Sales - Ending the drought

In July, the number of loans financed hit their lowest number in almost a decade, while business confidence also weakened significantly. This downturn has taken a toll on mortgage brokers, who are heavily impacted by market cycles.

Increasingly, diversification strategies and cross sell opportunities have offered a buffer for brokers.

However, there are other tactics brokers can engage to maximise their chances of keeping their business heading in the right direction regardless of any economic booms and busts.

But aside from the ebb and flow of the property market there are other reasons why a business can hit a sales rut. Sickness, time taken out for leave, the departure of key staff or simply taking your foot off the pedal for a while can all lead to a slide in revenue.

Broking, like many sales based businesses, is greatly influenced by confidence.

When business is booming, opportunities seem to flow, but when times are hard it can feel like nothing will go your way. The effects of a sales slump can be stifling. Brokers who hit a rut can quickly find themselves in a spiralling cycle where leads dry up and good business seems to slip through their fingers.

So what can you do to avert a sales crisis hitting your business?

WRITING ON THE WALL

FrontRunner Consulting Group director Doug Mathlin says the key in overcoming a sales hurdle is to identify the problem before it becomes apparent on your bank account balance sheet.

"When you're facing a sales slump, the best time to act is ASAP," he says, adding that waiting until brokers experience a financial drop can be dangerous, given that by that stage it may be harder to dig yourself out of the sales hole.

When you consider that loans can take a period of time to settle, you may not be aware of the financial slump you're in until three or four months down the track.

But how do brokers know when their lack of leads is a sign of a sales slump and not merely a quiet week?

According to Mr Mathlin, the trick is to be actively across all key performance areas of your business, so you can quickly identify when a real problem arises.

The best way to do this is to arrange and manage a ‘monthly scorecard'. This scorecard would basically include details such as the number of leads generated each month, as well as the number of referrals, appointments, enquiries and so on.

"As soon as you see those numbers going down, that's when it's time to act," Mr Mathlin says.

And Intellitrain's Paul Eldridge agrees. He says that by monitoring your business performance from the outset, you will be able to identify weaknesses more easily, anticiparing problems before they arise.

"The first step is to take responsibility for where you are, recognise that your skills will limit the growth of your business and work to leverage what you do really well and offset or correct those things you don't do well," he says.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

So, what can a broker do to escape a sales slump and revive his or her business? Mr Mathlin says brokers already hold the answer.

"Brokers facing a sales slump should think hard about where they get most of their business, and for many of them, this will be from their existing client database," he says.

By simply getting on the telephone and calling old and existing clients, brokers will improve their opportunities of generating new leads and enquiries.

But the number one mistake brokers make when warming up database is to ask clients outright: "Are you looking for a loan, or do you know of someone who is?"

This will obviously get a cold response from clients, as it's a ‘hard-sell' tactic.

The fact of the matter is that brokers don't need to ‘tell' their client anything, they are better off simply making enquiries and letting the client come forward with a new lead, Mr Mathlin says.

Simple general questions like: "I'm just checking that I have your correct contact details," or: "Just letting you know if you have any enquiries, I'm here to help," are much more effective ways of getting a client's attention and positive response.

Many clients will ‘set and forget' their loan, so it's important to remind them of any other services you offer, whether it is in financial planning, superannuation, insurance or even a broker's own white-labelled products.

"One in 10 phone calls will likely result in a new lead or enquiry," Mr Mathlin says.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Intellitrain's Paul Eldridge says another important factor in climbing out of a sales slump is to expand your existing knowledge and skill base.

And this doesn't have to mean enrolling in expensive training courses to improve a broker's technical knowledge: it can be as simple as finding a mentor who can offer helpful advice.

"Find someone who knows more than you do, who is running a successful business and find out what they're doing," Mr Elridge says.

He adds that even observing a broker's competitors, watching the way in which they market their business and promote their brand, can teach a broker about how to improve their own business.

"If you truly want to be successful, you need to have a voracious appetite for learning.

"I'm not talking about just doing a course - you should be reading books, networking with successful professionals - in other words - developing yourself," he says.