Chris Slater, head of distribution at AFG, said the “horse has bolted” when it comes to face-to-face communication due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our brokers have been very clear to us that one of the ways they could handle the surge in opportunities in 2021 was by using technology that allowed non-face-to-face,” Slater said. “Their very strong view, which I agree with, is they will never return to the ‘old ways’ of all-face-to-face. It will be a combination of both.”
The AFG leader said since a huge part of what they do is “relationship-based,” brokers’ interactions with each other and lender BDMs will still involve plenty of face-to-face meetings.
To help brokers build and maintain relationships, the aggregator has been providing them with “speed to yes and on-the ground support.”
This includes the roll out of AFG’s new CRM platform across the network, the launch of a new digital product, Sparc, and the introduction of its new mobile app called Handl.
Also providing AFG brokers and customers with many benefits is open banking, which Slater said will change how customer data is gathered and consumed.
“Things like easier collection of information and accuracy of that information allowing quicker applications and quicker decisions will be good for the industry,” he said. “I think real-time [live] predictability of finance approval, or certainty of approval, will be one of the great benefits to come from open banking. Our brokers’ trusted positions with their customers will be crucial as open banking rolls out, and AFG intends to be at the cutting edge of this.”
Slater said other tech tools AFG introduced to help brokers included a new customer portal, its award-winning automated platform, SMART, an AI customer-retention tool, and extensive data analytics.
