With change emerging on multiple fronts, it is important for brokers to brand themselves in the right manner, one leading aggregator head has said.
The key is for brokers to position themselves as problems solvers for clients through their knowledge of different lender policies,
Connective director Mark Haron told
Australian Broker.
“In marketing, use things like case studies. Don’t name the major details but talk about clients coming to you in different situations requiring finance who are finding it hard to get funds and the solutions that you were able to put in place.”
As most brokers already have clients with interest-only loans on their books, this was an easy way to offer alternative solutions, he said.
The biggest areas of change have revolved around lending policies and regulation, Haron added.
While the rapid succession of amendments on interest rates and loan products had impacted brokers’ productivity now, the impact of increased regulatory oversight will only be felt by brokers in 2018 once proposals in the ASIC remuneration review and Sedgwick review are implemented.
“At this stage, lenders and aggregators are mostly at the forefront of that but it will flow through and affect brokers more next year.”
Haron admitted that the current environment could be frustrating to brokers but said there was not much any one broker could do to control the lenders or regulators.
“It’s like the weather or the economy. You can’t control it so you’ve got to look at the consequences of what comes out of it and see how you can make the most out of these conditions.”
The theme of change is currently being covered at the Connective Conference 2017, So Much More, which has been held in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia with upcoming events in New South Wales and South Australia.
To help brokers increase their resilience in the current environment, the conference has enlisted the help of Shannah Kennedy and Lyndall Mitchell from The Essentialists, dubbed the “Thelma and Louise of wellness,” who will discuss tips for wellbeing to combat the negativity and challenges of the present time.
“It’s about dealing with that negativity and trying to turn that around into something more positive and look for ways to be more productive, and at the same time remain focused on personal wellness,” Haron said.
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