Application declined: how should advisers deal with disappointed clients?

A rejected deal is not something mortgage advisers want to come across often, but when it does happen, managing the client’s disappointment can often be crucial to preserving a relationship – and, according to one adviser, the best possible strategy is to set clear expectations from the very beginning.

Mark Pullar, CEO and principle adviser of Roost, said that being realistic with a client upfront about the chances of a deal being approved is vital, and can be the difference between a disappointed client, and one who will ultimately come back to you in the future.

“The key thing here is to set the client’s expectations from the start,” Pullar said.

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“I think the skill of a good mortgage adviser is to make it really clear quickly and early how the deal is looking. You can say straight away - “it will be a miracle if we get this deal approved, and I’m going to work my hardest to get it done for you. If I can get it approved, then you should be very happy.”

“The client will usually then be quite understanding if you don’t manage to get it approved, because they knew right from the start where the weaknesses were and why it was going to be challenging.”

With banks toughening their lending criteria, the process of landing a successful deal with a major bank has been becoming increasingly challenging over the past several years.

Pullar said that advisers should have a clear client policy laid out from the beginning, and should explain why the chances of approval are what they are in a way the client can easily understand.

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“Having a client that is disappointed with an outcome perhaps indicates that the expectations were not correctly set,” Pullar said.

“So, if an adviser and their team are really clear on member policy, on that client’s position and the relationship between those things, then they can clearly explain what things are going to look like.”

“The client can understand all of this and be on board with the fact that we’re taking the deal on and having a crack at it, despite the fact that the chances of approval are actually at 35%,” he added.

“That sets up the end result of either a really, really happy client, or a client that at least understands that you gave it a bloody good shot, and will come back to you later.”