from an old letter. And letters look consistent across the brokerage, while still sounding like each broker.
New brokers benefit particularly. Instead of learning the letter by copying colleagues' old versions, they start from a template that already knows which sections a case needs, and they can concentrate on learning how to explain their reasons well.
Is this how letters get written?
- Brokers start from the previous client's letter.
- Case facts are retyped from the CRM or sourcing tool.
- Old client details occasionally slip through.
- Letters come back from checks for missing sections.
- Writing letters takes longer than advising.