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The majority of mortgage brokers have been working on pretty much the same thing for 25-plus years – mortgages.
If mortgage broking was a part of the technology industry, we’d have long become redundant in the same way that video tapes, cassette recorders, walkmans and CDs have.
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When mortgage broking began, we didn't have Facebook, Instagram, emails or smartphone apps.
Without doubt, the mortgage brokers of today need to reinvent themselves and their offering to be more relevant to today’s tech-savvy clients. A mortgage is quite simply a product that can be obtained online without a broker. Look at what technology has done to the travel agent and the stockbroker.
What is our point of difference and why should customers continue to use us despite the ease at which they can attain information on the internet? By boosting our offering and giving them real advice that they can’t get from a website.
At the very least, we should be adding basic financial advice into the mortgage interview process.
Why?
First, you’re getting people into debt – generally more debt than they've ever been in before. If you’re not also offering them a protective safety net against some of life’s less savoury events, you’re leaving them exposed and potentially in a position of losing their home.
Second, not only are you making yourself a lot more relevant in their long-term financial lives, you are also vastly improving your income and business value.
Our research has shown that mortgage brokers earn around 2.5 times more upfront income from each client when they offer financial services and, on top of this, an increasing annual trail income per client. The main difference between mortgage trail income and advice trail income is that, generally speaking, advice trail income increases over time, whereas mortgage trail income reduces.
The key to integrating advice into mortgage broking is in understanding that financial planning is not transaction-based. Put simply, a mortgage is a financial instrument that your client requires to assist with the purchase or refinance of a property, and one that they can research and access via the web.
Financial advice involves discussing their dreams, travel plans, children, education, retirement, and safety net requirements, should anything go wrong. This is holistic advice and, quite frankly, once you step into the shoes of your client, you are their financial GP for life.
Wealth Today has two proven ways of integrating financial advice into your mortgage broking business:
1. Upskilling yourself to offer your clients full financial service
Once you've completed your relevant accreditation training, you have become more of a financial GP to your clients. With the help of a Wealth Today coach, you are able to expertly discuss all of your clients’ financial needs between now and well into the future.
2. Joint venture – partnering up with an established financial planner
A joint venture with Wealth Today ensures you have a professional, qualified planner working with you and your client. You also maintain ownership of your client throughout.
Why wouldn’t you integrate advice into your mortgage broking business? What have you got to lose?
Greg Pennells is the managing director of Wealth Today, and was the co-founder of Choice Home Loans and Choice Aggregation Services.
