Trust has to be earned one step at a time.

Key Takeaway: We can let the agent take a first stab at a task, but give the broker the opportunity to catch errors after each step. After trust grows, move away from broker intervention but always get final approval for emails sent.

Key Takeaway: Give brokers a single orchestrator agent for daily communication — one point of contact to “get it done,” rather than juggling separate specialist agents.

Key Takeaway: Customization of the “digital desk” — the inbox/dashboard where brokers spend the majority of their day — is critical. They want control over what they see and when.

Key Takeaway: Brokers are genuinely split on how they’d organize deals. They all have different models for how they prioritize deals and their to-do list. They are experts in servicing deals, so our goal wasn’t to force them all into the same mold. The product needed to give them optionality.

Key Takeaway: For these brokers, more is more. The most surprising finding for me, and the least relatable. For them, density reads as power - not clutter.

Useful context that shaped tone, motivation, and communication design more than core flows.

1. 01

   Tell them they’re doing a good job.

   Brokers need affirmation. Peer-to-peer recognition motivates the brokers the most, and public recognition is better than private.

2. 02

   Golden hearts. Sort of.

   These brokers like helping others, either because that's a core value to them or because that means they will win more.

3. 03

   Show, don’t tell

   Delegation looks different depending on the context. They are people people and rely on body language for trust in communication, so if they have more to communicate (or if they don't have trust), they're going to lean higher-touch.

4. 04

   Brokers HATE Slack.

   This was the most emphatic, unanimous viewpoint. I didn’t even ask about it, they just needed someone to hear them.