How mortgage brokers should ask for reviews

Most brokers do not have a review problem. They have an asking problem. The clients are happy, they said so on the phone, and then nobody ever said the words "would you mind writing that down somewhere".

Asking well is a small craft. It comes down to picking the right moment, using your own voice, and removing every obstacle between the client's goodwill and the finished review.

Pick the moment, not the month

Gratitude has a short half-life. The window where a client will happily spend five minutes praising you is narrower than most firms assume, and it does not sit where you expect.

The strongest moment is not completion. It is the phone call where you tell them the offer has come through, because that is the point of maximum relief. Completion is a busy, stressful day involving removal vans and solicitors, and your email will be one of thirty.

Other good moments: right after a client has thanked you unprompted, right after you have solved something that looked like it might sink the case, and a few weeks after they have moved in, when the dust has settled and they are enjoying the house.

The rule underneath all of these is simple. Ask when the client has just felt something, not when your monthly report says you are behind.

Ask by voice, follow up in writing

Written requests sent cold have a low hit rate. Requests made in conversation and then confirmed by a link have a far better one, because the client has already said yes to a human being.

So do it in two parts. On the call, once the good news has landed, say something like: "Can I ask you a favour, and please say no if you'd rather not. Reviews are how people find us. Would you be willing to leave a short one?" Then, within a couple of minutes of hanging up, send the link.

The gap between the two matters. Send it while the conversation is still in their head.

What to say

Keep the request short, personal and free of marketing language. Three things belong in it: why you are asking, what you would like them to mention, and how little time it will take.

The middle one is the part firms leave out, and it is the difference between "great service, thanks" and a review that persuades a stranger. Give a gentle prompt rather than a script:

• "If you're not sure what to write, the thing that would help most is a line about what your situation was and what you were worried about at the start."
• "Anything about the bit with your accounts would be really useful, because a lot of people who find us are self-employed and think it's going to be a nightmare."

Never write the review for them and never suggest specific praise. A prompt about topic is fine; a prompt about verdict is not.

Be explicit that an honest review is what you want. It sounds counterintuitive and it produces better writing, because the client stops performing.

Make the mechanics trivial

Every extra step loses people. Assume the client is on a phone, in the evening, with a toddler nearby.

• Send a direct link that lands on the review box itself, not the platform's homepage.
• Send it by whatever channel that client already uses with you. If your entire relationship has been by text, do not suddenly send a formal email.
• Use one platform per client. Asking someone to review you in three places gets you nothing in any of them.
• If you meet clients in person, a small card or a code they can scan works, provided the link still goes straight to the right place.
• Check the link yourself every few months. Platforms change their URLs and firms discover months later that everyone has been landing on an error page.

One reminder, then leave it

If nothing appears after a week, one short reminder is fair. "No pressure at all, just in case it got buried" is enough. After that, stop.

Chasing a review twice makes the client feel they owe you something, which sours a relationship you would like to keep for the remortgage in five years. Some people simply do not write things online. That is fine and it is not a reflection on your service.

When not to ask

Do not ask a client whose case did not complete, unless they volunteer something warm first. Do not ask in the middle of a case, when the outcome is unresolved and the request quietly implies obligation. Do not ask someone who has raised a complaint, even if you have since resolved it. Do not ask a vulnerable client in a way that could feel like pressure; that judgement belongs to the adviser who knows them.

And never offer anything in return. No voucher, no fee discount, no prize draw, no charity donation. An incentive contaminates the evidence, is prohibited by most platforms, and turns a genuine testimonial into a paid endorsement that you would then be presenting to the public as independent.

Build it into the case, not into someone's willpower

The firms with a steady stream of reviews have made the ask a step in the process rather than a task on a list. Add it to the case management checklist at the offer stage, so the adviser is prompted at the right moment with the right link to hand.

Track two things only: how many clients you asked, and how many reviewed. If the second number is low, the problem is almost always the moment or the mechanics rather than the client's opinion of you.

Finally, remember that a review you collect will end up being read by people deciding whether to trust you with their finances. Ask honestly, accept the answer you get, and let the profile be a fair picture of what your firm is actually like.