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Finsure’s proprietary CRM system, LoanKit, is to retire in 2019 and will be updated and relaunched under the new name of Maestro.
Speaking to The Adviser, Finsure’s general manager, Simon Bednar, revealed that the move comes as the aggregator continues its focus on software and technology.
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Mr Bednar noted that technology offerings were among the most important factors brokers consider when looking to switch groups, adding that while Finsure’s proprietary platform, LoanKit, enables brokers to lodge loans online, has CRM capabilities, and manages compliance and documentation and obligations under the NCCP Act around living expenses as a standard package, it had “been around for a number of years”.
He said: “We made the decision at the beginning of 2018 to ultimately retire that platform and rebuild a brand new one that is custom to our business and our needs.
“We are launching it in June next year under the brand Maestro. So, effectively LoanKit will be retired, and this new system is built on the basis of predicting behaviour before it happens.”
Mr Bednar said that the new system will take the data from different third-parties, including banks, and “effectively come out with decisions that the broker and/or us should be making or doing”.
“It's really insightful,” he said.
“The other thing we are doing is integrating it with social media, so the system will allow the brokers to interact, effectively, with the platforms where their customers sit.
“It will also provide them with an opportunity to integrate any third-party platforms. We get a lot of requests to add in APIs from different systems, so we're building Maestro very much like a Salesforce, where the brokers can actually be in control of their own domain. What that means is that the new system can be tailored,” he added.
Mr Bednar said that while Finsure will still provide an entry-level system for the new brokers or single-operator brokers, “if you have a very sophisticated business and want all the different add ons - whether that be more advanced marketing, or integration to Xero or posts to social media, then you can choose those too,” the general manager added.
Looking forward, Mr Bednar told The Adviser that Finsure will be focusing on training and compliance in the year 2019, as well as helping brokers run their businesses as SME owners.
He elaborated: “Our national learning and development framework and masterclasses have always had a focus on how to do the practical side of broking. But what we will be doing next year is adding to that by bringing in more sessions on the softer skills of how to run a business, which we think is lacking.
“If you have a Cert IV or a Diploma, it doesn’t tell you how to find a good accountant, or how to review your business plan, or improve customer relations - so we are bringing that in and effectively providing that as additional training to ensure that the broker is the whole package, rather than being transactional.”
Mr Bednar concluded: “Our ethos in the business is that we want to ensure that our brokers are of the highest calibre in the industry. When you work with a sales focus it can become all about the transaction. We're conscious that if we don't regulate ourselves and bring the standard up ourselves then someone is going to force us to do it.
“So, we feel that, by providing a much more robust opportunity for brokers to learn the softer skills of running a business and dealing with people, then that will add to the calibre and skillsets of brokers; making them the trusted professional.”
Find out more about what Finsure aims to offer brokers in 2019 in the December supplement of The Adviser magazine, out now.
[Related: Aggregator reports 26% growth post-merger]
