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ISCOVER
Home Loan Connexion managing director Tracy Kearey reveals why, after 22 years in mortgage broking, the time was right to partner with MAB.
When did you first learn about Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB)?
We were pitching to become a referral partner of Metricon in February last year. At the same time, we were also reviewing different options for the business. Our aggregator, AFG, suggested we speak to Darren Cantor and Kristy Bartlett from MAB. As it turned out, they were also pitching for the Metricon business.
What attracted you to MAB?
We had reached a stage in our business where we needed that additional support. MAB has the technology that we would never be able to develop ourselves, coupled with the professional support to help us with our staff and business model.
We had the brokers, but we didn’t have the technology. We partnered with MAB on the Metricon business and have been servicing Metricon since mid-2020 using the MABrefer platform.
How is MAB different to an aggregator?
Aggregators play an important role, but as they have so many brokers it is difficult for them to play a personal one. They do a fantastic job providing the basis for brokers to operate but what we needed was a more personalised service to help us grow in a more sustainable way. We wrote over $220 million in 2020. We have strong profitability and growth, but we really needed that additional support.
Are your brokers self-employed or salaried?
All our brokers are currently self-employed. After partnering with MAB, we will be transitioning to a hybrid model with a mix of self-employed and salaried brokers. Our existing brokers will remain self-employed. Going forward and with the support of MAB we will be employing brokers to focus on different lead sources. At the moment we have brokers who are exclusively dedicated to the Metricon account.
What are your current lead sources?
In addition to Metricon we also work with real estate networks and other professionals. Each source of leads has its own nuances and requires a particular type of broker to service that business. For example, younger brokers are often naturally more adept at servicing small business clients.
What advice would you give to ambitious brokers looking to grow their business?
You need to partner with someone you trust. What I like about MAB is that the transition can be a gradual process. You don’t suddenly rebrand and change the entire business model overnight. It can be stepped out and planned, with milestones and progressive approach to growing and changing the business.
Brokers looking to grow and scale their business should realise that they can keep doing what they are doing but start to add processes in over time. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. But the key is to partner people you trust, who are doing it successfully and are culturally a great fit.
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