Mortgage broker leads come from paid ads, bought enquiries, existing clients, search, social media and referral partners. Start with a channel your team can follow up promptly, then compare its cost per lodged file and settled loan.
Count staff time and campaign fees alongside ad spend. A cheap enquiry can cost more to convert when it is shared, outside your service area or months away from borrowing.
Use the same calculation for each channel: total channel cost divided by the number of settled loans it produces. Track lodged files earlier while settlements develop.
1. Paid Marketing Channels (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn)
Paid advertising suits a brokerage that can answer enquiries quickly and has a defined borrower group. Set a spending limit before launch and record the source of each enquiry in your client relationship management (CRM) system.
- Google Ads: bid on suburbs and loan types you actually service. Send each click to a relevant landing page with the licence and representative details your licensee requires.
- Facebook Ads: allow for Meta's stricter review of credit advertising. Have the ad and landing page reviewed together before committing spend. Use the dedicated guide for campaign setup and rules.
- LinkedIn Ads: use professional targeting to reach company directors and self-employed borrowers. Explain the documents that borrower group needs and measure whether the enquiries fit your lending scope.
After two weeks, compare cost per completed enquiry and whether staff can contact those borrowers. After one quarter, compare cost per lodged file. These are review points, not promised conversion times.
Keep tracking each group of enquiries through settlement. For visitors who leave without enquiring, the guide to mortgage broker retargeting explains the separate follow-up approach.
2. Buying Mortgage Leads
Buying mortgage leads means paying a provider for borrower enquiries. An exclusive lead goes to one broker under the provider's terms. A shared lead goes to several brokers, so you compete for the same borrower.
Providers also sell by city, postcode or region. For mortgage broker leads in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, agree the actual suburbs covered and whether the location describes the borrower or property.
Before buying, obtain a sample record and written terms covering lead age, exclusivity, qualification and refunds for invalid or duplicate enquiries. Confirm when delivery occurs and who owns the follow-up.
- For email and SMS, obtain the consent wording and evidence of who agreed, when and how. The permission must cover marketing from your business. Under the Spam Act 2003, buying a list does not remove your responsibility for consent.
- For calls, establish whether each number is on the Do Not Call Register. A registered number requires valid consent or a relevant exemption. Express consent normally expires after three months unless given for a specified period or indefinitely.
- Review the provider's ads and forms with your licensee. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) names lead generators among the intermediaries covered by its 2026 RG 234 advertising guidance.
Use ACMA's Spam Act guidance, the Do Not Call Register's consent guidance and RG 234 Advertising financial products and services (including credit) for these checks.
Compare providers by cost per settled loan. In a hypothetical batch, $2,000 spent on 40 leads produces eight lodged files and four settlements. That is $50 per lead, $250 per lodged file and $500 per settled loan before staff time.
Keep each purchased batch separate in the CRM. A provider sending fewer enquiries can still produce a lower settlement cost if those borrowers match your services.
3. Leverage Your Existing Trail Book
Settled clients already know your brokerage. Timely reviews can identify a new purchase or refinancing need and help retain the relationship before a client goes elsewhere.
Upload two monthly aggregator reports to Track My Trail. Quick Analysis shows lost and gained trail, discharged loans and large balance changes. The results give you a monthly starting point for retention follow-up.
Use the trail figures to identify the clients contributing most to your income, then prioritise a relevant review. High trail income is a starting point for assessing profitability alongside the time and cost of servicing the client.
The software analyses the reports automatically, replacing monthly spreadsheet comparisons. Keep client contact and follow-up tasks in your CRM, and record which reviews become lodged files or retained loans.
4. Mortgage Broker SEO
Mortgage broker search engine optimisation (SEO) brings enquiries from borrowers looking for help in your service area. Budget for writing and maintaining pages, or for an agency, as well as the time before enquiries arrive.
Keep your Google Business Profile current, including contact details and service area. Publish on-page answers to borrower questions and earn links from relevant local organisations or industry directories.
Connect enquiry forms to source tracking so you can measure consultations and lodged files from search. The mortgage broker SEO guide covers the method.
5. Implement Testimonial Marketing
Ask clients for a Google review shortly after settlement. Keep the request neutral so clients can describe their experience in their own words.
Get written permission before quoting a client in an ad, email or website case study. Keep the quote accurate and avoid implying every borrower will receive the same result.
One specific sentence about how you handled a difficult approval tells a borrower more about your service than a star rating alone. Budget staff time for requests and permissions, then record whether reviews feature in new clients' reasons for contacting you.
6. Automate Marketing, Sales and CRM
Automation helps enquiries reach the person responsible for follow-up. Connect website forms to the office CRM and assign an owner, so a submission does not sit unread in one inbox.
Use consented email sequences for document checklists and relevant follow-up. Marketing messages need Spam Act consent, sender identification and a working unsubscribe facility. Keep consent records and apply opt-outs across connected systems.
Have compliance review automated messages that mention rates, lenders or credit policy before sending. Budget for CRM subscriptions and setup time, then check whether automation reduces missed enquiries or time to first response.
Choose a CRM that manages relationships after settlement as well as before application. Set review reminders and referral follow-ups beside application stages, so the next client need stays visible.
7. Develop an Organic Social Media Presence
Choose one or two social platforms where your borrowers already spend time. Organic social costs staff time for publishing and replies, even when you buy no ads.
Share answers to common borrower questions and explain the steps in an application. Answer questions in local communities, then move personal credit discussions to an approved private channel.
Use written permission for client success stories and remove identifying information from other examples. Track enquiries and booked consultations from each profile before adding more platforms.
Pinterest for Borrower Planning
Use a brokerage account with your service area and boards for borrower planning questions. Original pins can explain purchase costs or a refinance-review checklist. Link each pin to the matching guide or booking page.
Measure outgoing website visits and enquiries by topic. Count consultations and lodged files that fit your service area. Set a time budget before adding boards, because saves and impressions alone do not show borrowing intent.
WhatsApp Business Follow-Up
Use WhatsApp Business for enquiries and follow-up that clients have agreed to receive. State response hours and provide an appointment link. Let a referred friend initiate contact after a client shares your public contact details.
For marketing messages, record consent, identify the brokerage and give recipients a way to stop. An enquiry does not give blanket permission for broadcasts. ACMA says a commercial electronic message cannot be sent merely to ask for marketing consent.
Use approved replies for availability and appointment prompts. A broker must handle personalised credit questions. Keep material messages in the client record and use the approved secure portal for financial documents.
8. Provide Outstanding Customer Service
Respond to each enquiry the same business day with the relevant document list and an appointment offer. Tell borrowers when they can expect a substantive answer if their question needs research.
Send progress updates at fixed points during approval and after settlement. Fix missing documents or lender delays before the client has to ask about them.
Allow for this service time in channel costs. More leads will add little when the office cannot follow up the enquiries it already receives.
9. Foster Strategic Partnerships
Real estate agents, accountants and financial planners can refer borrowers whose needs fit your brokerage. Start with partners whose clients and service area match yours.
Put arrangements in writing, including what information you share, how clients consent and when each party receives an update. Have your licensee review any referral fees and disclosure requirements.
Review the first few files together. Count suitable introductions, lodged files and settlements alongside the time or fees involved. The guide to building a mortgage broker referral network covers partner selection and follow-up.
10. Embrace the Growing Trend of Remote Consultations
Video meetings make consultations available to shift workers and rural borrowers who cannot attend an office during business hours. Offer appointment times that fit those clients and explain how documents will be shared securely.
Remote consultations still require identification checks and responsible-lending evidence. Use the verification process your licensee accepts and keep the required records. Include meeting software and administration time in the channel's cost.
Choose the next channel by the problem in your pipeline. If suitable enquiries are scarce, test one acquisition source. If enquiries stall before application, improve follow-up before spending more.
Set a cost limit and track completed enquiries through lodgement and settlement. Keep funding a channel only while the lodged files it produces improve against that cost. Use settled-loan results to decide whether the test deserves a larger budget.
