Published 23 October 2026
START WITH THE GAPS IN THE BUYING JOURNEY
Bought leads decay within minutes. Advisers spend their day dialling instead of advising, ageing lead banks sit untouched, and compliance can't evidence what was said on every call.
This guide describes the workflow design published in Xiilio’s industry playbook. It is not a case study or a claim of achieved results. Access, permissions and the connected systems determine what can be deployed.
- Bought leads decay within minutes and advisers cannot dial fast enough to hold contact rate
- Advisers spend the day prospecting instead of advising
- Aged lead banks sit unworked because there is no economic way to call them again
- Compliance cannot easily evidence what was said before an appointment
MAP THE HANDOVERS BEFORE ADDING AUTOMATION
Write down the decision at each stage, who owns it and what information the next person needs. Qualification is not a substitute for a regulated or commercial decision.
- Trigger: Mortgage, new child, bereavement or a comparison-site visit creates the need.
- Contact: Whoever reaches the lead first, within minutes, usually holds the appointment.
- Qualification: Cover need, age band, health disclosures at a high level, affordability and availability.
- Advice and application: Regulated adviser conducts the fact-find, recommends and submits. Underwriting follows.
SPEED TO LEAD
Agree these steps with the owning team, test the handovers and review exceptions before enabling the workflow.
- Lead lands in the CRM or lead platform
- ARIA attempts contact within seconds across the permitted channel
- Need, age band, affordability and availability captured; no advice given
- Appointment written into the adviser diary with the brief attached
- Non-contacts moved onto a retry cadence rather than being abandoned
LEAD-BANK REVIVAL
Agree these steps with the owning team, test the handovers and review exceptions before enabling the workflow.
- Aged records segmented by source, age and last outcome
- Suppression and consent state checked before any contact
- HERALD re-engages with a permission-first message
- Responders handed to ARIA for qualification and booking
VULNERABILITY HANDLING
Agree these steps with the owning team, test the handovers and review exceptions before enabling the workflow.
- Vulnerability indicators detected in the conversation
- Qualification stops immediately
- Warm transfer or priority callback to a named human adviser
- Flag written to the record with the transcript
CONNECT THE EXISTING STACK, WITH EXPLICIT BOUNDARIES
No rip-and-replace is the starting point. Confirm API availability, permissions, record mapping and failure handling with the system owner. Product names in the playbook describe systems commonly used in this sector; they do not imply a partnership or a prebuilt connector for every installation.
- CRM and lead-distribution platform
- Adviser calendars
- Telephony with call recording
- Comparison-site and lead-vendor feeds
- Consent and suppression registers
KEEP THE APPROVAL GATES VISIBLE
Automation should stop at the boundaries agreed with your team. Record escalations and approval decisions alongside the workflow activity.
- Scripts and disclosures compliance-approved before go-live
- Vulnerability flags escalate to a human immediately
- No application or recommendation without an authorised adviser
- Lead-bank re-contact lists approved before the first send
MEASURE OUTCOMES, NOT ACTIVITY ALONE
Agree the baseline, reporting period and source of each metric before launch. Reconcile CRM outcomes with your own records; do not treat a modelled return or an advertising dashboard as independently audited revenue.
- Contact rate within 60 seconds
- Lead to appointment rate
- Appointment attendance rate
- Cost per submitted application
- Aged records reactivated