Mortgage Professional Australia magazine Issue 13.02

IS BIGGER BETTER? BOUTIQUE AGGREGATORS ARGUE THEIR CASE CROSS-SELLING THE GROWTH STRATEGY FOR YOU?

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU ISSUE 13.2

A REP TO PROTECT SPRUCE UP YOUR PUBLIC IMAGE

MPA SPOTLIGHTS SOME OF MORTGAGE BROKING’S GREATEST ACHIEVERS

INBROKING

ELITE W MEN

CONTENTS / ISSUE 13.2

24

Head to head Clive Kirkpatrick explains how St George plans to cut its turnaround times in half

44

Is bigger always better?

Amid industry consolidation, boutique and challenger aggregators are still going strong

WEEKLY INVESTIGATIONS NOW ONLINE: COVER STORY 31 | Elite Women in Broking Women are increasingly rising to prominence in the industry. MPA spotlights some of mortgage broking’s greatest achievers.

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Sales stuff-ups to avoid The harsh reality of success » mpamagazine.com.au

CONTENTS / ISSUE 13.2 NEWS & VIEWS

18

8 | Round-up The latest market intelligence from the world of property, economics and mortgages 12 | On line The best from MPA Online and Australian Broker Online 14 | News analysis What a recent Deloitte think-tank session concluded about the outlook for brokers this year

56 | A rep to protect How to build and maintain your professional reputation

PROFILES 60 | Melissa Gielnik taps into social media success

STATS 64 | Your Mortgage Index The latest mortgage hunter trends from our sister website

LIFESTYLE 62 | My favourite things ... Mark Woolnough, ING DIRECT

SMART BUSINESS 18 | Cross-selling Do you have what it takes to diversify?

28 | Beat the New Year slump Four key tips to re-energise yourself and get into the groove in 2013

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CONTENTS / EDITOR’S LETTER

COPY & FEATURES

LOOKING AHEAD

EDITOR Robin Christie CONTRIBUTORS Andrea Cornish PRODUCTION EDITOR Moira Daniels

The New Year is well underway and potential clients are putting the end of year festivities behind them and sizing up the property market.

Will this year be better than the last for the mortgage broking industry?

Gold Coast-based brokers won’t be too happy with a high-profile state politician comparing the area’s property market to a certain sexually transmitted infection (page 12), but the analysts at Deloitte suggest that the general outlook for brokers is cautiously optimistic (page 14).

Could 2013 also be the year that female brokers take the industry by storm? Judging by the talent that’s been highlighted in our inaugural Elite Women in Broking cover feature (page 31), women are increasingly gaining the recognition they deserve in the mortgage broking profession.

On a personal note, as the new editor of MPA I’m looking forward to facing the challenges that the year ahead presents. With my predecessor, Adam Smith, returning to his newshound roots as the editor of MPA’s sister title Australian Broker, I’m proud to have the opportunity to carry the MPA torch.

Here’s to a successful 2013.

DESIGN Ginni Leonard

Robin Christie, editor, MPA

CONNECT

Contact the editor: robin.christie@keymedia.com.au

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ART & PRODUCTION SALES & MARKETING NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Rajan Khatak ACCOUNT MANAGER Simon Kerslake MARKETING EXECUTIVE Anna Keane TRAFFIC MANAGER Abby Cayanan

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NEWS / ROUND-UP

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NEWS / ROUND-UP REGULATORY

INTEREST RATES

RBA action ‘too little, too late’ The RBA has consistently made the wrong call on cash rates over the past few years, and this has contributed to a shock fall in home loan approvals towards the back end of 2012, claims 1300HomeLoan managing director John Kolenda.

“What was needed during 2012 was bold action by the RBA but what they delivered was too little, too late,” he said.

“The RBA has been messing around with the cash rate for the past few years and for most of that time they have got it wrong. I believe the official rate is still half a percentage point above what it should be.”

CAREERS

DEMAND FOR BROKERS ON THE UP STATS

Time running out for ‘independents’ Are you still using the words ‘independent’, ‘impartial’ or ‘unbiased’ in the name of your brokerage? The MFAA is concerned some brokers won’t have enough time to remove these claims from their business names in line with forthcoming new regulations, and could face legal repercussions as a result.

The MFAA has issued a submission to ASIC in relation to the new legislation, which prohibits the use of the aforementioned terms unless ‘no commission or other benefits are being received directly or indirectly from lenders and lessors’.

While the law changes don’t come into play until 1 March, MFAA CEO Phil Naylor is concerned that some brokers haven’t been given enough advance warning.

“There have been some broking companies who used the words in their name. We’re having discussions with ASIC now to see if they’re willing to give brokers with ‘independent’ in their name a bit more time. There seems to be a view that it is a costly process to change your name, so we’re seeing if ASIC are willing to give some exemptions,” he said.

“The first of March is still the deadline, but we put a proposition to ASIC basically saying we told all our members this and identified a few that use the word, and is ASIC willing to provide some kind of exemption, but we haven’t put a time on it. If they are, then I think we can be more specific.”

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28.4%

CBA’s share of the owneroccupied home loans market in October 2012, according to RFi’s final Australian Mortgage Market Wrap report for 2012. This was a 4.9% increase on the previous month’s figure of 23.5%.

Believe it or not, mortgage broking has been tipped to be one of Australia’s growth industries this year.

This is the assessment of international recruitment agency Hays’ Quarterly Report Jan-March 2013, which has claimed that demand for mortgage brokers will rise in the coming months as organisations continue to develop their finance and lending areas and clients seek the best advice when it comes to financial concerns.

Among the skills in demand in the banking sector are mortgage broking, mortgage support and mortgage compliance, said Hays.

“There seems to be an increase in demand for mortgage candidates as more and more organisations add finance arms to their business.

Banks also have seen the flow-on effect with more loans to be processed. Transformation projects have also caused an increase in demand,” said the report.

NEWS / ROUND-UP

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NEWS / ROUND-UP TAX

WORKPLACE

Brokers: Give Aussies a break on stamp duty

THE END OF BROKER BANTER?

Brokers have pinpointed stamp duty relief as the key policy that state governments could implement to help the housing industry rebound from the doldrums.

When asked ‘what action can the government take to stimulate the housing market in 2013?’ 55% of respondents to a national Loan Market survey cited stamp duty relief as the key to recovery.

Loan Market corporate spokesperson, Paul Smith, said the survey of the company’s 450 Australian mortgage brokers shows that while stamp duty charges differ from state to state, the tax is a considerable obstacle for consumers looking to purchase an established home – especially for the second time.

“Stamp duty serves as an important source of revenue for state-based governments looking to create balanced budgets, but in many cases this tax can erode a significant chunk of a homebuyer’s savings and sway their buying intentions. What stamp duty often does to consumers is reduce their deposit level so that they end up in lenders mortgage insurance territory and have to pay an additional cost to establish the loan.

“In every state, first homebuyers have some type of concession that helps them avoid this cost. However, for those looking to purchase their second home or an investment property this is an unavoidable cost.”

With the RBA interest rate reductions in 2012 having a minimal impact on the housing industry, Smith says it may be necessary for state-level governments to look at making further concessions to stamp duty charges.

While ‘create more stamp duty relief’ proved to be the most popular survey response, a further 32% of participants said the government should ‘reintroduce or amend state level grants’.

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Brokers beware. If you’re fond of a bit of back and forth between colleagues to liven up your day you could soon find yourself in hot water.

Yes, it’s official. Workplace banter could soon become a thing of the past if draft legislation is passed – and the proposal has sparked outrage among Australia’s top legal minds.

According to the Law Council of Australia, under the Labor government’s proposed overhaul of discrimination laws, workplace banter, if perceived by a bystander as offensive, insulting and intimidatory, could spark costly lawsuits.

The Law Council formally submitted to the inquiry that the bill goes too far, and has the potential to unduly curtail free speech. The peak body of lawyers said the new bill “… means, for example, that an informal verbal exchange between co-workers that involves a derogatory comment about a person’s sex could fall within the definition of discrimination, if one of the parties to the exchange or anyone who hears the exchange and shares that (sexual) attribute, is offended or insulted by the comment.”

If taken before a court, the arbitrator would then apply ‘a subjective test based on the feelings or reaction of the person aggrieved’.

Off-limits topics of conversation could include age, sexual orientation, immigrant status, marital or relationship status, nationality or citizenship, political opinion, pregnancy, religion and social origin.

OVERSEAS

AUSSIE LENDER TAKES ON THE EMERALD ISLE

STATS Over the last 12 months, sentiment towards ‘whether now is a good time to purchase a house’ has been boosted by

11% (quarterly average)

Source: Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment

Pepper Asset Servicing has been appointed by CarVal Investors to provide special servicing, master servicing and asset management on the €380m ($482m) Pittsburg portfolio of Irish loans that CarVal investors has acquired from Lloyds.

The deal marks the first major commercial real estate asset management contract win for Pepper in Ireland.

Pepper has also announced it will be making a €3m coinvestment alongside

CarVal Investors in the portfolio, marking the company’s first investment in an Irish commercial property portfolio and its second investment in Ireland since completing the acquisition of GE Capital’s Irish residential mortgage book in June, 2012.

NEWS / ROUND-UP HOUSING

Generation homeless?

Are the days of flying the coop permanently over? According to a global survey by ING, 14% of Australian adults admit they’ve

returned to live with family and friends due to financial difficulties.

The research, which compared consumer attitudes towards the affordability of housing, found two-thirds of Australians viewed the housing market as expensive, with one in two predicting further price rises over the next 12 months.

Approximately a third of respondents declared they’re paying more for housing than they were a year ago, with homeowners spending an average of 30% of their income on a mortgage.

The research found that the younger the age group, the more likely they are to have received financial help from the bank of mum and dad. Over half of 18-24 year old homeowners received money either towards their purchase or to help with home loan repayments, compared to 38% of 35-44 year olds and 22% of those aged over 55.

However, three-quarters of Australian respondents still agreed it’s better to buy than rent.

MARKET

First homebuyers: state by state First homebuyer numbers took a dive in NSW and Queensland towards the back-end of 2012, while other states saw a pickup.

NATIONAL 

15.7% 12.5% WA 

17.5% 23.2% SA 

12.1% 16% VIC 

10.7% 16.5% Source: AFG Mortgage Index

QLD 

16.6% 4.6% NSW 

18.8% 4.2% KEY

DEC 2011 DEC 2012

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NEWS / MULTIMEDIA

ON LINE In motion The latest from Broker News TV and MPA TV

The latest highlights from MPA online and Australian Broker Online

SAY WHAT? THE BIGGEST QUOTES FROM THE MONTH

“What’s the difference between herpes and the Gold Coast property market? You can fix herpes.”

– David Eades, deputy director-general at Queensland deputy premier Jeff Seeney’s office, gets himself in hot water

PERFECT YOUR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Get your sales and account management strategy in place for the year ahead

INDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHTS PREDICT BETTER DAYS Property looks set for a subdued 2013, but there are still opportunities for brokers

2012 AMA’S THE BEST EVER! The 2012 Australian Mortgage Awards hit new highs last year

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“I think a lot of people will think the permit is over-the-top, but I think anything that makes good brokers stand out from the run-of-the-mill brokers is a good thing. I think what the government is proposing is a bit over-the-top, but as long as there’s a bit of sense in there then I’m fine for it.”

– Healthy Lending’s Scott Woodhouse on the draft legislation governing commercial loans

“There is growing concern that the major banks are creating a veneer of competition through their ownership of various sub-brands, such as Aussie Home Loans”

– Bankmecu CEO Robert Allen on the ACCC’s investigation into CBA’s plan to increase its ownership in Aussie Home Loans

STRIKING GOLD WITH REFERRALS How can you bring in more client referrals, and turn them into happy customers?

Frances Pratt, founder of online sales training website kisstosell.com.au, explains all.

Referrals are gold because you have a higher chance of closing sales with them, and this means you have to make less sales calls in order to reach your targets.

Because the person trusts the referrer they’re more likely to trust you. So your job is to guide them through your sales process and make them a happy customer too.

BE PROACTIVE You have to ask your clients and people that you know for referrals into your business. Why? Because someone is three times more likely to refer business to you if you simply ask them.

The easiest way to get more referrals is to have happy clients – they are much more likely to refer business to you. You need to get used to introducing the ‘ask’ into your client meetings.

THE ‘ASK’ Here’s an example of a way to introduce this… once you have answered all your client’s questions: “Well, for my business the thing that I’m focusing on in the next 12 months is getting new clients in, so I’m looking for referrals. Do you know anyone who might value the product or service that I’m selling?”.

And just that one simple question is going to help your clients think about people who they can refer to your business and they’re much more likely to do it.

To find out more on all of these stories, as well as latest business strategy advice, special reports, profiles, news, views and analysis, visit mpamagazine.com.au

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FEATURE / THE YEAR AHEAD

BROKER POWER IN PLAY Whilst growth in lending is slowing in 2013, a Deloitte think-tank session concluded brokers would be capturing an increasing share of new settlements going forward

M

any novice chess players falsely assume that the value of a piece remains constant throughout the game. In fact, the value of the piece depends on the surrounding pieces and their position.

In the mortgage industry, the importance of the broking channel has always played a strategic role in banks’ ability to capture market share. Given that the mortgage market is expected to remain tight in 2013, it will be interesting to see how banks interact with the third party channel in their bid to win a bigger slice of the $1.3trn Australian mortgage pie.

In a Deloitte think-tank session, which was attended by aggregators, banks, non-banks and mortgage insurers, one of the key messages for brokers was that rate of new growth is expected to improve 5% in 2013.

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“The feeling was that brokers would be capturing an increasing share of the market going forward of those flows,” says James Hickey, partner, Financial Services, Deloitte.

Whilst competition between banks for new customers is expected to gear up in the coming months, roundtable experts didn’t expect a rise in commissions to entice broker business. According to Hickey, banks and non-bank lenders are facing intense margin and cost pressure. He also notes that mortgage discounting and competition for deposit funding are squeezing lenders.

“On the positive side, not many on our roundtable viewed commission reductions as being a dominant feature in 2013. It might just be greater controls around quality and submission volumes and so forth.”

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2013 ■ Tighter competition between majors ■ Slower loan growth ■ Greater emphasis on cross-selling ■ Focus on creating greater efficiencies ■ Ramping up channel innovation through digital delivery ■ U se of data to create more accurate decisions around customer needs ■ Stable property prices ■ Lower consumer confidence ■ Borrowers looking to de-leverage debt

AD

■ Major lenders’ risk profile to remain unchanged ■ M ajors to offer more competitive pricing through subsidiary brands ■ O pportunity for smaller banks and non-banks to leverage risk appetite for ‘near prime’ borrowers ■ Mutuals will struggle to remain competitive

According to the roundtable, a boost to broker incomes in the coming years won’t be built on the back of commission increases: instead, successful brokers will be those who have improved their ability to cross-sell, focus on customer needs and leverage off that in their business.

The other key theme that will emerge, Hickey says, is successful brokers learning how to leverage their back book of customers far more effectively – through regular ongoing relationship campaigns with customers, focused retention efforts on higher risk customers, identifying which customer segments they’ve got and recognising the needs of those customers. “If you like, actively farming the back book they’ve got, rather than treating it as a passive trail commission stream,” Hickey says.

One thing for brokers to understand is there is no longer just a choice between branch and broker, indicates the Deloitte report. More innovative online technology is starting to come through, but whether that is going to be a channel in its own right, such as digital, or whether it’s going to be more of an enabler to support broker groups, is still unclear. According to Hickey,

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FEATURE / THE YEAR AHEAD

Rise of competition Major banks are expected to continue to dominate the mortgage market in the coming months, but the door is open for increased competition from non-bank lenders and smaller players.

A slight level of improvement in the securitisation markets over the last six months has buoyed non-majors, but according to James Hickey, partner, Financial Services Deloitte, it’s still a reasonably delicate balancing act between funding markets being open and at a price that’s actually giving economic return for non-bank lenders.

“Certain non-bank lenders that have an expertise and a credit risk appetite further down the spectrum may have some opportunities to focus more on near prime borrowers, or customer segments where the major banks probably wouldn’t more readily play in. This would move them into areas where the major banks aren’t competing as aggressively but it does bring with it increased risk, and that’s a dynamic they have to be happy with.”

Given upcoming Basel III requirements and the need to protect and reinforce their AA credit rating, major banks aren’t expected to make too many changes to their lending criteria going forward.

Mutuals will face difficulties being competitive in the mortgage space and there is the possibility of a Parliamentary Inquiry to reset the balance between stability and competition. According to Deloitte Access Economics Partner Professor Ian Harper: “Mutuals, including credit unions and building societies, have struggled to remain competitive as markets raise their wholesale funding costs relative to larger institutions perceived as more stable.

“Because we are a capital importing country we have been obliged to sign up to a number of regulatory changes beyond those our own regulators had put in place. These new regulatory interventions will reduce the capacity of lenders to lend to small business, and to housing and rural customers.”

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forward-looking broker groups and brokers are looking at how to integrate the digital into their offerings.

“Brokers need to recognise when the landscape is changing and how to adapt your business model to address that. In particular the use of online, digital, automation and so forth. Certainly the larger broker groups will need to address that, much like lenders are, over the coming year or two.”

The emphasis on customer retention, leveraging opportunities in the back book and the integration of technology, mirrors the strategy experts described banks would be focusing on in 2013.

“Leveraging existing portfolios – the back book – is the least expensive and most successful approach to maintaining residential mortgage market share and earnings… more so than competing aggressively for new customers,” explains Hickey.

“Differentiation in this market will be defined by how the lenders balance their market share and earnings growth. For most lenders the mortgage portfolio is the largest engine in their business and creates the most enduring customer relationship for the bank,” he said.

“So driving efficiencies across end-to-end mortgage operations, and ramping up channel innovation through digital delivery to meet growing customer needs, will be increasingly important in 2013 if lenders are to maximise the potential of their mortgage portfolios and deliver the value to the broader organisation.”

Deloitte national banking leader Rick Porter points out that: “Using data to create better and more accurate decisions to meet customer needs, and matching that customer centricity with end-to-end operational excellence, is in our experience, the most likely way to succeed.”

HOUSING MARKET Despite a combination of interest rate reductions and stronger personal balance sheets, the roundtable predicted flat property prices and poor consumer confidence would likely sideline many borrowers in 2013. Refinancing activity, however, is expected to still play a big part in brokers’ businesses going forward.

“It certainly was a big thing for brokers 12 months ago when discounts were very heavy and I still think the refinancing market will remain at the current elevated levels,” Hickey says. “A few reasons for that is consumers will continue to deleverage, and that’s a key trend that’s happening across the marketplace. But with that comes an increasing awareness of the cost of that debt which households have and obviously the households seeking price and certainly the perception of a good price from lenders which will keep

refinancing activity bubbling along. And secondly, many borrowers aren’t quite yet ready to take the next step and buy that property that is the next step up the property ladder for them. They’re still seeking to keep their current property but optimise their financing on that. So again that speaks to refinancing. So with whatever limited growth there is in the market, certainly refinancing will continue to make up a reasonable share in that and current levels will continue in 2013.”

A return of the investor market was also identified by the roundtable as being an important trend in 2013.

“Once property yields start to, or continue to, improve then investors will return to the market as they realise they can actually tap into banks and do the investment loans and if they get confidence in the property market itself for capital stability then they will actually return to the market which is an important trend which will start to emerge,” Hickey says.

Meanwhile, in the absence of there being any further stimulus or changes to the first home owner grant, the first home buyers market will probably remain status quo. The Deloitte roundtable did discuss that if a parliamentary enquiry should be held into the banking

“With whatever limited growth there is in the market, refinancing will continue to make up a reasonable share in that –JAMES HICKEY, DELOITTE

sector, one of the key issues to be examined should be first homebuyer affordability.

“It’s still an ongoing challenge in the marketplace, especially when there is a fundamental mismatch between demand and supply of housing stock,” Hickey says.

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FEATURE / CROSS-SELLING

CROSSSELLING: IS IT FOR YOU? When the nation’s top broker challenges the merits of diversification, it begs the question: is cross-selling all it’s cracked up to be?

T

he Australian Lending and Investment Centre’s Mark Davis is no stranger to success. The 2012 winner of the Australian Broker of the Year Award has taken the number one spot on MPA’s Top 100 list two years in a row, settling more than $169m in 2011/12. While his goal is to hit a billion dollars in funds under management by 2016, he says diversification is not part of the business’ growth strategy.

“I believe in specialisation,” he says. “Cross-selling dilutes you as a business. I think there are very few good brokers in Australia

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FEATURE / CROSS-SELLING

“Cross-selling dilutes you as a business”

– MARK DAVIS, THE AUSTRALIAN LENDING AND INVESTMENT CENTRE

and that’s because too many try to be a jack-of-alltrades. They lose focus, and they lose focus on the client and on the lending structures, and what they are there to do.”

Davis works with high-net-worth investment clients who are looking to implement lending structures that support their investment portfolio. He doesn’t call himself a “broker”, preferring the term “investment lending manager”, and says he doesn’t sell loans.

“A loan is the end result of where you need to go.

We’re looking after investment clients, so we’re talking to them differently. We don’t even talk about rates when customers come to see us.”

Case Study Peter Gwynne, Financing Property The best thing Financing Property’s Peter Gwynne did for his business in 2012 was drop his diversification strategy.

Although qualified as a financial planner, Gwynne decided to focus solely on finance last year after finding the compliance and knowledge required to do both successfully to be too onerous.

“It set me backwards for two years I reckon. I was number 76 on the MPA Top 100 in 2012 and I reckon I can get to the top 30 this year and that’s because I’m just concentrating on being a finance broker.”

According to Gwynne, finance is a much more specialised field now.

“If you want to be good at it you’ve got to be studying finance. I look at policy just about every night. I look at different lenders and everything that’s happening in the industry every day. To try and diversify and do a number of things – I don’t think you can do it. I think if you want to be a good finance broker that’s what you’ve got to be.”

Financing Property specialises on investment clients and wealth creation, an area Gwynne finds “exciting”.

“And the other thing is I love doing the finance – I have no interest in doing anything else. And I find insurance is such a negative world.”

The other bullet to his cross-selling strategy was customer reaction.

Gwynne says he found most didn’t want to be offered other products and cross-selling risked a negative reaction not only from clients, but also his referral partners.

“Clients don’t want you to sell them insurance and neither do my referral sources. They don’t want me cross-selling stuff and putting in to other companies where they may lose them.”

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His clients come to see him because they value his expertise, which he says has nothing to do with getting them the cheapest rate. Likewise, he believes they stick with him because they know he’s not trying to flog a bunch of products to them.

“I don’t market or advertise, I want clients to walk in my door and know that I’m here to look after them. So if I can put that across and they know that I’m not going to sell them anything, then most of my clients will stay with me.”

If he wanted to make more money, Davis says he could double his revenue by bringing in a buyer’s advocate and a financial planner, but that won’t make The Australian Lending and Investment Centre a better business.

“I didn’t go into business to make the most money. If you’re making the most money from your clients every time, are you also doing the right thing by them?

“The business gives a thousand referrals to other parties, but that’s all I want it to be – a referral. I don’t want it to be a payment – I don’t want it to be a motive.

If you’re good at what you do, you’re going to earn enough money. If you do the right thing you’ll get paid enough money.”

Davis admits, though, that his model and focus on specialisation isn’t for all brokers.

“Cross-selling is required for a lot of brokers who only write average numbers. But if you’re going to be good, you’ve got to back yourself.”

THE OTHER SIDE Survey results from the Commonwealth Bank and the MFAA Home Finance Index, which were released in September 2012, revealed that only half of the 1,423 survey respondents were offered home loan protection (53%), home contents and building insurance (48%), and life insurance (31%) when they took out a loan.

Of those offered insurance, 34% took up home protection insurance when it was offered.

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FEATURE / CROSS-SELLING

How to cross-sell more effectively

1|

Look for a good match

Brokers who are successful at cross-selling focus on products that fit with their current offering. As MFAA research shows, mortgage protection insurance is closely aligned with residential mortgage and take-up of home protection insurance is significant.

2|

Bone up

If you’re going to be effective at cross-selling, you have to have the knowledge and confidence to back-up your sales pitch.

3|

Pare down

Offering clients everything under the sun will likely overwhelm them. Focus your offering on a few products and stick to your core capabilities.

4|

Time it well

Research indicates the best time to sell additional or complementary products is during the first three months of your relationship with a customer. Timing

“The survey shows that mortgage brokers continue to enjoy a huge opportunity in cross-selling insurance products, with both young and mature borrowers showing they are open to opportunities to protect themselves,” said Phil Naylor, chief executive officer of the MFAA, at the time of the report.

But if cross-selling is such a “huge opportunity” why are more brokers not jumping on board?

Martin North of Digital Finance Analytics is a bit “sceptical” as to the potential power of cross-selling and says there are several issues affecting brokers’ willingness to engage in diversification.

“I think the first point is there’s a degree of complexity about getting across more products. So for example if you’re cross-selling a personal loan, a credit card or even insurance, there is a whole bunch of additional things you need to know and some of them of course, such as the credit card sales process, are regulated.”

North also indicates cross-selling to clients who are in the process of setting up a mortgage and moving house is often bad timing.

“From my research, consumers don’t tend to necessarily think about credit cards or personal loans at the same time as their mortgage – the only exception to that is insurance. But I don’t think home insurance

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follow-up conversations to occur during this window could improve your chances for success.

5|

Don’t be greedy

Customers don’t want to feel like they have a dollar sign on their heads. Take care of your customers and the money will take care of itself.

6|

Refer

If you’re not comfortable or familiar with offering insurance products, have the “are you covered” conversation with clients but align with providers who do the rest.

7|

Target

Not all homeowners are interested in auto insurance.

Make sure your customer is a good fit for additional products and services or you might risk losing them. As well, time wasted going through products a customer doesn’t want or need is taking away time from what you are best at – home loans.

is one of those products that is very central to where the brokers play at the moment.”

And lastly, North indicates that cross-selling products generally isn’t lucrative enough to entice brokers.

“The commission payments that are made for other products are a lot lower. So in fact you spend a lot of time trying to cross-sell a product to get a very small reward for it, rather than spending your time selling another home loan. So I’m not sure the economics back up that well either.”

A BETTER WAY? North isn’t anti-diversification, but he does advise brokers looking to improve their cross-selling opportunities to tailor their approach to target segments of their customer base.

“You’ve got to have a customer who is ready to be cross-sold to. If basically all you do is every time you have a conversation you try and sell six products it’s never going to work. It’s like throwing mud at a wall – it will just slide down to the floor. So you need to be much more meticulous in spotting the opportunities and working the specific lead at the right time, which might not be when the customer is settling their home loan.”

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HEAD TO HEAD / CLIVE KIRKPATRICK

TAKING IT ALL

ON BOA St.George has set itself the audacious goal of halving turnaround times.

Clive Kirkpatrick tells MPA how he’s driving the bank’s service revolution

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HEAD TO HEAD / CLIVE KIRKPATRICK

S ARD

St.George took a bit of a pummelling in last year’s Brokers on Banks survey, ranking last overall – brokers complained about turnaround times and service levels.

But the bank’s general manager of mortgage broking, Clive Kirkpatrick, responded in a way atypical of many banks. He owned the criticism. Kirkpatrick forthrightly took on board brokers’ concerns, and set out practical steps St.George would take to rectify some of the problems. Kirkpatrick has put the pieces in place to lift the bank’s service game, and has also made the vow to see St.George’s turnaround times cut in half.

MPA: St.George has made some major improvements in regard to turnaround times in the last six months or so. Can you walk me through some of those?

Clive Kirkpatrick: Firstly, we put on 80 people across all parts of the business on top of the 400 that were already there, so that’s a 20% uplift in personnel. We’re now staffed to handle the volumes that come through on a daily basis. That was the key driver in improving our turnaround times. We also did work with our Flame Brokers to change some of the ways they deal with us, so we introduced a new process that would take a Flame deal from pre-approval to settlement and postsettlement. What that means is up to each appropriate stage they have access to the credit officer, and also all the documentation comes straight to them in an email.

The documents come back from the clients in coloured

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HEAD TO HEAD / CLIVE KIRKPATRICK

us and what they think of us. Another benefit has been in reduced reworks. If we get everything we need from the customer, that decreases their waiting time and gives them a better experience with the broker. They can get off the market quicker and get into their investment property or house quicker.

MPA: It seems like technology innovation has really been one of the driving forces for St.George over the past year. What are some of the improvements you’ve seen in that area?

CK: As you know, we were first to market with a broker iPad app. That’s been brilliant, and the brokers who use it reckon it’s one of the best they’ve ever seen. We’re following that up with an iPhone app to see deals through, and some other technology developments that will use the tablet as the core rather than the desktop or laptop. Mobile technology is changing the way we interact, and this year you’re going to see some pretty special stuff come out from us.

MPA: What are some of the top priorities for St.George for 2013?

CK: We want to hit our numbers from a broker

“This year you’re going to see some pretty special [mobile technology] come out from us” envelopes so they get priority. We also put in a BDM support team which can now take a lot of the administrative tasks and follow-up and processing away from the BDM, so the BDM can spend more time helping brokers bring in quality deals.

MPA: What kinds of dividends are you starting to see from these improvements?

CK: The immediate benefit is the improvement in our broker net promoter score. We survey brokers across all our segments every six months. In the last six months, we saw a lot of improvement in how brokers deal with

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perspective. We still have some way to go to improve our service, and we are continuously working with our partners to do that. This year our focus is just on getting our BDMs out there more by having our administrative team hit a stable platform of BDMs so brokers get to know them well. We’re also focusing on improving input quality, so we’ll be working with brokers and aggregators so they understand our requirements, because every bank is different. Also, our mobile platform will continue to be improved and rolled out.

MPA: What do you foresee for the market for 2013?

CK: It’s going to be interesting to see how the economy develops. I think it’s going to hold up pretty well. The key driver next year is going to be employment. If everyone is comfortable with their job security, we’ll see an uplift in consumer confidence. I was listening to a presentation from Westpac’s chief economist, Bill Evans, and he believes as the mining industry slows down, we’re going to see some of that investment going into housing. He’s seeing in 2014 better credit growth than this year.

MOTIVATION / PLANNING AHEAD

Beat the post

silly season slump January’s over and done with, and Christmas and New Year’s feel like distant memories. Now’s the time to re-energise yourself by planning to do something different in 2013 – which means doing things differently.

Get into the groove this year with these four top tips

01|

Get excited and plan your holidays! First things

first, plan as many days off as you can!

John and Heather take great joy in planning out their days off for the entire year. They say if they plan it then it will probably happen. If they don’t then it probably won’t. They spend their frequent flyer points on airfares to see John’s parents in Queensland twice each year, they book a longer holiday to coincide with a conference or seminar, and they always do the Elvis Festival in Parkes. You can be ambitious and book in four weeks of holidays, or just a few weekends away.

It can be a stay-at-home vacation, a cruise or a house swap. Of course you can still add spontaneous getaways through the year.

02|

Make a routine of something you love

Cindy Tonkin is Australia’s Office Politics Expert: you don’t need to play, but you do need to know the rules. Find out more at www. politicalacumen. com.au.

Choose one thing you already love to do and plan to do it more regularly.

Dane meets his mates every Thursday for drinks. Amanda sees a movie once a month. Sue goes to yoga. Gary makes paper sculptures. Linda writes her novel. If you do more of what you love, then there’s little time left for the other stuff.

03|

Drop some bad thinking

A few years ago I finally stopped feeling guilty about not watching the nightly news. I keep up

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to date in other ways. It wasn’t the habit that was bad: it was how I felt about it. It stole energy I could use elsewhere. Maybe you have some bad thinking you could drop: anxiety about clients; guilt about your messy spare bedroom; anger about a dumb decision. If you don’t want to change it (or can’t), then stop feeling bad about it. It’s your choice how you respond. Worrying, feeling guilty or getting angry won’t change the outcome.

04|

Smell the roses, check out the decor Research

shows that just being in nature (such as walking through a park, by a river, on the beach) gives you more brain energy. You solve problems more quickly with less effort. So take lunch and smell the roses. Failing that, just looking at a natural environment (out the window, in a photograph or on screen for example) has a similar effect. If your office doesn’t afford a view, find an inspiring video online or a poster to put by your desk. Make a habit of paying attention to it for five minutes each day. Make it a routine if you like.

You’ll be glad you did!

NEWS / ROUND-UP

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SPECIAL REPORT / WOMEN IN BROKING

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MPA SPOTLIGHTS SOME OF MORTGAGE BROKING’S GREATEST ACHIEVERS

INBROKING

ELITE W MEN

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SPECIAL REPORT / WOMEN IN BROKING

Elite Women in Broking 2013 Kathy Cummings ...

I have always been a strong advocate of female brokers and I am proud to share with you the ‘Elite Women in Broking 2013’.

The mortgage broking industry offers a level of flexibility that few others can. A flexibility which can suit the lifestyle of women, particularly mothers. Many brokers can choose the hours and location of their work and are free to balance the needs of their clients with their own. The industry offers a successful and rewarding career, a fulfilling personal life and a commitment to family.

Many women have the ideal qualities for mortgage broking.

They tend to excel at networking and they have an innate intuition to fulfil the needs of their customers. Successful brokers are also using customer relationship management platforms that ensure they follow up, after the initial sale, with the subsequent nurturing of the relationship.

Commonwealth Bank is proud to sponsor ‘Elite Women in Broking 2013’ and we hope that the highly respected and successful female brokers who are featured here will inspire many female brokers to greater success and encourage more women into the industry.

Remember, customers may not remember exactly what you did or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Kathy Cummings Executive General Manager, Third Party and Mobile Banking

T

he prominence of women in the mortgage broking industry is nothing new. Broking has long been blessed with a number of high profile, influential female brokers. But while women may have been consistently achieving for a number of years, what has changed is the recognition they receive. There has been a recent groundswell of appreciation for the role women play in the industry, the unique talents they bring to the profession and the vital function many women are performing in guiding and mentoring new talent. With this in mind, MPA presents its inaugural Who’s Who of Women in Broking.

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“I’m living proof that you can have it all, and it doesn’t have to be to the detriment of families, partners or spouses” – KATRINA ROWLANDS

Name: Susanne Massingham Company: Shire First Mortgages Location: Gymea, NSW

Name: Katrina Rowlands Company: Mortgage Success Location: Wollongong, NSW Katrina Rowlands is most certainly a household name in mortgage broking. She’s managed to be in top 12 of the MPA Top 100 list every year since its inception. But even as a veteran who entered the industry in 1997, Rowlands says she’s encouraged by the quality of new women entering the industry.

“I’ve really enjoyed seeing the dedication and enthusiasm of newcomers into the industry. I love that fact that the women I’ve mentored see strength of relationship as so important.”

This mentoring is one of the factors that has set Rowlands apart in the industry. She has been a vocal advocate of women in mortgage broking, and helps newcomers learn the ropes.

“I enjoy that I can show them the path, and although it’s not easy, tell them that this is where it leads. I’m living proof that you can have it all, and it doesn’t have to be to the detriment of families, partners or spouses,” Rowlands says.

Moreover, the time she’s spent mentoring aspirant brokers has paid not just emotional dividends, but business dividends as well.

“New minds in the industry bring about new solutions we may not have thought of, because we’ve always done things a certain way. I like to think I’ve been dynamic enough to lead from the front, but also learn from everyone around me. I think the challenging of ideas is great, and that’s what’s coming through.”

Susanne Massingham’s goal isn’t to get her clients a mortgage; it’s to see them pay it off.

Massingham, who’s been a mortgage broker since 1999, says her business focuses heavily on helping clients achieve financial wellbeing.

“Most of the loans we set up now, we set up in such a way as to teach the customer how to pay down their mortgage. We usually set a two or three-year goal and follow up with them. A lot of brokers would just ask if they want to pay it monthly or fortnightly, but we actually put a structure in place for them to pay it down,” she says.

This structure includes some extremely hands-on aftercare, Massingham says.

“We set them a two-year goal, and after two years we reassess it and set a new goal. We bring them in to see if they’re on track, and if they’re not on track slap them over the wrists and keep them on track.”

Massingham says this focus gets to the heart of what clients really want out of a broker.

“People are coming because they want a home, or a lifestyle or a future goal to create wealth or buy an investment property. They don’t want a mortgage.”

Massingham also believes that, as a woman, she’s well-suited to providing this kind of client care.

“Traditionally women have been drawn to professions which are nurturing and caring, and I think a good mortgage broker has exactly those qualities.”

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SPECIAL REPORT / WOMEN IN BROKING

Name: Esther Porter Company: BROAD Finance Location: East Victoria Park, WA

Name: Bianca Long Company: Mortgage Choice Location: Glenwood, NSW At first blush, the entertainment industry may not seem to have much in common with mortgage broking. But Bianca Long found the transition surprisingly natural when she left her job as a talent agent to enter the finance industry five years ago.

“I was dealing with actors, singers, dancers; that sort. I’d been there about seven years and sort of hit the point where there was no room for movement. Then someone suggested I look at mortgage broking.”

Strangely, Long says the skills she gained as a talent agent transferred to dealing with clients looking for a home loan.

“It’s the same sort of role. Being a talent agent, the whole focus is on clients looking for work, so all clients do now is come to me looking for a home loan instead,” she says.

Though Long has now spent a few years in the industry, she says 2012 was the year she began to come into her own.

“The biggest change was really my attitude. I went from $1.5m a month on a good month to $4.5m a month.”

This attitude change also saw Long win the Mortgage Choice CEO/GM Award and the Franchising Council of Australia’s Excellence in Franchising Award for NSW and ACT. But Long says she most values the relationships she’s built with her clients.

“I probably have more friendships that I’ve established through being a mortgage broker than I do externally,” she says.

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For Esther Porter, being an entrepreneur was old hat by the time she came into the mortgage broking industry in 2000. Porter had already run her own business in the earth moving industry in Queensland and Sydney. Not only did the experience help her navigate the difficulties of self-employment, it helped her understand her WA clients.

“That actually gave me my entry into finance broking. I do plant and equipment finance along with mortgages. Not a lot of people were doing that in WA when I started.”

Porter says her business handles an even number of mortgages and equipment and vehicle finance deals, and that WA has been a prime spot.

“It’s not all mining, but obviously mining is substantial. But we do all types of industries. It’s not just trucks and plant equipment. We’ll do helicopters. We’ll do anything from your 18-yearold’s first car to an entire fleet,” she says.

Porter says her knowledge of business’ vehicle and equipment needs has helped her business grow with her clients’ businesses.

“You need to have knowledge. You can’t work in this area without knowledge. You need to know what you’re doing both in understanding their business and its goals and understanding their needs.”

Name: Effie Nicol Company: Yellow Brick Road Location: Earlwood, NSW From first entering mortgage broking less than 12 months ago, Effie Nicol has managed to build from a zero base to a consistent $2m a month in settlements. One of the keys to her quick success, Nicol says, is building referral relationships with like-minded female entrepreneurs.

“It’s a bit of a boys club out there, and this gave me the opportunity to run my own business and deal with other women in business as well.

I deal with solicitors and accountants, and they’re all females. We set up referral arrangements where we know they’re looking after our clients and they know we’re looking after theirs,” she says.

Nicol is an ardent supporter of women in business, and says she’s coordinated events with other female entrepreneurs in her area.

“We did some shopping centre promos together. It’s all about doing a joint venture and helping each other out,” Nicol says.

Community engagement has also been key to her success, Nicol says.

Part of this is supporting A Start in Life, a charity providing educational assistance to disadvantaged youth.

“Clients want to buy you flowers to say thank you. We ask them to support charity instead. That’s giving back to the community.”

Name: Bulelwa Freer Company: African Elegance Location: Newport Beach, NSW Bulelwa Freer doesn’t see mortgage broking as a business of selling loans.

She believes it’s better regarded as a platform for clients to create wealth.

“I realised after analysing the wealthiest people in the world, that no matter how people acquire their wealth, whether it be mining or in IT or something else, you’ll find that amongst their holdings the thing that underpins their wealth is somehow involved with property,” she says.

With this in mind, Freer says she tries to view every client interaction with the end goal of building financial prosperity.

“It’s always been my focus to set up a good structure for the client, so when they finish buying their home – even if they’re an owneroccupier – I’m always thinking about if the structure is good enough to help them build equity and eventually invest in property. I don’t ever see the loan as the single endgame.”

Freer is passionate about helping clients achieve financial security.

So passionate, in fact, that she’s written a book on the subject, Romancing Your Money. Freer says her goal is to help her clients have a better relationship with their assets.

“I think we could do much better in terms of making people’s relationship with money easier.”

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SPECIAL REPORT / WOMEN IN BROKING

Name: Rose De Rossi Company: Diversifi Location: North Perth, WA

Name: Vivian Wang Company: V Money Location: Box Hill, VIC When Vivian Wang came to Australia from China, it was because she wanted a career change. She had received a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, but decided to take on her Masters in Finance when she arrived.

“In the town where I was a student, I was doing a part-time job working for a mortgage company in an administrative role. I was doing support work and processing deals. It helped to build a solid background of knowledge,” Wang says.

Despite her choice to leave engineering for broking, Wang says she doesn’t regret her original course of study.

“I think it was good background knowledge. The finance industry and the building industry are still related.

But I think I have more passion for finance, and mortgage broking is a really great career for that.”

Wang’s background has also helped her connect with her client base, as well as bring on some valuable referral partners.

“I was recently introduced to a property development business, and they have a finance arm under their group.

The person who was running the business decided to quit, and my aggregator introduced me because they were looking for someone bilingual and very experienced with investors,” she says.

Wang, who speaks Mandarin, says this has been key in building a client base.

“My clients have become very diverse, and a lot of overseas investors play a very important role. They require someone who understands the cultural differences and can communicate in their own language.”

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Diversification is the hot topic among brokers at the moment, but Diversifi director Rose De Rossi has taken the concept to new heights.

“At the moment we obviously do what other brokers do with insurance and financial planning, but we also have started Diversifi Digital which can offer telecom services to clients who want to save money on their telephone or broadband bills,” she says.

In addition to this, De Rossi says she’s taken a course on becoming a buyers’ agent, and is currently trying to navigate WA regulations to bring this service into her business as well.

“It hasn’t officially launched, but it’s in the process of being done,” De Rossi says.

De Rossi also has plans to one day delve even deeper into helping her clients manage their financial future.

“We’re looking into the future where hopefully one day – using the same branding – we can help our clients save money on their power bills as well.”

It’s a broader view of diversification than many brokers take, and De Rossi sees it as a way to truly offer holistic financial solutions to her clients. And in addition to pioneering new arenas of financial services, De Rossi has stepped up to help lead other brokers as the MFAA’s WA vice president. It’s a move she says shows that women are increasingly willing to “be heard and seen” in the mortgage broking industry.

“A few years ago, I wouldn’t have even considered going out of my comfort zone like that.”

Name: Rebecca Hughes Company: Gr8 Numb3rs Location: Fullarton, SA

Name: Pei Chen Company: Aussie Home Loans Location: Rhodes, NSW When Pei Chen sits down with a client, she’s able to share a depth of experience that belies her short two-and-a-half years as a mortgage broker. That’s because Chen came into the industry with extensive experience in finance and property.

Chen initially entered mortgage broking because of an interest in real estate.

“Before I joined Aussie I had been doing some property development myself. I thought to expand the business and incorporate all the knowledge and skills I had, so I thought mortgages were a good choice.”

But property wasn’t Chen’s only relevant background. She’s also a CPA, and has experience in financial planning.

“I cannot give customers advice, but I can give them the facts and solve all the problems they have. When the customer is sitting in front of me, I can look at what kind of structure is best suited for them,” she says.

While Chen doesn’t practise as an accountant, she says it adds to her skill set and gives her customers confidence in her abilities.

“I’m still a CPA and keep my accreditation, because mortgage broking is tied so closely to accounting. We still need to keep up with the financial side and the taxation side.”

Chen finds that many of her clients are younger buyers, and that her background helps put first time buyers at ease with the mortgage process.

“Then they don’t need to worry. At every step they can be reminded what needs to be done.”

Some brokers choose to diversify outside of residential broking to take on commercial deals. For Rebecca Hughes, the process was just the opposite.

“My background was as a business relationship manager at ANZ, so I’d been doing that within banks for about 10 years. I actually went straight from school to working in a branch, and then I did commercial lending,” she says.

As a commercial broker, Hughes says a market slowdown convinced her to look at diversifying into residential deals.

“I decided that with every business transaction there’s a residential transaction as well, so I might as well do residential. I think it’s quite natural because I think those two gel together.”

As a solo operator, Hughes says her job can require an extreme level of attention to detail.

“You have to be quite focused on administration and being organised, and your time management needs to be very good,” she says.

Regardless of the challenges, Hughes contends that her career in broking offers better opportunities than her previous career in banking.

“I can control where I want to take the business. Quite often in the mainstream finance world, I was limited as to where I could go.”

“[In broking] I can control where I want to take the business. Quite often in the mainstream finance world, I was limited as to where I could go” – REBECCA HUGHES

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SPECIAL REPORT / WOMEN IN BROKING

Name: Nancy Youssef Company: Classic Finance Group Location: Belfield, NSW

Name: Marie Belfliore Company: Mortgage Achievers Location: Melbourne, VIC Marie Belfliore has mentored several people in her 20 years as a mortgage broker, but for Belfliore, mentorship started at home.

“I’ve mentored my daughter who works with me.

She’s moved away a few times over the years and gone off to work for larger organisations, but she’s always come back.”

Belfliore’s daughter, Carmen, had a difficult time in school and left at 14. But when she did, it was under the condition that she come to work in the family business.

“Carmen runs my whole back office, and she’s very efficient. She’s now 31, and to think that she left school at 14 and to see her running it so well, probably managing 100 files and running our whole aftercare program, it’s so wonderful,” she says.

Belfliore’s aftercare program is a point of pride for her business. She says she has a high-touch model which ensures she remains in constant contact with clients.

“We had some clients in the office yesterday who had been with another broker. I asked if they had thought about going back to this broker and they said they hadn’t been contacted by him in three years. We touch our clients with emails every month, with a magazine every three months, with competitions we run for them as well as with an annual review.”

And Belfliore says this kind of high-touch aftercare has yielded tangible benefits for her clients.

“All of our database is segmented, so when CBA recently increased their low-doc rate we ran a scan on our database and were able to ring all of our CBA low-doc customers. It’s not about just setting up a loan.

It’s a lifetime of looking after the customer.”

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By providing Cert IV and Diploma training to new brokers entering the industry, it could seem that Nancy Youssef of Classic Finance Group is training up her own competition. As Youssef sees it, though, there’s more than enough opportunity to go around.

“I don’t see it as competition. We’re an industry that still has huge opportunities, and working with new entrants is a great way to see new, fresh talent coming through,” she says.

Not only has Youssef been active as a mortgage broker since 2003, she also mentors and provides training to people looking to enter mortgage broking.

She says the role gives her enormous satisfaction, and, as a by-product, helps her clients as well.

“I guess where that helps my clients is having the training background. It’s not just about transactions.

It’s about training my clients as well. And my clients benefit because I’m always keeping up to date with industry changes and new products,” Youssef says.

Youssef has seen a number of women enter the industry, and says mortgage broking holds a special appeal for female entrants.

“Being a mortgage broker, there’s no glass ceiling.

The sky’s the limit, and you can achieve as much as you’d like. You can work as long as you like and as hard as you want, and if people are happy with your service they’re going to refer to you and your business is going to grow.”

Name: Leeanne Scott Company: Mortgage Choice Location: North Sydney, NSW

Name: Jo Attard Company: Jo Attard & Co Finance and Property Advisors Location: Moonee Ponds, VIC When Jo Attard entered mortgage broking in 2001 after working for a bank, the thought of finding herself without a safety net was alarming. “It was really hard.

When I worked for a bank I had marketing, I had support personnel. When I went out on my own there was nobody. If something went wrong with my computer I just had to fix it.”

Moreover, Attard stepped into what was – at the time – a male-dominated industry. “It was predominantly a man’s world out there. Every event I went to and every function I attended was malefocused,” she says.

But Attard found success, and she says this success came from taking a holistic view of her clients’ needs.

“They think they’re coming in for a loan, but they’re really getting a big financial overview. We don’t even look at product until the very, very end.”

This in-depth analysis means Attard has built up a huge amount of trust with her clients, she says.

Attard says she ultimately sees her role as that of a mortgage adviser, regardless of what job titles may be applied to the industry.

“I hate that word ‘broker’. We’re there to provide advice in those areas we can, and refer when we can’t,” Attard says.

When Mortgage Choice finally launched its longmooted financial planning venture last year, long-time broker Leeanne Scott jumped at the opportunity. Scott, a broker for the past 15 years, said it made sense to bring new revenue potential into her business. She was the first franchisee in the Mortgage Choice network to sign up for one of the financial planning businesses.

“My husband and I both work in the business, and I think we wanted more strength in more baskets. We’d been looking at financial planning for quite some time and had been referring our clients to a financial planner, so it seemed like a natural fit to make the transition,” she says.

Rather than try to gain expertise in financial planning, the move will see a financial planner come on as a partner in Scott’s business.

“You need to stick to your knitting. Stick to the core of what you’re really good at. People who want to go into financial planning can’t do it all because you can’t be all things to all people. Our decision was really about having the trust to refer clients to a trusted brand, and that we would know the person understood the ethos.”

This trust is something Scott tries to engender in all her customers, and she feels she’s in a unique position as a woman when communicating with clients.

“In many relationships, women actually make the decisions. If I can relate to them better then I’m more likely to get them to make a decision, because the woman is going to end up doing it anyway!”

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SPECIAL REPORT / WOMEN IN BROKING

Name: Lindy Kelly Company: Loan Market Location: Sunshine Coast

Name: Novina Waddell Company: Club Financial Services Location: Southport, QLD Novina Waddell already had banking experience when she moved to Queensland from New Zealand. She had worked as a lending consultant and was second in charge of her local branch. But the financial services job market was a difficult one to crack in Australia.

“When I moved over from New Zealand three years ago, I wanted to get back into banking but I found it very hard,” she says.

When she met Ray Dib, principal of Club Financial Services in Southport, he took her on as a personal assistant and loan processor, but her job wasn’t just administration.

“Basically, Ray would meet with the client initially, and then I would take over from there. I would move the file from the initial application through to settlement. I would do all the followups and make sure everything was running smoothly and get the loan to settlement as soon as possible,” Waddell says.

Her ability to build rapport with clients saw Waddell move into mortgage broking in her own right, receiving her Cert IV in 2011 and becoming an accredited broker in May of 2012.

Waddell says her business’ focus on investors means she has to have a sophisticated understanding of their financial needs, and provide more than a merely transactional service.

“We structure their whole portfolio to make sure it’s running smoothly, and to keep the accountant happy as well. We’re always keeping our clients informed,” she says.

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While Lindy Kelly’s background may be in business consulting, she says mortgage broking was a natural switch.

Kelly became a broker in 2005 after moving to the Sunshine Coast, and said she was drawn to the diversity in mortgage broking after a friend recommended she give the career a look.

“When I first came to the Sunshine Coast, I was introduced to someone who gave me a role, but I just needed something more diverse. I liked having the diversity of the different scenarios and every bank having different loans and features,” she says.

Her background in business and accounting consultation has also helped lead her to success, she says.

“I’ve been able to develop over time a very strong professional environment that is really a consultative process. There’s the whole consultative process of giving clients the best possible resolution they can achieve. It’s just now, as opposed to consulting in software and business processes, I’m consulting in lending and lending requirements.”

Kelly says this in-depth consultation with a focus on looking after a client’s financial wellbeing has also led to stickier customers.

“It’s really important from our business’ perspective to make sure people are borrowing in a manageable way. I’ve got lots of clients I’ve been seeing for six years.”

“I liked having the diversity of the different scenarios and every bank having different loans and features” – LINDY KELLY

Name: Rochelle Hall Company: Aussie Home Loans Location: Strathpine, QLD

Name: Pam Sullivan Company: All Finance Services Location: Wangara, WA Pam Sullivan believes young brokers who want to ensure their viability ought to be looking at equipment finance. Sullivan has the experience to know. She’s been an equipment finance broker since 1997, and was PLAN Australia’s first broker in WA. Before that, she worked for vehicle and equipment lender Esanda. Though Sullivan runs a team of mortgage brokers, her specialty and her passion remains with helping businesses grow.

“I had clients at Esanda that I’ve now done loans for their children. My first client when I opened my business, I watched him grow from a single truck to a mega business which sold for millions of dollars a couple years ago,” she says.

Sullivan also helps PLAN run its equipment finance referral program, which it launched in 2011, and was the first MFAA director for business and equipment finance, helping to establish the sector for the association. It’s a sector she only foresees growing.

“If a young person is looking to go into something in broking now, they’d be better off looking to at least diversify into equipment finance. There’s going to be a chronic shortage of brokers in the area, and there’s just not enough young people to take up the slack,” Sullivan says.

The sector can also pay attractive financial dividends to young brokers, she says.

“The cashflow is much quicker. We do a deal and we get paid. We can do a deal in a matter of days, and lenders pay as soon as it’s settled.”

Rochelle Hall believes so firmly in what she does, she had the Aussie logo tattooed on herself. That may be because mortgage broking provided Hall with a career and a passion when she was at a crossroads in life.

“I was an at-home mum prior to getting into mortgage broking. I was basically in a position where my marriage was over and I needed to get back into the workforce. I wanted to move into something where I was able to determine my income based on the work that I put in,” she says.

Her passion for the job saw Hall find success right out of the gate, settling 14 loans in only her second month as a broker. Hall has also transferred this passion to others, recently completing a course to become and MFAA certified mentor. And though she only recently formalised her role as a mentor, Hall says she has always tried to guide new people entering the industry.

“When we have new people come into the industry, Aussie management sort of assigns them to me. I guide them through everything from how to build a successful business all the way to scenarios and credit policy.”

She says her ultimate desire is to see industry standards continue to improve, which she believes will result in more people choosing the career path that has been so valuable for her.

“If I were to ask a group of Year 12 students what they want to do when they leave school, none of them would say they want to be a mortgage broker. I would really love to see that as something that changes,” she says.

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 43

FEATURE / CHALLENGER AGGREGATORS

IS

44 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

BIGGER

ALWAYS

BETTER? Amid industry consolidation, boutique and challenger aggregators are still going strong

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 45

FEATURE / CHALLENGER AGGREGATORS

W

hen it comes to aggregation, there can be the perception that there are very few choices. A few big names dominate the sphere. Most provide great service and value to their members, but certain brokers may eschew the idea of aligning themselves with a large brand. For some brokers, bigger isn’t necessarily better.

For those who want more of a personal touch from their aggregation model, boutique and challenger aggregators may be the answer. Nimble, responsive and frequently innovative, challenger aggregation models have carved out a niche in the marketplace. And while some of their larger rivals talk of increased industry consolidation in the aggregation space, these boutiques say they’re here to stay.

A PERSONAL TOUCH Some brokers prefer their aggregator to melt into the background. They would rather their broker group remain both unseen and unheard, providing support when they need it and offering a diverse lending panel, but generally staying fairly uninvolved. Outsource Financial’s Tanya Sale says these are typically not the brokers who are drawn to the boutique proposition.

“There are brokers out there who don’t really want a relationship, and just want their aggregator to act as a clearing house. But some brokers want that relationship,

“I think there’s always going to be a market out there for boutique aggregators who have a certain number of brokers who they look after really well” – SIMON DEHNE, LOANKIT 46 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

even some of the bigger writers. We’ve got some big writers as members, and they love it,” Sale says.

Instead, Sale says Outsource takes an extremely personal approach with its membership.

“I think it really boils down to the relationship and what we can give to members. It’s been so important for our writers to have that relationship with us. When you’re in one of the big ones, you don’t always get down to the nitty gritty relational side of it. We sit down with our writers and ask what their needs are and what their challenges are, and we brainstorm how they can overcome those challenges,” she says.

This personal approach is not only crucial for the brokers drawn to boutique aggregators; it’s a must for the aggregators themselves. LoanKit’s Simon Dehne says relationship building is an inextricable part of the boutique proposition.

“We don’t have a zillion brokers, so we have to really look after the ones we’ve got. We work our butts off making sure they’re happy,” Dehne says.

Part and parcel of this kind of personal service is a responsiveness that can’t feasibly be delivered by some large aggregators. William Lockett is not only the managing director of Specialist Mortgage. He’s also the founder and owner. Lockett says part of the unique value of boutique and challenger aggregators is direct access to the management structure.

“Having the flexibility of being able to deal with the management or ownership structure and being able to deal with issues quickly is important for people in business. Problems get the urgent attention they should, and are dealt with accordingly,” Lockett says.

Lockett says he makes himself available to any of Specialist’s members, and is able to deal with issues quickly, as well as offer individual encouragement.

Dehne agrees, and says this kind of access is one of the key selling points of boutiques.

“I think that’s why boutique aggregators are so successful,” Dehne says. “If a broker has a problem, it gets to the top very quickly. We’re much more responsive.”

But Finsure’s John Kolenda says the relational aspect of boutique and challenger aggregators doesn’t have to change based upon size. He has made no secret of the fact that Finsure does not see itself as a boutique

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 47

FEATURE / CHALLENGER AGGREGATORS

“All our key personnel’s objective is to support brokers no matter how big or small they are” – JOHN KOLENDA, FINSURE

offering, but as a challenger brand that will one day rival the nation’s largest aggregators. Regardless of how large the business grows, though, Kolenda says the personal relationships will form Finsure’s cornerstone.

“We’re very customer oriented, and our customer in the relationship is the broker. That will always be a key feature of the way we operate. Those values underpin Finsure, and part of our offering is we see the value of relationship with brokers, and all our key personnel’s objective is to support brokers no matter how big or small they are,” he says.

Knowing members also offers smaller aggregators better perspective on those members’ individual needs, says Nathan Kerr, CEO of Australian Mortgage Brokers (AMB).

AMB, itself a boutique franchise proposition, aggregates through boutique broker group Astute Financial.

“What attracted me to Astute and what is attractive to brokers is the relationship. It’s really about a relationship for the life of the business. We’re very careful about what to bring to the model, and get to know our members really well and provide them a solid business plan,” Kerr says.

AMB head of operations for licensing and risk management Jason Bridgett echoes Kerr, saying the boutique nature of the business allows it to tailor solutions for its members.

“We’re not in the business of building our aggregation model. We’re in the business of making our members successful,” Bridgett says.

48 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

And making members successful makes good business sense for aggregators as well, Kerr says.

“If brokers don’t have good margins and aren’t growing, neither is the aggregator. I like to see us as more than an aggregator, though. I like to see us as someone helping these guys grow their business,” Kerr says.

BUILDING A BUSINESS Sale agrees with Kerr, and says Outsource focuses its resources on helping its members find success.

“We’ve had writers come to us that have been settling probably around $1m a month and just can’t get over that hurdle. They just don’t have the business skills to get out there and get it on their own. We’ll find them the referral partners they’d be well aligned with to make sure we get them up to $2m, $3m, $4m a month. We had one fellow who was settling $1m on a good month, and he’s now up to $10m a month,” Sale says.

Ballast’s Frank Paratore says his company takes a similar approach. He sees Ballast’s proposition as one that helps brokers develop their businesses on a very individual level.

“If I’m in town I will make it a point to catch up with our members for a drink or a coffee or dinner. But it’s not just about lunch or coffee or a muffin; it’s more of a business strategy session. I’ve pretty much got them on five-year plans. The fact that we don’t have thousands of brokers or planners means that the level of support we can provide is actually quite substantial and meaningful,” Paratore says.

In this regard, Dehne believes LoanKit has the added benefit of being owned by Mortgage Choice. While he says the aggregator remains a boutique proposition, Dehne says the resources of Mortgage Choice deliver dividends to LoanKit members.

“It’s been so important for our writers to have that relationship with us” – TANYA SALE, OUTSOURCE FINANCIAL

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 49

FEATURE / CHALLENGER AGGREGATORS

“The level of support we can provide is actually quite substantial and meaningful”

– FRANK PARATORE, BALLAST

“We get the benefit of having a large organisation funnelled through a boutique aggregator. We don’t have to spend money to hire consultants. That’s already been done by a large organisation, and I can cherry pick what I think will work for our members. A great example is compliance. We have the benefit of having 500 Mortgage Choice loan writers doing this every day, and I get to share what I learn from them with our members,” Dehne says.

For Finsure brokers, Kolenda says this benefit comes from his experience in business building and lead generation.

“When we do it for scale, we can generate leads far more cost-effectively than an individual broker trying to build their own footprint and branding in their particular geographic area,” he says.

50 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

DIFFERENT STROKES Another strength of the boutique proposition, Lockett believes, is its flexibility. With a smaller member base, Lockett says boutiques can be more nimble and individualised in their offerings to brokers.

“We’re able to offer flexibility with our agreements, whereas some of the larger operators may have only one or two models available. We have a number of aggregation or business models available to members which allows us to tailor our aggregation model purely to suit individual members,” Lockett says.

Lockett says this allows brokers to choose a membership and fee structure that suits their business needs, even if those needs change.

“We see in the current changing landscape that some want to pay a monthly fee, some want an annual fee, some want a fee for transactions and some want a more traditional percentage based agreement. Having total flexibility in what we can offer is a wonderful thing for members,” Lockett says.

Paratore also sees this as a strength of Ballast’s model.

“We do the whole lot, whether it’s a percentage split, whether it’s a flat fee, whether they want to trade wholesale or want to trade retail under a licensing arrangement, whether they want to refer financial services or dial them in to their own business,” Paratore says.

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 51

FEATURE / CHALLENGER AGGREGATORS

Kolenda also believes in the appeal of flexibility, but this flexibility goes beyond the aggregator’s remuneration. He says Finsure offers this not only in its fee structure, but in the services its members can avail themselves of.

“It’s largely led by what the broker really wants.

Rather than forcing anything down anyone’s throat, we’re there for them to leverage off in whatever capacity they see fit,” he says.

“Brokers all have different aspirations, different goals and different visions of themselves. They might be at the stage where they’re running a pretty good business, but

they wouldn’t mind having more leads. At the other end of the scale is someone who has a business with 15 or 20 brokers who might have different expectations and different needs from their aggregator than someone running a one-man operation. We can cater for both,” Kolenda adds.

Paratore agrees, and says Ballast can offer a variety of membership arrangements, and also has the ability to offer its members a variety of ways to integrate various financial services offerings into their business.

“Our model has always been predicated on providing the integration of other financial services to our

Is a boutique aggregator right for me?

National Mortgage Brokers (nMB) managing director Gerald Foley explains that, for entrepreneurial brokers, the boutique route could be right for them.

What do you think is the main draw of the boutique or challenger aggregator proposition for brokers?

I believe we all see value in dealing with any business that has a boutique or ‘homely’ feel. The issue then becomes, am I prepared to pay a price to receive the boutique service or do I want it all – benefits of the sellers bulking through lower costs, greater choice and great service?

We always hear about aggregator consolidation and tightening margins, but it seems to be impacting some of the larger aggregators more than the challenger brands.

What is it about the boutique model that seems to make for a sustainable and profitable business proposition?

There is no doubt that there are pressures building on all aggregators to provide a broader range of services to their broker business partners.

If there are any pressures on the larger aggregators then maybe these are more widely obvious to the marketplace. The true impact on the challenger brands is hard to see from the outside. I sense some smaller aggregators are struggling to hold on under increasing pressures to broaden services, increase payout rates and maintain lender relevance.

When nMB opened discussions with Aussie it was all about nMB being able to maintain its brand and feel but with the ability to tap into the significant resources of Aussie.

It is the best of both worlds for us as there is little cross over in the style of broker within the Aussie model to that suited to the nMB ‘wholesale’ model.

52 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

The benefits are around stronger lender terms and corporate strength which is becoming a bigger issue for brokers who want to make sure the loan book they are building (and is their key business asset) is secure.

We have already seen brokers suffering through the demise of their aggregator in the case of Refund. Brokers need to be comfortable that their aggregator is both corporately strong and financially stable. In nMB’s case, our brokers can take comfort from the strength of our parent.

Is there a particular type of broker who’s better suited to a challenger aggregator than a larger aggregator?

There are two types of brokers in the market: Those who are a broker and those who are looking to build a broking business. The nMB business model suits the person looking to build a full mortgage broking business and sees value in their aggregator’s systems, support and strength.

What does nMB see as its basic value proposition and business model?

Our basic proposition is that we are singularly focused on providing aggregator services to mortgage professionals who want to build a solid mortgage broking business and understand the value in dealing with a strong, focused business partner.

What do boutique and challenger aggregators have to do to remain viable in the current market?

All businesses, irrespective of size, to remain viable have to be able to show that they can offer a strong business proposition at competitive remuneration levels – including receipts from lenders and payout rates – whilst being able to re-invest in and grow their business.

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 53

FEATURE / CHALLENGER AGGREGATORS

AUSTRALIAN HOUSING FINANCE FIGURES members, whether they take that onboard in their own business or use a referral model. Our model is to provide our members with as many options as make financial sense for them to allow them to take control of their business,” Paratore says.

This flexibility in financial products is also a cornerstone of AMB’s proposition, Kerr says. He says helping brokers diversify their offering across a range of products safeguards the revenue of both broker and aggregator.

“If you only deliver home loans, your margins are at risk. But if you can spread that margin risk across several areas, the model is a win-win,” Kerr says.

Number of dwelling commitments Owner-occupied housing Construction of dwellings Purchase of new dwellings Purchase of established dwellings

NOV-12

OCT 2012 TO NOV 2012

Number

% change

46,199

-0.5

4,809

-1.8

2,380

-10.3

39,010

0.3

Source: ABS (seasonally adjusted estimates)

ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL Among all the other benefits of boutique and challenger brands, the idea of equality may be the thread that underpins it all. Dehne says one of the attractive aspects of boutique aggregation models is that they treat brokers the same, regardless of their volumes.

“We attract people who do between one deal a month and 10-15 deals a month, and they get treated as well as the people who do 20 deals a month. It’s not that the big aggregators don’t want to treat them as well.

They just don’t have the resources to treat everyone the same, whereas with boutique aggregators you have to,” Dehne says.

This, Dehne reiterates, is because smaller aggregators have to ensure they keep the members they have. They can’t afford to shed dissatisfied brokers, and have added motivation to keep their members happy.

Lockett says Specialist also employs this equal

“Our members are diverse, from the small one-man operation to a large team of up to 30 writers”

– WILLIAM LOCKETT, SPECIALIST MORTGAGE

54 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

treatment philosophy. It’s all part of knowing brokers well enough to be able to offer them individual advice on growing their business, he says.

“We have members who are single writers, members who are small brokering groups all the way to members who are large brokering groups. Our members are diverse, from the small one-man operation to a large team of up to 30 writers. We can easily cater our service to the requirements of those members on an individual basis,” Lockett says.

And the spirit of equality engendered by boutique and challenger groups may be what sees them forward into the future while other aggregators are gobbled up by consolidation, Paratore says. Paratore believes the diversity of boutique aggregators is an important source of competition in the mortgage broking market, and says he would like to see brokers freed more by aggregators to make their own choices of who to align with.

“I would love to see that there was a time in the market when brokers did have absolute transparency and were able to move where they wanted. I believe that would give greater competition in the marketplace, and brokers would choose where they wanted to go and where they got the most value,” Paratore says.

Whether or not this comes to fruition, Dehne believes boutique and challenger aggregators will continue to flourish.

“I think there’s always going to be a market out there for boutique aggregators who have a certain number of brokers who they look after really well,” Dehne says.

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 55

COLUMN / REPUTATION

A REP TO PROTECT Brokers need a Field of Dreams mentality when it comes to making their reputation work for their business. Build it and they will come…

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F

or better or worse, your reputation will follow you like a shadow throughout your career. Just ask Lindsay Lohan, Bill Clinton, or Richard Gere. While sex tape scandals and visits to the Betty Ford centre are fairly far removed from the mortgage industry, brokers do need to be cognisant of the kind of image they’re presenting to the public.

While it’s tempting to think you can let your work speak for itself, marketing specialists would argue that’s a lazy and slow going attitude. If you’re serious about building a good reputation then you’ll have to put in the time and effort to make it happen.

1

SHARE INFORMATION

You don’t have to be in the office to talk about mortgages. The hairdresser, your taxi driver, other soccer parents – don’t be stingy with your expertise.

According to Small Business Marketing Guru’s Michael Griffiths, becoming a trusted voice within your industry starts with having the right mindset. “You have to be a person that is willing to share information, help others and genuinely care about other people being successful.”

He also says it’s important to share information with other brokers. “So many business owners are afraid to give away their intellectual property because someone else might do better than them. We give everything away. This shows others how good we are and that we have solutions to people’s problems.”

2

GO PUBLIC

Getting quoted by local or national media outlets is a no-brainer. Not only is it free advertising, but also it gives your business more weight and credibility in the eyes of the public. Most brokers find that once they’ve become a trusted and reliable source of information they’ll be increasingly in demand by other media sources. John Symonds has mastered this, as has Mark Bouris. And while you might not be interested in national recognition, creating contacts within the local news community could be just as valuable to your business.

3

UTILISE SOCIAL MEDIA

Being a trusted media contact is great, but you don’t have to wait for ABC News to ring. Griffiths advises

“You have to be a person that’s willing to share information, help others and genuinely care about others being successful”

– MICHAEL ALTENBURGER

brokers to use social media to its fullest advantage – blogs, YouTube videos, Facebook and LinkedIn are all at your disposal. “For many people reading this they’ll be saying ‘I don’t have the time’. You will be surprised at how easy and quickly this can be done, it is just a matter of making it a priority,” he says.

4

POST RECOMMENDATIONS

It’s always better to have someone else toot your own horn, suggests Linda Sultmann, principal consultant of White Room, a small business management company. Posting positive comments from clients on your website and LinkedIn page is smart way to build your reputation and gain trust from potential customers. “Forums carry a lot of weight with prospective purchasers, particularly for product businesses, and glowing references for services businesses are great.”

5

BE VISIBLE

Sometime you just have to show up. Go to networking events, attend workshops, host seminars – get your face out there and meet people. Small Fish Business Coaching’s Michael Altenburger also stresses the importance of volunteering.

6

MENTOR

Sharing your knowledge and expertise with new mortgage professionals is an excellent way to boost your reputation. Altenburger also suggests it pays off to extend your reach outside of the business by becoming a teacher, trainer or public speaker.

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 57

COLUMN / REPUTATION

“Your values, ethics and the way you do things mean everything” – MICHAEL GRIFFITHS

7

SPONSOR

Associating your brand with a sporting team or school event, which can help create familiarity with your business, and establishing your company within the local community is another way to positively affect your reputation, suggests Sultmann.

8

GET INVOLVED

Joining the local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club or Business Network are also easy

58 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

ways to tap into your local community, meet likeminded professionals and possibly gain strategic relationship partners.

9

GIVE GIFTS

Cementing customer relationships with a small gift is a brilliant way to build your reputation, says Sultmann. Not only will it be a pleasant way to thank clients for their business, but also it gives customers another opportunity to talk about your business with friends.

10

BE REAL

Humans are pretty good at sniffing out sincerity.

As your mother would say, ‘just be yourself’. According to Griffiths, “People want to be around others that they like and trust – so allow people into your world, allow people to see the real you. Your values, ethics and the way you do things mean everything.”

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 59

PROFILE / MELISSA GIELNIK

Q. Why did you become a mortgage broker?

A: It was definitely something I fell into. I began my career in corporate retail, moved to the UK and when I returned to Australia I was looking for work. My dad was a broker and he was looking for staff. I went to work for him until I got a real job, and I’m still here. I’ve never looked back.

Q: What was the biggest turning point of your career?

A: Venturing out on my own in 2006, after working for a company for four years. It was scary and I had my own financial commitments. I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing. But I did it – took the bull by the horns, jumped and I guess I landed on my feet.

Q: What do you attribute your success to?

A: Loads of hard work, great planning and an amazing team. Throughout the process of building my business, I’ve totally stayed true to who I am and what I believe in.

Both myself and my team work under the principle that we wouldn’t do anything for our clients that we wouldn’t do for ourselves. It’s always about the client and their needs. Over the years, I’ve been able to build good systems and processes that make our process for the client enjoyable and easy. But I really think one of my great attributes is I don’t take myself too seriously.

Q: What keeps you motivated?

A: Definitely achieving what I set out to do. Helping the client with more challenging deals is a huge motivator, and watching the clients grow their wealth is something I get a lot of personal satisfaction from. But on a weekly

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR:

MELISSA GIELNIK Smart Lending’s Melissa Gielnik has been a quiet achiever in the Australian mortgage industry for almost a decade, and while her first appearance on MPA’s Top 100 is a respectable 17th, she already has plans to smash it next year

60 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

PROFILE / MELISSA GIELNIK

or daily basis I find that we all motivate one another.

We have little competitions in our office and we bounce off one another in my team. Goals are set in my office as a group, not only around our numbers but improvements in the business and the service that we provide. We have a huge visual management board, and that board highlights our successes and sometimes our lack of success. I’m a high-energy person so having a goal and a challenge is what makes me tick.

Q: What is unique about your business?

A: My fabulous team and service proposition – it’s really that simple. We deliver what we promise. We live in such a busy world that sometimes the value of good old-fashioned service and education can be lost.

We hold our client’s hand, we educate them and we walk them through the process, whether it’s their first or 10th purchase from start to finish. We also touch base with our clients via a quarterly magazine, birthday cards, interest rate updates, and via our social media platforms. Communication and control of the lending process and beyond are paramount to what we do and we provide service with a smile.

Q: What can other brokers do to emulate your success?

A: Brokers need to put themselves in the client’s shoes and think about the type of experience they would like to have if they were the client. You can never assume that a client is aware of what is going on in the market or that they even understand everything that you’ve said at first. It’s really all about communication and education. I think that’s really important. From running a business point of view it’s trial and error. My model might not work for everyone so you have to find what works for you and run with it.

Q: What kind of advice would you give to a new mortgage professional?

A: I surround myself with people in the industry that I like and trust. People I can bounce all my crazy ideas off and get advice based on my business and my issues. The one thing I really value is my support network. Working as a new broker learning the trade can be quite lonely and daunting, so having a great mentor is a must. I was lucky, I learned 70% of what I know early in my career from my dad. If you have a good aggregator they should be able to put you in touch with a great mentor.

Q: Have you embraced technology and social media in your business?

A: We’ve embraced both and it’s been really challenging for us. This year we’ve embraced the iPad. I’ve implemented an online service, as we’re trying to

become paperless. This speeds up process, because anyone from my team, from anywhere, can access the server via their laptop and see all the clients’ information. We also have an online fax finder that downloads my aggregator’s software and that cuts down our processing times. I started about four months ago working with a PR social media coach. As well as being on LinkedIn, I’m now on Facebook regularly. I’ve been blogging and twittering. I find social media exciting, scary and exhausting. I’ve been trying to communicate quality posts and tweets with my followers – things that are relevant to where the market is, and the time of year.

I want it to be fun.

Q: Do you diversify and if so, in what areas?

A: Yes, we offer almost all services. I think as a broker it’s smart to keep all the services as in-house as possible.

However, in saying that I specialise in mortgages. I’m a big believer that you can’t be a jack-of-all-trades and you should never take your eye off the ball and what you do best. So we offer through referring other specialists, leasing and equipment finance, property advocacy, all the way up to accounting. In house I have two fully licensed conveyancers, and a financial planner. One of the most important things we do is provide all our clients with a free assessment and review for their risk and life insurance.

Factfile ++ Hometown: Melton, Vic ++ Education: · BA in business and applied economics · Agents Representative Licence in Real Estate · Diploma of Financial Services ++ Family: Two kids, 5 and 4 ++ Hobbies: Tennis, running, paddle boarding and going out with friends

Q: What business development activities have you focused on?

A: All my growth to date has been organic, so I’ve been

very lucky. This year I’ve been targeting groups. I’ve been out forming new alliances with real estate agents because this is where I get my best referral sources.

Clients and agents are my biggest referrers. Over the coming 18 months, we want to double our numbers. I think to do that we need to double our referral base.

This has been in addition to building my social media platform and trying to get my brand out there. Up until this year, the brand has been me, but I’ve been now trying to get Smart Lending out into the market.

Q: How do you build brand awareness for your business?

A: I don’t do any advertising as such. I was the brand, but in consciously trying to grow the business, I’ve really changed that to a team-based approach and that’s working. I’m getting the team out there via social media sites. We do a lot of fun runs and local festivals. We also had these really cute purple money boxes made and we’ve been handing them out at kinders and talking to the kids about money. It’s really fun, but by doing that we’ve been building trust and our brand with the parents.

MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU | 61

LIFESTYLE / FAVOURITES

❤

Favourite things...

Mark Woolnough

head of third party, distribution, ING DIRECT Vacation spot: Winter skiing in Queenstown or a summer vacation anywhere with Club Med

Sport: Hockey of course

Drink: A beer with the boys or a Shiraz with my wife Athena

Place to be in Australia: Either at

Food: My five-year-old daughter

home with the family or at Brookvale Oval cheering on the Mighty Manly Sea Eagles

makes a mean chicken schnitzel

Book: Reading a chapter of Fifty Shades of Grey to my wife Athena every night before we turn the lights out

Movie: Anything related to War – I love stories of sacrifice, comradery, bravery and heroics

Music: Angels & Airwaves / Blink 182

Hobby: Working at ING DIRECT closely followed by keeping fit

62 | MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU

THE DATA / YOUR MORTGAGE INDEX

STATE OF THE NATION

THEDATA

Data from Yourmortgage.com.au shows the borrower breakdown for the past months

NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS

58% are buying with a partner, while 42% are going solo

85% said they had good credit history, while 15% had credit issues on their record

49% said they had monthly expenses of $2,000 or more

63%

15%

4%

8%

None

One

Two

Three

BORROW BREAKDOWN 67%

First homebuyers

12%

Property investors

21%

Refinancers

70%

$

48%

40

of refinancers are doing so to get a better interest rate

are interested in getting a standard variable rate loan

37%

have a combined credit card limit of $5,000 or more

82

%

%

^

NEED FINANCE URGENTLY

HAVE A CURRENT MORTGAGE OF $200K OR MORE

only 5%

are looking for a home above $1m price range

19%

have more than $100k deposit

88%

want to repay on a principal and interest basis

9

%

HAVE A HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF $200K A YEAR OR MORE