Earlier this year, Hayden Cush took on the role of national sales manager at AFG Home Loans. He explains to Australian Broker what the new role means and shares his advice for brokers
Q: What’s the greatest challenge for brokers at this time?
A: We have just seen a very turbulent 18 to 24 months in the third party space, caused by a number of external forces. The rapid pace of change in lending policies and lender requirements has made the broker’s job of finding a solution for the consumer challenging. Add on top of this further compliance requirements and an imminent best interest duty, and this will be the greatest challenge for brokers in the short term. But whilst it will be challenging, it also makes the broker proposition so much more attractive for the end consumer, who would find it near impossible to navigate their own way to a competitive lending product.
Q What was your first job?
A: I worked for the local Mobil fuel station in Kingaroy – the usual fuel servo jobs of filling up cars and trucks, washing cars, replacing gas cylinders and selling copious amounts of cigarettes and pre-paid phone credit. A number of my siblings had worked there prior going through school, so it seemed like a good fit.
Q: What’s one thing, personal or professional, that you hope to achieve before the end of the year?
A: With the new national role, I was given the opportunity to relocate back to Brisbane from Melbourne. I am originally from up north but was given the chance to move to Melbourne just over five years ago with AFG, so I am looking forward to settling back into Brisbane and am thankful for the opportunity to return home.
Q: What is one piece of advice you often give your mentee brokers?
A: Ensure you have a variety of referrers set up as early as possible when moving into the broking world. Lean on your aggregator partnership managers and your lender BDMs for support and get yourself to as many industry functions as possible to network and get an understanding of best practice from your peers. The family and friend referrals are great, but in the long term they won’t be enough to sustain a successful mortgage broking business. As your business begins to grow, ensure you then have the right marketing program automated to keep your client base engaged.
