How much business have you ‘lost’ over the past year? That’s a very open-ended question, and your answer will be based on your interpretation of what I’ve asked.

Do I mean business that, for whatever reason, did not complete? Or do I mean business that could, or should, have been yours but went elsewhere? And how do you quantify that?

Paymentshield recently suggested that advisers were missing out on £16m-worth of commission fees, purely for ‘lost’ remortgage and product transfer business, because they were ‘quoting’ on only 5% to 6% of remortgage opportunities for clients.

Lenders are much more aggressive in the way they target existing borrowers

To my mind, this seems incredibly low when you consider that advisers are conservatively completing on 65% to 70% of all mortgage business, and that remortgaging and product transfer activity tends to be the bedrock of most firms.

I think you also have to be sceptical around the numbers placed upon ‘lost’ fees or commission. The Paymentshield data is no doubt robust but, from an individual adviser’s or firm’s point of view, I would sense there are few practitioners sitting down and calculating just how much of that £16m they have ‘lost’.

Kernel of truth

But there’s undoubtedly a significant kernel of truth to this, in that lenders are much more aggressive in the way they target existing borrowers, particularly for remortgage and product transfer business.

Look at the competition in the mortgage market now if you want an idea of what lenders are willing to offer. If that business comes to them direct or via execution-only, and if they can save on the procuration fee, they’re not likely to be too unhappy.

It is as much about the lost opportunity as about the lost transactional income

And, of course, while it may not be millions of pounds of income being lost, it could still be significant, and it will be money that you earned two/three/five years ago, which you’re not going to pick up this time around.

Multiple losses

In that sense, this should be an important consideration for advisers because it is just as much about the lost opportunity as about the lost transactional income.

While you may be able to justify it as ‘missing out’ this time around, what are the chances that the client ever returns?

Ask yourself why you, and the client, are willing to miss out when there is everything to be gained and nothing to be lost

And, if they don’t, you’re losing proc fee income, general insurance and protection commission, conveyancing advice fees, plus access to the potential referral and recommendation income you could receive from the client.

Over the lifetime of that client being with you, it is highly unlikely to be millions of pounds-worth of business, but it could be considerable.

Action stations

So, if you’re an adviser who has not completed the next remortgage or product transfer of an existing client, I think it’s fair to say you’ve ‘lost’ that business.

Ask yourself: why? Ask yourself if it’s a concern. If not, why not?

Remortgaging and product transfer activity tends to be the bedrock of most firms

Ask yourself what you are going to do to ensure it doesn’t happen with the next client whose deal is coming to an end.

Finally, ask yourself why you, and the client, are willing to miss out when there is everything to be gained and nothing to be lost.

Mark Snape is chief executive of Broker Conveyancing