Lead generation and business building

Choice Home Loans directly generate leads and provide them through to members. According to the group’s CEO Stephen Moore, this is a fundamental part of
the aggregator’s proposition.

“Equally as important though is the assistance to establish your own referral networks and strong local-area marketing.

The best type of referrals, or new leads, is from an existing client base.

“We spend a lot of time working with members to establish strong, scalable disciplined processes when it comes to communicating and marketing [with an] existing client base because we know that is the best and most effective way to grow your business,” Mr Moore says.

Brand power

Branded groups are often viewed as having stronger lead generation capabilities driven by their recognition among consumers.

Aussie and Mortgage Choice are two groups that pride themselves on their branding and the business it generates for their brokers. Mortgage Choice provides
a wealth of tools to assist brokers in lead generation and has state-based marketing experts to guide them in best practice.

“Our tools range from an individual mini website for each franchise to an online marketing hub that houses a large library of marketing materials and an email marketing platform,” Mortgage Choice chief executive Michael Russell says.

• The group encourages its franchisees to focus on three key strategies when it comes to lead generation:
• using their mini-site to improve their local Google search rankings
• keeping in touch with existing customers and prospects to remain top of mind developing referral relationships with local business (eg. real estate agents, accountants)

Different options

On the other hand, Aussie has a number of options to cater for different brokers.

Whether you’re a mobile broker, run a retail store or aggregate through the Aussie owned nMB group, most loan writers will find a model that fits their needs.

While it comes under the Aussie umbrella, nMB is its own business, its own brand and has its own board of directors; it’s even based in its own city (Melbourne) whereas all the other Aussie businesses are based in Sydney.

“nMB is like Qantas and Jetstar, Toyota and Lexus – it’s just a separate branding to the Aussie-branded business,” explains Aussie chief executive James Symond.

“It is a quality aggregation brand,” Mr Symond says. “nMB has some of the biggest individual brokers in the country working with their systems and with that company,” he says. “People like Gerard Tiffen in Canberra, Jeremy Fisher in Sydney – these are some of the top brokers in the country and they work with nMB.”

Build your business

Boutique aggregator and diversified financial services group Ballast is committed to growing its brokers’ businesses. The group recognise that building its partners’ business is good for everybody; its commitment is supported by a dedicated strategic alliance division designed to produce external lead generation sources, assist business partners to increase their income through diversification of services and to manage lead flow.

Ballast Strategic Alliances ensures a consistent customer experience has been received by all clients across the group. For brokers looking for a more direct pipeline of leads, eChoice has a partnership with one of Australia’s leading property websites.

The group recognises that property buyers are more empowered and educated than ever and want superior service on their terms with the click of a button.

In February 2013, eChoice partnered with Domain, one of Australia’s leading real estate destinations to launch a new online tool that would be a catalyst for change in the way Australian consumers obtain property pre-approvals. The aggregator has produced an online mortgage tool called Get the Real Picture, which gives home buyers loan options against specific properties listed on Domain.com.au with one click, through a brokering process that is as transparent to the consumer as to the broker.

“Powered by technology that was once only available to mortgage brokers and lenders in the finance industry, Get the Real Picture offers consumers a unique transparent overview of their home loan options from 25 bank and non-bank lenders and hundreds of mortgage products, tailored to their financial situation and preferences,” says eChoice general manager of sales and distribution Paul Liccione.

“As an aggregator, eChoice has taken the non-traditional path of becoming more of a partner in broker businesses rather than just a technology platform, although our technology is market-leading.

“Through numerous programs, such as our Domain partnership and lead generation, we are a business enabler and builder that invests in initiatives that directly impact the growth of our brokers. Get the Real Picture demonstrates with the right technology and tools, mortgage brokers can engage with Australian borrowers in more than just the traditional sense,” Mr Liccione says.

Grow your business

Brokers like to have a sense of independence, ownership and pride in their business – and rightly so. However, not all groups cater to such needs.

Phil Quin-Conroy, chief executive of PLAN Australia, says one of the key attributes of businesses that are suited to PLAN – and fit culturally – is that they are in growth mode.

“They’re very open-minded, they have a real approach to learning about how to run their businesses better, whether that be small operations or large operations,”
Mr Quin-Conroy says.

At PLAN, brokers run their own business and operate under their own brand, so lead generation is very much on a case-by-case basis. This tailored style is similar to what brokers can expect from Vow Financial.

Last year the group was acquired by Yellow Brick Road (YBR), which has significant product manufacturing capabilities and provides a strong source of leads to brokers from its other businesses.

However, the YBR component still sits separately from the Vow business, which has kept its branding. Brokers who join Vow therefore have a choice.

“If a franchise is the model you want, you can move to YBR and YBR will help you set up a new business and obviously help you with leads to get that business off the ground,” Vow Financial chief executive Tim Brown says.

“In Vow, if we have someone that needs lead generation, we tend to put them with an existing broker – someone who generates their own leads – or we refer them to one of our real estate partners and they then set up as a mobile.”

Lead generation and business building will always be some of the more critical areas for brokers. When considering a new aggregator, be sure to take an inventory of your business beforehand and identify exactly what you want out of your new group.

That way, when presented with so many different options, you can choose the one that fits your business the best.