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A top business writer has revealed how writing an extra three loans a month could help you go from writing $70 million to $190 million a year.
Josh Bartlett, director and mortgage broker at Loan Market Home Finance Brokers, has recently been touring the country running Josh Bartlett Bootcamps to help brokers improve their businesses and learn from his experience.
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Speaking to The Adviser, Mr Bartlett explained the trigger for launching the bootcamps: “I’ve noticed in the industry that there are a lot of 'business coaches' that are coming out that haven’t been in the broking space and haven’t actually been a broker and seen the hurt that we go through, the highs and lows.
“I know what kind of hurt the brokers writing $20, $50, $100 and $120 million dollars are in. I know the issues that they are going through, the staffing problems that they are going through. I know how to increase the volumes of a $50 million writer. I know it, because I have done it. And, believe it or not, it’s easier to write $190 million than it is to write $70 million. Because now I understand how to process loans quickly and I know how to make the most of my time.”
Acknowledging that he has been broking for six years and is still considered to be “fairly new”, he said that the fact that he has increased his volumes from $15 million in year one to “$190-odd million” in six years gives him “the credentials” to deliver advice.
Mr Bartlett said: “My biggest tip is that we are in the business of creating appointments. That's our job. As we get better, we're in the business of creating better appointments.
“If you want to be successful in this industry, you have to do the same thing day in and day out consistently; week in, week out; year in, year out. So, you need to have a system where you are able to do that.”
‘Creating a team, not bringing in staff’
According to Mr Bartlett, a big component of increasing volumes is bringing in additional support.
He said: “Brokers who write 40 or 50 million do it on their own and work very, very, very hard all day every day. But you can't be a broker who is good at appointments, a broker who then does processing, a broker who does prospecting, a broker who does the marketing, who then chases — you can’t do everything.
“When I wrote $70 million (in my second or third year of broking), I was an emotional wreck towards the end. But writing $190 million, there is a team of people behind you, and - while it’s not easy - it’s easier.”
Mr Bartlett said that while the biggest obstacle for writing more volumes is time, he suggested that it’s important to think about “creating a team, not bringing in staff”.
He noted that when he was just three months into broking, he brought someone else on to help him with the processing.
Understanding that many brokers refrain from bringing in help in the belief that the cost is prohibitive, Mr Bartlett suggested that it could be the difference in just writing an extra three loans a month.
According to the Loan Market Home Finance Brokers director and mortgage broker, those calculations are based on the premise of paying someone a salary of $70,000.
“That means you then have to write an extra $12 or $13 million in loans per year to pay for that person,” he explained.
“If we say your average home loan is $400,000, that means it’s just 30 extra loans per year, or around two and half extra loans a month. So, you just have to be finding two and half extra loans per month and you can have a support person. For less than three loans a month, you could have someone come in and take 152 hours of paperwork off you every month.
“So, when someone says they can’t afford it, I think, 'You can’t afford to not afford it’.”
He concluded: “It works. I’m chasing a lead and ringing and prospecting, while other people are ordering valuations and doing pricing and all these kinds of different thing. . . . My staff know they aren’t just staff; they are a team — they are my team members and we all try and help the business along. It’s together that we get to where we are today.”
[Related: Elite broker shares his top tips for success]
