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I was recently privileged to be asked to judge the finalists in The Adviser’s Australian Broking Awards 2015. The quality, diversity and complexity of award submissions make for a dizzying array of talent and achievement.
Not everyone can make the podium on Friday 31 July. However, what shines through are some of the stories of bravery, determination and true grit displayed by entrants. Through their stories, one sees what sets this industry apart and makes it a drawcard for those determined to make their mark. I want to share extracts from just one of these stories with you, in the hope that Michelle’s story will inspire you, as it did me:
“I am 34 years old. I’m a wife, a mother of two stubborn and determined children, and I run a finance brokerage. I come from a long line of professionals. I was the kid who was destined to become the break in that chain. I was a D student in maths. I could not understand how percentages worked, how figures were put together. I was not very good at geography or any other subject, but the one thing that the teachers loved me for was my ability to sell them on the reasons why I couldn’t do something the way that they wanted, and how I believed my approach was creating a much broader audience.
I decided to take a leap into selling cars. I quickly learned at 19 years old that I had entered a world of males who dominated the industry and I just didn’t fit in. So I worked harder. I pursued every female client I could find, to prove a point – that I was a better salesperson than the men. I learned every inch of a car – from engine to the surge tank, I knew it all. Turbos, V8s – there wasn’t a car that I couldn’t rattle off how every variable worked. I knew the prices, I knew the stock, and every morning I would memorise it and go out and sell the living daylights out of them!
In the GFC, I was at the peak of my wonderful finance career. Great job, travelling and teaching dealerships how to operate effectively, finance managers and sales staff on how to be successful, how to increase retention, how to make more money, working for the biggest finance company in the world. I did the hours required – if there were reports due at 9am, they had them at 6am. I had a great team that I worked with, and I had the perfect career. I hit rock bottom the day I was made redundant. I crumbled and didn’t know what to do. There were no sales jobs, no finance jobs, and I knew that me being anywhere but in front of my customers would not make me happy. So, I decided I would start my own company. And not just any finance business – the best one that anyone could possibly find.
I went back to my mentor – my grandfather – and asked him to tell me everything he knew about business and what I needed to do to be successful. He told me three things: “Tell 100 per cent of the truth, 100 per cent of the time to 100 per cent of customers. Remember that people will only buy something from someone they like. Be likeable.”
I walked up and down the streets, day after day, talking to people – old ladies, businesses, the bread-shop owners – and promised every single one that if they came to me when they needed something, I would promise no matter what time of day or night they needed me, I would be there.
I was frustrated – my business was going slow. I was awake, stressed trying to figure out how to keep my company from going down the drain. When I started my business, all I wanted to do was mortgages – until the phone started ringing at 2am one morning.
A man that was walking his dog about three weeks earlier had been stopped and bombarded by me and my sales pitch. He worked as a jail warden, and finished that night at 1am. His car broke down on the way home, so as he walked for an hour-and-a-half home thinking that he needed a new car, he thought of me – and he gave me a loan to do. It was approved in three hours that morning, and he had his new car that day. He wrote me my first testimonial, and started bringing me clients.
I work around my life and children, during the day and a lot of nights. My clients, who finish their shifts at 2am, still call me. I still answer every one of them. I may work seven days a week. I may not sleep a lot to ensure that the work always gets done. I may never be so financially wealthy that I don’t know what to do with all of my money. But when my clients need a broker, they know that I’m the one that is going to answer the phone at all hours of the day and night.”
The finance broking industry has been built on the back of individuals whose passion, hard work and determination allowed them to demonstrate their unlimited potential. Regardless of whether or not Michelle wins an award on the day, she is already a winner in my eyes.
Jeff Zulman, managing director, Book Buyers Brokerage
Jeff Zulman studied at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa before reading law at Oxford University in England. After graduating, he joined Goldman Sachs, where he was trained on Wall Street, and then worked in their wealth management division in London. Jeff immigrated to Australia where he has founded, run and successfully sold several businesses. He served as the inaugural CEO of Vow Financial. Jeff now divides his time between being a principal of a Californian residential real estate investment fund, serving as a local councillor and running Book Buyers Brokerage, an M&A advisory firm and specialist funder focused on assisting finance brokers.
