For years, mortgage lenders have optimized the wrong end of the funnel. Entire operating models are built around application-to-submission ratios, pull-through rates, lock efficiency, and funding velocity. The industry has become exceptionally good at measuring what happens after a borrower is “in.” But the uncomfortable truth is this: most of the damage is already done before the application ever exists. The real leakage point -- the one that quietly drains revenue, distorts pipeline...