CASE STUDIES

Real LOs. Real Numbers.
Real Results.

These aren't hypothetical scenarios or "what if" projections. These are loan officers and teams who partnered with Empower LO — some for over six years — and built businesses they're proud of. Here's what happened.

6+ Years
Longest active client relationship
1,300+
Loans closed by a single team in 2025
$460M+
Loan volume from one enterprise client
60+
LOs at our largest brokerage client

Why These Stories Matter

Every loan officer's situation is different — solo producer, growing brokerage, established branch. But the underlying pattern is the same: the LOs who win are the ones who build systems around their strengths instead of trying to do everything themselves.

These case studies span a solo originator who's never chased an agent, an enterprise brokerage with 60+ loan officers, and a branch manager who 5x'd his production over six years. The scale is different. The principle isn't.

Read them through the lens of your own business. Something here will resonate.

Case Study #1

100% Consumer Direct —
No Agent Chasing Required

Client: Matt Wentz, Speak Straight Mortgage
NMLS: #1852397
Market: Denver & Colorado Springs, CO
Client Since: 2021
Matt Wentz, Speak Straight Mortgage

The Background

Matt Wentz is not your typical loan officer. He's quirky, passionate about educating borrowers, and has built his entire business on a simple premise: every single customer comes to him. No cold-calling real estate agents. No begging for referrals. 100% consumer direct.

When Matt came to Empower LO in 2021, he was an individual producer looking for a business operating system — not just a CRM. He wanted his website, AI, pipeline management, and LOS integration all in one place. He needed a system that would let leads come in, get qualified through automation, and only reach him when they were ready to have a real conversation.

What He Built

Empower LO became Matt's full business operating system. His Speak Straight Mortgage website, powered by Empower, feeds directly into his pipeline. Conversation AI and Voice AI handle the initial lead engagement — every potential borrower must book a calendar appointment before Matt picks up the phone. No tire-kickers. No wasted hours.

He also uses Empower's Google Ads lead generation service to drive consumer-direct traffic to his funnels. The result is a pipeline that fills itself while Matt focuses on what he does best: building deep, genuine relationships with borrowers.

The Results

100%
Consumer direct — zero agent-sourced leads
1 → 3
LOs: from solo producer to building a brokerage
AI-First
Leads must book before he ever talks to them

Why It Works

Matt's secret isn't complicated — it's consistency and depth. Because he's not spreading himself thin chasing agents, he pours everything into the clients who find him. Those clients become repeat customers. They send their friends. Multiple transactions per client over time. The AI handles the front door so Matt can focus on the relationship once someone walks through it.

"I don't chase agents. I don't cold call. Every single borrower comes to me because they found me, and by the time we talk, the AI has already qualified them and they've booked time on my calendar. Empower LO isn't just my CRM — it's my entire business."

— Matt Wentz, Speak Straight Mortgage (paraphrased)
Case Study #2

Scaling a 60+ LO Brokerage With
HighLevel as the Value Proposition

Client: First Coast Mortgage Funding
NMLS: #1953441
Market: Jacksonville, FL (FL, GA, AL, NC, SC)
Client Since: 2023
First Coast Mortgage Funding logo

The Challenge

First Coast Mortgage Funding is an enterprise-scale brokerage headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, operating across five states. With 60+ loan officers and ambitious growth targets, they needed more than a CRM — they needed a technology platform that would become central to their value proposition for recruiting and retaining top LOs.

The challenge wasn't just "get marketing running." It was: how do you onboard dozens of loan officers onto a unified system, keep it updated, train new hires, push consistent campaigns, and do it all without building an internal tech team?

What We Built Together

Empower LO built and supports a custom HighLevel instance for First Coast. But "built a CRM" undersells it — HighLevel is central to the brokerage's recruiting pitch. When a new LO joins First Coast, they get a fully configured marketing and pipeline system from day one. Empower handles the fulfillment: pushing snapshots to new accounts, onboarding each LO individually, and providing ongoing training and support.

We work closely with First Coast's creative director as a fulfillment vehicle — they set the brand direction, and we make it happen at scale across 60+ sub-accounts.

The Results

60+
Active loan officers on the platform
40%
LO growth year over year in 2025
1,300+
Closed loans in 2025
$460M+
Loan volume in 2025

"HighLevel isn't just our CRM — it's part of our recruiting pitch. When a new LO joins First Coast, they get a fully built marketing system on day one. Empower handles the buildout and training so we can focus on growing the brokerage."

— First Coast Mortgage Funding leadership (paraphrased)
Case Study #3

From 99 Loans to $52M+ —
Six Years of Compounding Growth

Client: Roy Burr, Fairway Independent Mortgage
NMLS: #1186198
Market: Tucson, AZ (leads nationwide)
Client Since: 2019
Roy Burr, Fairway Independent Mortgage

The Starting Point

When Roy Burr became an Empower LO client in 2019, he was an individual producer with a couple of assistants, closing 99 loans for about $19 million in volume. Solid numbers for a solo originator. But Roy had a vision for something bigger — and the patience to build it the right way.

Roy is Empower LO's longest-standing client. Over six years, his story is the clearest illustration of what happens when you commit to a system and let it compound.

The Strategy

Roy uses Empower's Google Ads lead generation service to generate consumer-direct leads — not just in his home Tucson market, but in markets across the country. Here's what makes Roy's approach brilliant: the ads bring in leads, but the real payoff comes from the agent relationships those leads create.

When a consumer lead comes in from Dallas or Charlotte or Phoenix, Roy works it — and in the process, builds a relationship with the listing agent on the other side of the transaction. Over time, those agents start sending Roy their own referrals. He now generates more business from agent relationships than from the ads themselves.

Roy is also a master of long-term follow-up. His team consistently closes leads that are two to three years old. If a lead doesn't qualify today, Roy's team doesn't just discard them — they build action plans, help borrowers improve their position, and stay in touch. Those leads come back when they're ready.

The Results

99 → 180+
Personal production: loans closed per year
$19M → $52M+
Personal loan volume growth since 2019
25+ LOs
Branch has grown to ~$200M in total volume

"The ads bring in the leads, but the relationships are where the real business comes from. I've had agents who first met me on a consumer-direct deal three years ago who now send me five, six deals a year. And we still close leads from 2022. If you help people — even the ones who can't qualify today — they come back."

— Roy Burr, Fairway Independent Mortgage (paraphrased)
THE PATTERN

Three Different Stories.
One Underlying Truth.

Matt built a 100% consumer-direct brokerage where AI qualifies every lead before he picks up the phone. First Coast turned HighLevel into a recruiting advantage for 60+ loan officers. Roy compounded six years of Google Ads into a $52M production machine powered by agent relationships.

Different scale. Different strategy. Same foundation: a system that does the work so they can focus on what actually grows the business.

That's what Empower LO is. Not more tasks on your plate — fewer, because the system handles the rest.

Read our approach → See how the platform works →

Ready to Write Your Own Case Study?

Matt, First Coast, and Roy didn't get here overnight. But they all started the same way — by deciding to let a system handle the marketing, follow-up, and automation so they could focus on closing loans and building relationships. That's the only decision that matters.

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