Background

This practice is a two-adviser mortgage brokerage based in Manchester, serving clients across Greater Manchester and the North West. Founded in 2019, the firm had built a steady referral-based business, completing an average of five mortgage cases per month. The two advisers were experienced, FCA-authorised, and had excellent client reviews, but their pipeline was inconsistent. Some months they'd complete seven or eight cases. Other months it was three. The feast-or-famine cycle made it difficult to plan, hire, or grow.

The principal had tried running Facebook ads independently in 2024. Over three months, they spent roughly 2,400 pounds and generated around 40 leads, converting just two into completed cases. The experience left them sceptical about digital lead generation. 'We basically concluded that Facebook leads were poor quality,' the principal told us during the initial consultation. 'People didn't answer the phone, and the ones who did weren't serious.'

The Challenge

The firm wanted to grow to 15-20 cases per month within six months. They needed a predictable lead source that would supplement their referral business without requiring them to become marketing experts. Their specific challenges were:

  • Inconsistent pipeline: Referrals were unpredictable. Some weeks brought three new enquiries; others brought none.
  • Limited marketing expertise: The advisers were excellent at mortgages but had neither the time nor the knowledge to run effective paid advertising campaigns.
  • Previous bad experience: Their failed Facebook ads experiment had created genuine scepticism about digital leads.
  • Capacity concerns: With only two advisers, they needed leads that were genuinely qualified to avoid wasting time on tyre-kickers.

The Solution

We started the firm on a conservative volume of 15 exclusive mortgage leads per week, covering first-time buyers and remortgage enquiries across Greater Manchester and surrounding areas within a 30-mile radius.

Before the first lead was delivered, we worked with the firm to establish a proper follow-up system. This included:

  • Setting up instant SMS notifications for new leads, so the advisers could respond within minutes
  • Creating a structured follow-up sequence: immediate call, SMS if no answer, second call two hours later, email in the afternoon, and continued attempts over five days
  • Implementing a simple CRM pipeline to track every lead from arrival through to completion
  • Providing call scripts tailored to their practice, referencing the specific enquiry details in every lead

We also set up their lead delivery to route first-time buyer leads to one adviser and remortgage leads to the other, allowing each to specialise and improve their conversion rates for their respective lead type.

The Results

The first month was a learning curve. Contact rates were around 55%, below what we'd typically expect, because the advisers were still adjusting to the speed required for digital lead response. They converted 3 leads out of 60 received, a 5% conversion rate.

By month two, they had adjusted their process. They set up mobile notifications, started responding within five minutes, and committed to the full follow-up sequence. Contact rates jumped to 72%. They converted 6 leads that month.

By month four, the system was fully embedded. We increased their volume to 25 leads per week based on their improved capacity. The advisers had refined their phone technique, their follow-up was consistent, and their CRM was capturing valuable data about which lead types converted best.

Month-by-month results:

  • Month 1: 60 leads, 3 completions (5% conversion), contact rate 55%
  • Month 2: 60 leads, 6 completions (10% conversion), contact rate 72%
  • Month 3: 60 leads, 8 completions (13% conversion), contact rate 74%
  • Month 4: 100 leads, 12 completions (12% conversion), contact rate 76%
  • Month 5: 100 leads, 16 completions (16% conversion), contact rate 78%
  • Month 6: 100 leads, 22 completions (including pipeline from earlier months), contact rate 80%

By month six, the firm was completing 22 mortgage cases per month: 5-6 from their existing referral network and 16-17 from Lurvo Digital leads. Their average cost per lead was 27 pounds, and with an average proc fee of approximately 950 pounds, their return on lead investment was consistently above 5x.

What Made the Difference

When we asked the principal what changed compared to their failed in-house advertising attempt, the answer was instructive:

'Three things. First, the leads were genuinely exclusive. Nobody else was calling these people. That alone made an enormous difference to the quality of the conversation. Second, we learned to call fast. When we were running our own ads, we'd check leads at the end of the day. Now we call within minutes and the contact rate is completely different. Third, we built a proper follow-up system. We used to call once and give up. Now we follow up persistently across multiple channels, and we convert people on the third or fourth attempt that we would have written off previously.'

The firm has since hired a third adviser to handle the increased volume and is looking at expanding into buy-to-let leads as an additional revenue stream.

'Working with Lurvo has transformed our business. We went from hoping referrals would come in to having a predictable pipeline that we can scale up or down as needed. The leads are genuine, the support is excellent, and the ROI speaks for itself. I wish we'd started six months earlier.'

- Principal Adviser, Manchester Mortgage Brokerage