Brokers need to get in front of clients more than they realise and avoid making wrong decisions based on shaken confidence if they want to succeed and grow throughout 2023, says the head of a broker coaching business .
James Veigli (pictured above), is the founder of Melbourne-based Broker Ideas Group, which has a team of 22 based across Australia and the Philippines. It includes industry experts and business coaches dedicated to helping Australian and New Zealand brokers take their business to the next level.
Veigli said the fundamentals of success in broking have remained the same over many years, and came down to having a good plan and sticking to it.
“The fundamentals haven’t changed in terms of knowing what you want, creating a plan to get there in the simplest possible way and implementing it – without getting distracted,” Veigli said.
“But most brokers don’t have much of a plan, or some do have a plan, but sticking to it and knowing the details and nuances to execute that correctly is where a lot still go wrong.”
Veigli said in an environment of rising rates, high inflation and property prices coming off, the obvious thing brokers need to do in 2023 is to get out and engage their communities.
“They need to make sure they are out in front of prospects, clients and partners a lot more than they think they should right now to make sure they are actually solidifying those relationships and stepping up as their trusted adviser, so to speak,” Veigli said.
“A lot of people are considering their situation, so if their broker is missing, they might just refinance with a cashback offer. You need to speak to your clients and show you’re proactive about their concerns, getting them the best deal and helping them through what they are going through.”
Brokers also need to avoid letting a hit to their own self-confidence turn their business focus from leads and growth towards a knee-jerk cutting of costs – such as on marketing or letting staff go, Veigli said.
“They need to stay confident about their ability to generate leads and grow their businesses despite any downturn and continue to double down on that approach,” he said.
One Broker Ideas Group member, for example, employed a full-time staff member late last year to do loan pricing requests and directly reach out and engage with the brokerage’s client base.
“He noticed an uplift in volume of a few million dollars a month just by doing that, with no new marketing,” said Veigli. “He was just working with his existing client base, and put in place a systematic process of looking at each client, seeing how to add value, and then contacting them to help with that.”
Veigli suggested brokers avoid having a default approach to annual reviews – such as asking via an automated email if a client wants a review – and step up to tell the client it is time for a review and how important it is.
Paralysis or distraction a risk to business growth
The industry is trying to do a good job of helping brokers, Veigli said, but all the information, PD days and conferences meant they had “1,000 people trying to telling them what they should do”.
He said that can often lead to brokers being “overwhelmed and paralysed”, or building a business that is a “mess” based on taking tidbits of advice and adding products and services not core to their plan.
“They end up bolting on all these new pieces of technology or services and building a Frankenstein monster of a business that isn’t at all what they really want.”
Veigli said one way to deal with this is for brokers to have a coach or third party help determine what they want to achieve and map that back into an actionable plan – and importantly keep them accountable.
“If they are in a position of not knowing what to do, find a coach or someone who has done it. Often if you are so close to the business, you can’t see the simplicity of what to do next, you get caught up in it because you are too close to all of the stuff going on.”
