Four essentials for a move into mortgage broking
With your strong set of lending skills, you’ve made the decision to take the leap into mortgage broking, with all the benefits of autonomy and flexibility that entails. So, what now? At Choice, we’ve helped many candidates with financial experience use their myriad skills to start their own broker business.
Daniel moved into the broking industry a little over a year ago, fulfilling a long-held dream of setting up his own business following a six-year career as a home lender, branch manager and business banking manager.
Flexible support models
When you’re starting out in broking, you want to be able to choose the level of support you need. Whether it’s for marketing, managing your business, technology or compliance, at Choice we have flexible support models where we offer different levels of support depending on your experience as a broker.
This flexibility was important for Daniel when choosing a partner to aggregate with.
“I really wanted to know who I was going to be dealing with and wanted to work with people who were going to support me when I needed it,” says Daniel, who opted to become a self-employed broker, aggregating through Choice Aggregation Services. “I really have had a great experience with Choice. Obviously, I chose them as my aggregator and from the meetings I had with my Partnership Manager Chris White I could see some strong synergies with him and recognised his work ethic,” he says.
Peer-to-peer guidance
When you’re starting your own business, sometimes you don’t have the experience to know where your learning gaps are. Choice has extensive experience bringing on board financial professionals who want to become brokers, and has fine-tuned programs to cater for the needs of new brokers, offering ‘real learning’ experiences.
The Choice ‘real learning’ difference is about bringing you into direct contact with other experienced brokers – many who started out as financial professionals like you – so you can learn and gain confidence sooner. We’re recognised across the industry for a strong peer-to-peer support network in which brokers genuinely help other brokers.
Our ongoing program of events is designed to offer industry insight and education, while providing a forum for our members to network with lender partners, professionals, mentors and peers. The program includes Business Development Days twice a year in every state capital plus a lender expo in each state once a year. It also offers the think tank Top Group Summit, annual Lender Days and a Platinum Conference for top achievers. In addition, Choice holds Commercial Business Development days in every state capital once a year and a National Conference every two years, plus a number of other targeted events locally.
Shawn is another former financial professional now broker who researched the market extensively before deciding to join Choice.
“It was a big decision to walk away from a stable, salaried job with all the entitlements that go with that, such as annual leave, sick leave and super paid each fortnight. I also have a young family, so there was a lot to consider. But I look at this as a long-term transition.”
For brokers like Shawn, Choice’s peer-to-peer support provides much-needed encouragement and guidance from people who understand, ensuring that while you’re a business owner, you’re not alone.
Upskilling and training
Making the change to broking requires a little upfront training, and Choice invests in your ongoing training to make sure you’re offering customers the best service possible.
Shawn says people often underestimate what is needed to join the broking industry. He spent several months becoming accredited with a Certificate IV and Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking, as well as ensuring he met the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia requirements and registering with external dispute resolution bodies.
“There is work to be done once you take the leap,” he explains. “You just need to go in with the mindset that you just knuckle down and get it all done. It took me about four months to get everything completed,” he says.
Once you’re on board, Choice also offers ongoing training and upskilling programs to tap into the collective experience of the extensive broker network, ensuring you’re up to speed with the latest regulatory changes, product offers, technology updates and available marketing programs.
Our nationwide training program also features a wide range of industry experts, world-class speakers and networking opportunities to keep our brokers inspired and motivated.
Partnership support
Good partnership support is a crucial aspect of a successful broking business. As a broker with us, you’ll be well positioned to embrace change, solve challenges and capitalise on opportunities.
We focus on adapting our programs and technology to ensure you’re at the forefront of industry change, and the longevity and success of our members can give you confidence that Choice is definitely a long-term partner.
We’re also experienced, with more than 20 years in the industry supporting brokers. We have a rich history of award-winning brokers, and in 2017 five of our brokers were recognised in Mortgage Professional Australia’s Top 100 Brokers report, with one being awarded the number-one spot.
Our members are in the broking business with us for the long term. More than 50 have been with us for more than 10 years and 20 per cent of our member base have been with us for more than 15 years, demonstrating enduring satisfaction with Choice.
Helping people achieve their dreams
Shawn, along with many others both within the industry and outside, holds very positive views of broking.
Among the many benefits it offers, broking can help clients achieve their goals of home or business ownership, at competitive rates, so it’s clear to see that embarking on a career as a broker can lead to you having a genuinely positive impact on people’s lives.
If that sounds like a direction you’d like your financial career to take, get in touch by calling (+61) 402 311 456 or email Chris on chris@seekhomeloans.com.au.
