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A veteran mortgage broker says strong communication skills and a quality service offering are critical in a market where mortgage products are increasingly homogenous.
Former Wizard Home Loans co-founder and Intouch Finance executive director Paul Ryan told The Adviser brokers tend to “overplay” the differences between home loan products.
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"There is a bit of variance in loans but there is not a hell of a lot,” Mr Ryan said.
“The Commonwealth Bank has the same sort of rates and the same sort of products as everybody else. There are other lenders with niche products, but with mainstream home loans, all products are pretty much the same. So it then comes back to service levels and communication.”
Mr Ryan said a broker will give their business to the lender who provides the best service and communication in terms of turnaround times and status updates on how the loan is progressing.
“A consumer will be exactly the same,” he said. “They can go to any lender or any broker and get similar rates features on their loans. So what is it that separates one broker from another? Communication – how often I’m returning phone calls and reaching out to my clients. That’s why the best of the best will always be the best communicators.”
Communication is central to Mr Ryan’s new app, Eccho me, a community platform where consumers can seek finance and credit-related information from other app users.
Since The Adviser first reported on the platform in January, more than 180 finance professionals have joined the service, Mr Ryan said.
“When you look at the answers being provided, some brokers are really detailed and provide the consumer with more value in terms of their thought process and their education. Then there are others who have been quite short in their responses,” he said.
“From a consumer perspective, it’s interesting to see how some brokers are communicating.”
“Any salesman should put themselves in the shoes of a consumer and consider how their communication is being received. It is really quite interesting to see the variance in responses to questions from consumers.”
Mr Ryan said a web-based version of Eccho me will be available soon.
