Mortgage Savvy’s CEO on why defining your audience sharpens strategy and drives value
Niche positioning is no longer just a strategy – it’s a necessity. In a mortgage industry shaped by volatility and growing competition, professionals chasing broad markets risk fading into irrelevance.
“There is an opportunity in any industry when you choose to really focus on the one thing that you do really well,” said Rakhee Dhingra, Broker of Record and CEO at Mortgage Savvy. Her success didn’t begin with a marketing playbook – it began with listening.
“I thought I would connect well with a certain specific type of consumer. But getting out there, working with clients, I was attracting a different caliber of client than I had assumed at the onset of that process,” she said.
Dhingra pivoted quickly. Instead of forcing a strategy, she doubled down on what actually resonated. That meant targeting individual end clients and building a robust referral pipeline with realtors. “That’s what I now call my power position framework,” she said.
Too often, brokers over-engineer their niche rather than letting the market shape it. They build theoretical personas and struggle when reality diverges. “Security and the relationship [is] the one value add that’s always stood apart,” Dhingra said. The insight was clear – focus on what connects, not just what converts.
Client trust comes from authenticity, not automation
Dhingra built trust by embracing vulnerability over polish. “People want to connect with people that they can relate to, those that they feel comfortable with,” she said. “Pushing it from a place of vulnerability… sharing our challenges as well as success stories and really focusing on the client experience.”
That transparency is embedded in every touchpoint, from first contact to well beyond closing. The firm’s emphasis on education – never condescending – sets the tone. “We’re very educationally focused on delivering value,” she said. The goal isn’t to impress. It’s to inform.
Many brokers, eager to scale, default to impersonal automation and templated service models. Dhingra rejected that entirely. “It’s never about the service you provide or the product you’re selling; it’s about how you make people feel,” she said.
In a commoditized space where rate-shopping dominates, Dhingra changed the conversation. “You can’t focus on the rate. You have to focus on building relationships with your clients based on trust, driving value that extends beyond the rate.”
Her message to clients – “Date the rate, marry the strategy” – resonated. A rate is temporary; a financial structure has lasting impact. “Your mortgage is often your largest liability, and a rate is generally a three to five-year term,” she said. “Life moves quickly, and the volatility in the market keeps us on our toes.”
The true value lies in positioning the broker as a strategic partner, not a transaction processor. “Clients are looking for that safe, secure money coach, mortgage coach that they can rely on for ongoing support,” she said.
Scaling intimacy with operational empathy
The next challenge was operational. Niche work demands intimacy, but scale demands consistency. Dhingra found equilibrium in operational empathy. “There’s a tremendous amount of personalization that we do. It’s how we let clients know we care,” she said.
That care wasn’t symbolic – it was procedural. “We engage with clients through social platforms. We pay attention to birthdays, dogs’ names, children’s names, milestones, life events.” These were not superficial touches. They were data points – signals of when a client might need support or be on the verge of a financial shift.
“Life events continue to occur,” she said. “With that, the need creates opportunity, and that’s where we come in to execute mortgages.”
These moments – marriage, divorce, death, relocation – define Mortgage Savvy’s target market. “You’re looking at individuals that have gone through transitions in life… those are the markets we try to focus on.”
The result is a business model built for growth without sacrificing connection. One that scales while staying specific. “Being there to be strategic advisors and secondary services support that extends beyond just the mortgage execution,” she said.
The discipline of saying no
In a sector driven by volume, speed, and commoditized rates, Dhingra took a slower, more deliberate route. She positioned her firm to serve fewer clients – but more deeply.
The lesson is blunt. Niche isn’t a tactic – it’s a discipline. One that demands focus, flexibility, and the willingness to say no to the wrong clients in order to create more value for the right ones.
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