“If you hate difference, you'll be bored to death,” says Phil Barton in the latest chapter of Aussie Warwick's diary.
Phil Barton and Natalie Duong began Aussie Warwick last year. Over 12 exclusive diary entries they talk about the personal and professional challenges of running a new brokerage.
Aussie Warwick has been gifted a year of excitement, anxiety, frustration and joy as we have seen the business grow from a dream into a reality. As Natalie and I have invested in our business nothing provides us with more satisfaction than being able to warmly greet a new client at our door and introduce them to the services we offer.
It is common knowledge that the overall market share of lending through mortgage brokers is growing and clients are now more familiar with the concept of what we do. When complemented by a strong brand presence above the door, clients are even more inclined to take the step of seeking our services rather than those of the high street banks.
Once the prospects have taken that first step it takes very little convincing of how a good mortgage broker distinguishes themselves from the best the banks can offer. With an increase in market share comes a wide range of clients from different demographics, at Warwick we are surrounded by residential suburbs suitable for clients from first home owners through to affluent upgraders and on to retirees. Throw into this a mix of commercial and business clients and you have got a diverse and rich tapestry of possible business.
There is never a day that we can predict what type of client can walk through the door, and that’s just fine by me.
Within the last month we have successfully provided finance to a variety of different clients, from an astute, fastidious retired senior government employee with extreme attention to detail, to a recent divorcee with little financial experience, requiring a little financial help but more counselling and guidance.
To complement these we have had the first home buyers, typically with short time in employment and with little or no deposit, seeking assurance and advice on how to achieve their dream of home ownership in the future. Our immediate suburbs seem to provide a proliferation of related party transfers, deceased estates, migrants, divorce settlements, million dollar refinances and small loan increases.
Through our doors come tradies with muddy boots, shift workers on the edge of sleep, mums and dads with their five children in tow, professionals, teachers, nurses and many of the traditional Aussie battlers.
In turn we have been rewarded with gifts, been invited for meals and have been welcomed into their homes. My fondest memory is being invited to the house of a client from the Ethiopian community to meet the elders and participate in the blessing of the home.
My favourite to date is a new client, a busy GM of a construction company and recent Australian Citizen, but more importantly an impressionable first home owner. His first attempts at securing finance were in my eyes a disaster, an application dancing in the dreaded oxygen starved zone of 95% LVR. I always love working with first home owners but here was a good potential client to leverage future referrals.
If any application consumed me for longer than should have been necessary, this was the one. The loan amount was significant, employment stable and security sound. Research was done and analysis completed. Naively assurances were given. What could go wrong?
There was just one area of weakness which was enough to kill the deal and we were left embarrassed and frustrated. Plenty of time and work for no reward.
However my worst fear was the loss of a client and the feeling that we had let him down. Perception is everything as a business owner and failure to secure finance may be perceived as an overall bad job by me. As the dust settled and time was given for the client to provide more of a deposit, contact became less frequent due to the nature of his job. Then out of the blue the call came that he had found a property again and was ready to go, with Warwick as his brokerage!
All he had remembered was the lengths we went to and the tenacity we had shown to assist him. Success was achieved and earlier promises fulfilled.
Time and time again I am taught that you cannot judge a book by its cover. The key thing that I live by is that if all our clients were the same then we would be overcome with boredom. I welcome diversity in our clients and respect that all have different levels of understanding and experience. You have to expect the good and the bad and remember that no matter which client walks through your door they are the key to growth in your business.
Aussie Warwick has been gifted a year of excitement, anxiety, frustration and joy as we have seen the business grow from a dream into a reality. As Natalie and I have invested in our business nothing provides us with more satisfaction than being able to warmly greet a new client at our door and introduce them to the services we offer.
It is common knowledge that the overall market share of lending through mortgage brokers is growing and clients are now more familiar with the concept of what we do. When complemented by a strong brand presence above the door, clients are even more inclined to take the step of seeking our services rather than those of the high street banks.
Once the prospects have taken that first step it takes very little convincing of how a good mortgage broker distinguishes themselves from the best the banks can offer. With an increase in market share comes a wide range of clients from different demographics, at Warwick we are surrounded by residential suburbs suitable for clients from first home owners through to affluent upgraders and on to retirees. Throw into this a mix of commercial and business clients and you have got a diverse and rich tapestry of possible business.
There is never a day that we can predict what type of client can walk through the door, and that’s just fine by me.
Within the last month we have successfully provided finance to a variety of different clients, from an astute, fastidious retired senior government employee with extreme attention to detail, to a recent divorcee with little financial experience, requiring a little financial help but more counselling and guidance.
To complement these we have had the first home buyers, typically with short time in employment and with little or no deposit, seeking assurance and advice on how to achieve their dream of home ownership in the future. Our immediate suburbs seem to provide a proliferation of related party transfers, deceased estates, migrants, divorce settlements, million dollar refinances and small loan increases.
Through our doors come tradies with muddy boots, shift workers on the edge of sleep, mums and dads with their five children in tow, professionals, teachers, nurses and many of the traditional Aussie battlers.
In turn we have been rewarded with gifts, been invited for meals and have been welcomed into their homes. My fondest memory is being invited to the house of a client from the Ethiopian community to meet the elders and participate in the blessing of the home.
My favourite to date is a new client, a busy GM of a construction company and recent Australian Citizen, but more importantly an impressionable first home owner. His first attempts at securing finance were in my eyes a disaster, an application dancing in the dreaded oxygen starved zone of 95% LVR. I always love working with first home owners but here was a good potential client to leverage future referrals.
If any application consumed me for longer than should have been necessary, this was the one. The loan amount was significant, employment stable and security sound. Research was done and analysis completed. Naively assurances were given. What could go wrong?
There was just one area of weakness which was enough to kill the deal and we were left embarrassed and frustrated. Plenty of time and work for no reward.
However my worst fear was the loss of a client and the feeling that we had let him down. Perception is everything as a business owner and failure to secure finance may be perceived as an overall bad job by me. As the dust settled and time was given for the client to provide more of a deposit, contact became less frequent due to the nature of his job. Then out of the blue the call came that he had found a property again and was ready to go, with Warwick as his brokerage!
All he had remembered was the lengths we went to and the tenacity we had shown to assist him. Success was achieved and earlier promises fulfilled.
Time and time again I am taught that you cannot judge a book by its cover. The key thing that I live by is that if all our clients were the same then we would be overcome with boredom. I welcome diversity in our clients and respect that all have different levels of understanding and experience. You have to expect the good and the bad and remember that no matter which client walks through your door they are the key to growth in your business.
Phil and Natalie will be detailing their experiences every other Friday on MPA Online and in Australian Broker magazine two weeks following. You can find Aussie Warwick's website here.
Previous diary entries:
Diary of a new brokerage #7: Running a brokerage with your spouse
Diary of a new brokerage #6 Link, like and tweet me... please!
Diary of a new brokerage #5 Gain control of the uncontrollable
Previous diary entries:
Diary of a new brokerage #7: Running a brokerage with your spouse
Diary of a new brokerage #6 Link, like and tweet me... please!
Diary of a new brokerage #5 Gain control of the uncontrollable
