Taking the hard yakka out of asset finance

Q. How and why did you become a broker?

I’ve been broking now for five years and I’ve always specialised in asset finance and asset finance only.

My career first started in hospitality and that allows you to read people. It allows you to build relationships with people and to cherish service.

The first role that I got in finance was with a lender in the market. I was a business development manager for a very niche finance product in asset finance. I learned the ins and outs of asset finance from there. I also learned what not to do because they’re no longer in the market!

Q. How did you find your first deals?

I was a man possessed in regard to calling people and building on any relationship so I could drive volume back into my business. I was calling people and showcasing what my worth was, what my value was, and who I was as a person.

From there, I just started to build out a big client base purely based off the person that I was. I wanted to be someone with [a] really good character. I wanted to look after the customer and over-deliver. I’m relationship-led and that has proven to be a successful strategy ever since.

Q. How do you stay on top of your workload?

My team will tell you my favourite word in the business is ‘process’. When I started the business, I had six settlements in one day, paperwork was everywhere, and I was stressed out of my brain. I knew I needed to hire more people. My first hire was my assistant at my previous work – I knew she was a weapon and I knew she’d be able to help! We built out a methodical process together.

We built out our own CRM off Salesforce.

Our process allows a customer not to lift a finger through the journey. Asset finance is quick. You’ve gotta be on the ball. You’ve gotta be proactive.

Q. What challenges are you facing at the moment?

Now that we’re getting a little bit bigger, picking the right partnerships and spending the right money on the right technology in order to scale our business are our main challenges.

I remember building out a massive referral partner portal, built off Salesforce. We spent a lot of money doing it, but our referral partners have never used it. Why? Because they trust in our normal process.

So not even testing that was a challenge. We probably should have put to market first!

Q. What are your top tips for new brokers?

You’ve got to be a master at relationships in asset finance. That means relationships with your customer but also with your bank/lender. I find that my biggest customer is actually the [lender]. So if we’re doing all the work the correct way, we’re getting a lot of cool things happening with our relationships with the [lender].

Take pride in doing what you want to achieve for the client. If you set up that client the first time really well, they’ll come back to you every single time.

You’ve got to be hungry. Unfortunately, in this game, it’s very competitive. You’ve got to be resilient.