When you’re just starting out, it can be difficult to know what the future holds for you. You have a dream of becoming a mortgage broker and you’ve taken the first step toward making your dream a reality. You have your certification, maybe even a few initial clients. You’re wondering whether to splash out on a shiny new website, open a Facebook group or revive your old corporate LinkedIn profile.
It can be overwhelming to know what to do and what it takes to be a truly successful mortgage broker.
Here are 6 top tips we believe will get you started (and what we help our clients with):
1. Have a beginner’s mindset (and be a quick learner)
You’re going to be learning a lot of new things once you get into the brokerage business. It’s important to be able to absorb all that information quickly, so you can start closing deals as soon as possible.
And if you’re going solo, or you’ve come from a brokerage firm, you might not be used to doing things like marketing or even admin yourself because you might have had a team to handle all that before.
Take things one step at a time and prioritise what will actually move the needle for you.
2. Invest in personal and professional development
A good broker is always looking for ways to improve their skills. They’re not just motivated, they’re also highly skilled. And a big part of being skilled is knowing (and acknowledging) what you don’t know, and then seeking out training and/or coaching or support in those areas. This can be in-house training provided by the bank, lender or aggregator, or it could be a professional development course you enroll in.
Regardless of the method, brokers are constantly on the lookout for new knowledge that will help them become better brokers and better people.
And it’s not just about being a better broker – other skills you’ll need include knowing how to hire, train and manage a team, market and sell your services, and the technology and tools you need to run your business.
Pro tip: don’t do all of this alone! Allocate budget for some help in these areas – it will accelerate your growth and leave you time to grow your business.
3. Invest in the right tools for your business
Gone are the days of paper and a phone to run a successful brokerage business (if those days ever existed in the first place!) But this is great news for new brokers – there really has never been a better time to be in the industry with all the technology and automation tools out there to make your business run better.
Our personal favourites that we support our clients with are Salestrekker for your CRM and ActivePipe for your email marketing and customer communication. So much of your business can be automated to free you up to actually manage the deals that will grow your business.
4. Excellent verbal and negotiating qualities
As a mortgage broker, you will be responsible for identifying your client’s needs and then developing a solution that fits those needs (even if it’s different from their expectations). You’ll be negotiating with your clients’ banks to get them the best possible loan terms. You must also be able to pitch the benefits not only to the client but also while applying with the lender. On a daily basis, you’ll be negotiating a price with a BDM or convincing them to make an exception to their standard lending policy.
These are not always easy or straightforward conversations to have with people – especially if you are the one delivering the news that their deposit isn’t high enough or their debt and spending habits mean they can’t buy a home yet. Are you prepared for these discussions (all while showing empathy and care for the customer)?
5. Deal with rejection
The best way to deal with rejection is to anticipate it. As you strive to line up the settlement, you will meet rejection from potential clients, banks, and even solicitors and real estate brokers on a regular basis.
Before a lead even becomes a deal you will be faced with people who unsubscribe from your email list or tell you that they’ve gone elsewhere for various reasons.
This is all part of running a business, so there’s no way to avoid it.
What matters is how quickly you can recover from these setbacks and maintain your focus on the task at hand. Sometimes all it takes is acceptance of the loss and a swift move on to the next target.
6. Being passionate about helping others
You know what’s great about being a broker? It means you get to help people get homes, investment properties, business purchases and so much more.
And for many, this is the biggest moment of their life. A dream come true! It’s not just about getting them accepted for a loan and getting them into a house. It’s about helping them change their lives through property ownership.
It’s about knowing that when you speak with your customers, you’re speaking their language. You’re on their side, and they feel like they can trust you.
This is why we love being brokers: because it makes us feel like we’re making such a difference in people’s lives.
Quality is the key to success in any career. You’re only as good as your last deal, so make sure you have the right tools and attitude for the job and succeed!
