Mortgage Broker Attributes Success To Human-Powered CRM

Petra Cephas Inc., a national mortgage broker that handles all loan processing, administration and communication for its loan originators (LOs), said its sales team has grown by 100% over the past 12 months. Officials attribute the growth to the company’s unique, human-based customer relationship management (CRM) system and its ability to free up LOs from non-sales related tasks so they can spend all of their time growing business.  

According to Petra Cephas President Bishoi Nageh, the new recruits are enjoying higher closing ratios and far less time spent per closed loan compared to their experiences at other companies, thanks to the company’s high-touch loan processing platform.

“As a company, we value our real estate broker and agent partners who rely on highly skilled LOs to execute and close their deals,” Nageh said. “By handling everything else for them, we empower our LOs to be laser-focused on growing their Realtor referrals and closing more loans.”

Over time, Petra Cephas has analyzed all the tasks previously performed by originators and identified a number of processing, administrative and data-entry functions that could be more efficiently handled by its proactive processing team. With this type of over-the-top support, the company’s loan officers found their jobs became much easier. And because Petra Cephas’ hard-working and dedicated staff does everything that needs to be done to close loans, its LOs could avoid hiring assistants.

A particularly novel component of the Petra Cephas platform is its people powered CRM, which is also helping LOs close more loans. Instead of using automated emails like most lenders, the company has real people communicate with customers in real time about how their loan is progressing. Company officials say borrowers love these human-crafted messages because they are more genuine and personal. Plus, all parties—LOs, Realtors, borrowers, attorneys and others—are updated on the status of each loan in process every Friday.

Mortgage Originator Erez Shimoni left his previous role at a direct lender one year ago to gain access to Petra Cephas’ unique platform in addition to its wider selection of wholesale loan programs.

“Because I don’t need to be hands-on for every transaction, I’m able to concentrate on developing relationships, originating loans, and increasing referrals,” said Shimoni. “When a Realtor needs a quick closing, our team comes together to make the transaction happen much more quickly than it could have at my prior company.”

“After I receive an application, my transactions close without me having to spend any time following up,” said Senior Mortgage Originator Thomas Abbate. “Recently, I went away for vacation, came back, and found all my files had closed.”

“Our generous compensation structure, world-class communication and white glove service gives us a competitive edge in recruiting top producers around the country,” Nageh said. “We anticipate recruiting many more seasoned LOs during the second half of this year as we position ourselves for long-term growth.”