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A commitment to professional development is essential for brokers who want to push the boundaries and rise to the top of the industry, writes Choice Aggregation Services CEO Stephen Moore.
What have you done for yourself lately? It might seem like an odd question for me to ask but it’s an important one.
All too often, as a result of our busy lives, we let our personal needs slide to the bottom of the list. For many brokers, this is certainly true, when it comes to thinking longer term about their career, and the professional development and investment they need to put into themselves.
Throughout this blog series I’ve looked at the different ways brokers can refine their proposition, grow their business and stand apart from the competition. As I continue to reinforce, finessing the essentials of customer service and raising the bar is crucial to standing out in today’s competitive market.
But while investing time in your business is crucial, it’s equally important to make time to invest in yourself. Professional development, training and education, are absolutely essential if you’re serious about next-level success.
It’s not just for the new to industry
One of the most important things to recognise is that training and education isn’t just for new-to-industry brokers. Many of our top performers at Choice prioritise professional development because they realise the value it brings. Exactly what you’re looking to learn about or develop will simply evolve as your skillset and experience grow.
For example, for newer brokers, professional development might be all about getting to understand lending policies, while for more experienced brokers, the focus might be more on business strategies, performance management and so on.
It’s never been more important
The industry’s market share is continuing to grow as the broker proposition continues to resonate firmly with borrowers. As the role of the broker gathers pace and moves to the mainstream, standards are rising and competition is intensifying. Above all, borrower expectations are increasing.
The result is that professional development is more important than ever, if you want to excel and compete effectively to secure your piece of the mortgages pie.
At Choice we are committed to supporting our brokers adapt and excel in our fast-paced industry and as a business partner for the future, we are committed to investing in our brokers and supporting them to grow.
We run a comprehensive events program with a focus on learning practical skills to grow brokers’ businesses. These range from small specialist workshops designed to assist brokers with strong growth ambitions, to larger conferences that provide valuable networking and relationship building opportunities.
Developing a professional development program
There are many ways to incorporate more professional development into your day-to-day. Here are three steps to get you started:
- Consider your needs and goals – the first thing to do, if you’re looking to focus on professional development is to think about where you want to go and what you need to get there. Think about where greater insight and expertise could help you meet your professional goals. If you’re not sure, speak to your BDM. A good aggregator should be able to work with you to identify what sort of professional development will be of most value to support your business strategy.
- Build your PD program into your schedule – if you’re serious about sticking to your professional development goals, you need to work them into your diary and commit to them. Consider them as important as any client meetings and refuse to cancel them or put them off.
- Mix it up – a good professional development program should encompass a range of different learning approaches. Get along to conferences and events to learn from expert speakers, enrol in hands-on workshops and also take the time to learn from the best in the business – your peers. Finally, consider a mentor. Being able to talk through your successes and challenges with someone who can provide you with practical advice to improve means you are going to get to that next level of success faster.
