A lack of awareness about the support and mentoring available seems to be a big barrier for introducing new women into the broking industry.
In a recent survey only 31.5% of female brokers said there were sufficient sponsors and mentors for women.
In the same survey, which was carried out by the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia, 56% of men said the same response.
Only 4% of men said there were not sufficient sponsors and mentors, compared to nearly 28% of women.
The survey revealed a distinct difference in the level of awareness of support available to both new and existing brokers.
Generally, any broker that’s entering the industry and does not have two years’ experience must engage in a mentor.
Nancy Youssef from Classic Finance explained there are multiple mentoring avenues, such as working alongside an experienced broker, through your aggregator or, as she provides, a structured program.
Classic’s mentoring program lasts for two years and provides support for new to industry brokers. This support includes monthly full day workshops, one-on-one business building, coaching sessions and masterclasses.
Youssef said, “It’s really important when looking to be mentored that new to industry brokers are comparing apples with apples. They really need to ask about a plan: What support do I actually receive, on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? What sort of training will I be receiving? What is the mentor's overall value proposition?
“I feel that the word mentoring itself doesn’t truly reflect the different models that are out there. Some of them tend to be more one on one buddying up with a mortgage broker, whereas others are very much training academies and then there are others that provide a structured approach across both the technical and business building aspects of building a mortgage broking business. I think that’s where the confusion lies with new entrants comparing mentoring providers.”
Therese O’Neill is also a mentor and runs two year structured programs with her company Alphabroker Mentoring.
She said, “I think everybody feels isolated, it’s not just females specifically.
“Brokers just need to reach out. We always have space for brokers and 85% of the brokers that we mentor are startups but we’ve got about half a dozen that started with us this year that are existing brokers that just want some targeted help.
“I think it’s actually really smart to recognise that you need some help otherwise nothing’s going to change.
“I think what men will do unapologetically, which is what I see, if they’re an entrepreneur they will have no qualms about picking up the phone and asking can I spend a day with you?
“I think women are a little more timid around that. I think, and I’m guilty of it as well, women will sit there and go, they wouldn’t want to spend a day with me.
“This industry should be 50% women, it really should, where it’s such a natural fit for the service that we provide as brokers that there should be more women.”
Jennifer Bachir took part in a structured mentoring program when she became a self-employed broker after a career in financial services. The program helped prepare her for different lending scenarios, structuring deals, learning industry standards and meeting key players.
It also provided a team which vets a broker’s first 12 finance applications to provide feedback on how to submit a correctly structured file to the bank.
Bachir found the program by looking at the MFAA website and seeking out a female broker she drew inspiration from. She said despite her experience in the finance industry, brokering was a whole new world.
She added, “The most valuable part was the training and resources I had access to. Having that guidance when deciding where to place a deal and how best to structure the deal to suit the clients’ situation. Also, getting to know the people in the industry, putting a face to the name.
“Having dealt with banks for my own lending, it’s a whole new experience when it's for your client. Someone else's finances are in your hands and you don't want to get it wrong. Having access to a team with over 15 years of experience really helped me set up good processes and procedures in my business to ensure high quality submissions to banks.
“I guess women work in teams really well and they’re not afraid to seek help, so if they know it’s available to them it’ll definitely benefit females that want to enter the industry, particularly bankers. I’ve met quite a few female bankers who have been in banking for a long time and would love the opportunity to be self-employed and have that flexibility. If they know there’s that support available to them I’m sure more women will make that move.”
