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Mortgage broking is a competitive industry, with more than 19,000 brokers trying to get a share of the loan portfolio. But while it’s competitive, it can be attractive for those wishing to become a part-time broker — as long as they’re prepared to work hard and adopt some key strategies, says Demal George from Smartfinn Advisors.
It is a well-known fact that a part-time broker would have many more challenges compared to a full-time broker. Most part-timers enter this industry on a ‘test’ basis to explore if this can be their stepping stone to being self-employed. Some take the plunge to become a full-time broker after testing it out for two or three years, while others continue as part-time brokers.
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But few brokers venture into this role to earn additional income or consider it as a backup in the event of a redundancy in their full-time employment, as it’s a time-consuming job. This often comes as a surprise and leads to some part-time brokers quitting after their second or third year as a broker.
Over my career, I’ve had the opportunity to mentor quite a few part-time brokers and have been able to identify the challenges that most of them face. These include:
Time factor
If you are engaged in a full-time job, it becomes a lot more challenging to step out and build your network of referrals and be present in community events, fairs, expos, and other marketing events to promote yourself as a broker. Therefore, most brokers skew towards heavy digital promotion. However, it is not easy considering the time required to regularly come up with content.
Mindset to socialise
Self-employed individuals must have a proactive attitude to cement their presence within the community and other social networks. Unless they have excellent self-initiating attitude, part-time brokers find it difficult to find the time or the zeal required to establish and build the connections.
Keeping updated with new changes
In today’s lending environment, lender policies, technology, and processes change quite frequently. It is crucial for a broker to be up to date so that they can always act in the best interests of clients with all the essential information required for suitable loan solutions.
Most lender webinars and BDM updates occur during working hours and many part-timers unfortunately might not be able to attend these. There would be an overflow of emails and updates from the lenders, clients, and partners and it becomes an arduous job at the end of the day.
Tele-support during office hours
Many employers do not support the use of mobile phones or personal calls during working hours. A broker would find it hard to attend the calls from various channels like clients, lenders, assessors, and BDMs.
A part-time mortgage broker would have to be astute to sustain their business, visualise the next level, and learn from other successful brokers. In reality, they may have to put in more effort than a full-time broker just to keep up.
But some of the successful part-time brokers whom I have come across over the years have been quite competitive by introducing and adopting few changes to their business model. These include:
An efficient team
Having a full or part-time assistant has helped many part-time brokers as they can have someone do most of the research, paperwork, and client communication resulting in accurate product identification and quality customer service.
Embracing new software
There are different software and applications available that make it easy for a broker to improve their processes. Whether it’s tech that consolidates lender calculators, generation of statements, software that eases data entry or ensures consistent communication to prospects/existing clients, etc. Investing in tech can open doors to have an efficient and quality management of the business.
Engaging marketing support
There are many marketing companies that are ready to support brokers with digital marketing, content management, SEO, etc. Engaging with such companies will help in developing your business brand, generate leads, and profile your target markets.
Outsourcing processes
Many brokers engage third parties to support with data entry and submission process. This can help them maintain the focus on the core of their business and free the broker from cumbersome and time-consuming tasks.
Teamwork
Being part of an aggregator or mortgage brokerage that mutually supports brokers on unique complex scenarios and alternative solution has been quite effective. Some aggregator/broker companies support brokers in improving their digital footprint.
But with the advancement of technology, the younger generation of brokers utilise tech to ‘work smarter’ for quality outcome.
As more and more brokers join this industry, it is crucial they learn and equip themselves with supportive technology and work patiently to achieve the right results.
There could be extra expenses in the initial years, but it makes their success better and faster outcome in the long run.
As such, I would encourage all part-time brokers to take that extra step and harness tech so they can embrace mortgage broking and hopefully make the leap to full-time broking sooner.
Demal George is the mentor and broker BDM at Smartfinn Advisors. He has been a broker since 2014 and a mentor since 2016.
He has over 22 years of experience in financial services, including more than 17 years with various banks including as head of retail lending, head of sales & service for home loans, and product manager for various lending products.
You can find out more about top tips for becoming a successful broker at The Adviser’s free-to-attend conference, New Broker Academy 2023, run in partnership with NextGen.
The event, targeted at brokers in their first two years of broking as well as prospective brokers, will visit Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney in June.
You can find out more about the New Broker Academy here.
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