Each new tool (or new feature in an existing tool) has promised to change the game and ensure that the mortgage process will never be the same.

But more often than not, the experience is: cool, but too overwhelming for me.

And—more interestingly—without adopting this new tech, these brokers aren’t stranded playing the “old game,” but are still quite competitive with their inbox and Excel.

How could this be?

Adopting tech—simplified

For the purpose of this article, let’s assume that all investment in technology can be measured in terms of “Magic Beans” (stick with me here).

Of course, tech investment includes time, money, expertise, risk associated with new processes, and much more. But for now, that’s all simplified to Magic Beans.

So, the basic premise of technology is that if you invest a specific amount of Magic Beans, you’ll get more Magic Beans in the future—a positive return on investment.

Let’s explore this calculation for some common technology.

Inbox and Excel

99% of brokers use their inbox and Excel (or Google Sheets), so let’s start there.

Excel is a simple program with an immediate benefit. So, let’s say you need to invest two Magic Beans, and you get five back. That’s a 2.5x return on investment—cool.

Your email inbox is maybe even simpler, with a bigger benefit. So in this case, you invest one Magic Bean, and you get 10 back. A 10x return on investment—also pretty cool!

These ROI numbers are compelling, but another huge factor to consider is the upfront investment. For your inbox and Excel, you don’t have to “invest” a lot to get the benefits.

The new kids on the block

Excel came out in the early 80s, and email took off in the 90s with the widespread adoption of the internet.

Since the 90s (30 years ago!) most new tech has looked like this: you type some information into a box, and it does something for you.

In the mortgage industry, Filogix dominated for years, but over the past five years, competitors like Finmo, BOSS, Scarlett and Velocity have popped up, along with value-add services like BluMortgage, Calendly and Zapier.

The equation for these tools is something like this: invest 100 Magic Beans, and get 150 back. That’s a 1.5x return on investment.

So, what’s the problem?

On the surface level, this seems decent. It’s a positive return on investment, right?

The first problem is that we only have so many Magic Beans. And between putting out client fires, stirring up new business, and everything else life throws at you, there’s sometimes less than 100 Magic Beans left for technology.

So what ends up happening? Still interested in technology, we might invest 50 Magic Beans, but since it’s not enough, we abandon the technology and get zero back! This is completely frustrating.

The other dynamic is that for the brokers who do have 100 Magic Beans, a 50% improvement is good, but not a game-changer. They’re a bit better than the non-adopters, but not light-years ahead. In other words, there’s no competitive pressure.

The result? Many brokers have competitive businesses, but a complete frustration and lack-of-faith in technology.

How do we fix this?

You might be a broker reading this and saying: “Yeah sure, I can survive at 50% less efficiency, but I don’t want to just survive…I want to thrive!”

Or an tech leader saying: “I want every broker to love technology…that’s how we win as an industry!”

Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a silver bullet, no single recommendation I could give that solves this problem. Instead, it’s probably addressed inch-by-inch.

For brokers, get smarter on technology. Expertise adds to your Magic Bean stockpile. And the best part? It stays with you forever, it doesn’t deplete as you start adopting new technology.

For industry tech leaders, lower the initial investment. Simplify onboarding and identify “Quick Wins” so brokers don’t need to spend 100 Magic Beans to get something back.

For both: avoid bad investments at all costs—it’s the driver of all frustrations. Brokers, be brutally honest about the Magic Beans you have and what’s required to adopt new tech. Tech leaders, don’t force new tech on an unready broker just to “close the sale.”

AI could change all of this

I couldn’t go a whole tech article without mentioning AI, so here it is: Remember when I said that the current new tech doesn’t apply competitive pressure?

Yeah…AI could flip that on its head.

It’s still such early days, but it’s not unreasonable to predict that AI will still ask for ~100 Magic Beans, but return 1,000 Magic Beans.

Any broker not using this tech could find themselves in no-man’s land.

So, take the time now, gain the expertise, and make good positive-ROI investments to prepare yourself for what could be an exciting yet disruptive time in the industry!

AI AI in mortgages BluMortgage BOSS Calendly Editor's pick finmo mortgage broker technology Mortgage Technology opinion Scarlett technology tom hall velocity Zapier

Last modified: February 14, 2025