How to be a Broker and a Business Owner?
Being a broker entails a lot more than just owning a brokerage firm; it also involves a lot of responsibility. You are not only giving direct service to customers, but you are also running a business to support those services. It is necessary to recognise that you must work on your business and in it if you want to expand it.
Here are some strategies to help you organise your task list to focus on the things that matter:
- Identify the best ways to recruit, convert, and retain the business.
- Specify how you want to manage the brokerage/cliture.
- Map out tactics to reach your goals.
- Identify best practices/brokers you most desire to be like.
- Plan for the various risks and factors that could impact your success.
A growth strategy should also include the brokerage outside of yourself - who would manage the business if you were away or retire.
Document processes
Well-written policies and procedures help lighten the load. It may take some time to document what you probably do spontaneously, but it is important to record things step by step so you can confidently delegate them to others. Taking cues from well-established businesses or brokers might also help you better frame your policies.
Automation of processes
Technology has provided many tools to assist in the automation of low-value activities. Everything from accounting systems (automatically issuing invoices and payment reminders) to social media platforms can be programmed (to schedule status updates). These include HubSpot, Later, Zapier, Metigy, Mercury, Calendly, and more. These solutions allow you to focus on issues that require your attention by allowing you to free up your time.
Delegation is the key to success
Assign more responsibilities to employees and begin delegating duties based on your team's skills and interests. You may want to keep some monitoring at first. Still, your goal should be to build a culture where employees can openly communicate any difficulties with you, and you can trust them to flag any issues before they become more serious. Appropriately compensate people for their increased responsibilities.
Consider using Brokers' BackOffice's Dedicated Loan Processor if your job volume isn't high enough to justify hiring a full-time employee. You can customise the number of hours you require the fully trained staff per week and pay accordingly. It not only saves you the headache of training but also keeps your budget in check.
Make Time
There are no two ways about it. You will have to remove time from your busy schedule to develop new ideas to make your business more appealing to clients. You can achieve this by having regular brainstorming sessions with your staff. It not only helps to acquire clients but also preserve the relationship with the existing ones.
Every step taken thoughtfully brings you closer to your goals. If you are lost in everyday tasks, the progress of your business may reach stagnation soon. Therefore, it's essential to have the vision, mission, end-to-end sales strategy, target clients, systematic loan processing, follow-ups, and post settlement services in mind.
Stay connected and updated
Keep up with what's going on in your industry and beyond by reading, listening, and staying informed. You will learn new ways to think about things - and maybe even new ways to accomplish things.
Maintain an active social media presence, particularly on LinkedIn and Facebook. Spending half an hour a day on these sites will pay off in the long run. People get more familiar with your brand as a result of your online presence. It establishes credibility and fosters future client trust.
Take advantage of opportunities
No company has ever progressed without attempting new things. Periodically conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) study and begin supporting the pursuit of opportunities.
Finding balance begins with taking a step back to choose where you want to spend your energies and which tasks should be delegated to others. By doing this, you will not only have more time for broking but also expanding your business.
Importance of FAQs
Many customer service queries initially may revolve around issues that you can resolve quickly with a FAQ or a blog post. However, writing this sort of article is probably the last thing on your mind when you are busy broking mortgages and trying to expand your business. But like any other investment, writing FAQs and blogs can result in a long-term benefit. Apart from that, it saves your clients the inconvenience of waiting for a response.
Outsource
Consider outside help if you don't have the knowledge or resources to handle business support activities in-house. Outsourcing can save you a lot of money. You could pay an accounting agency to accomplish everything for you in a fraction of the time instead of spending 10 hours a week on tiresome bookkeeping. You'll have an extra 10 hours to concentrate on broking.
Why choose Brokers BackOffice?
Brokers BackOffice is a Sydney based outsourcing firm specialised in handling lender processing services for mortgage brokers operating in Australia and New Zealand.
Our team is specifically trained in handling back office activities for mortgage brokers. Our service offering ranges from simply preparing an application in ApplyOnline for brokers' review to providing full support at every stage of the loan application until its settlement.
Brokers BackOffice provide excellent service for a very reasonable fee which involves no fixed cost and commitment. Fee is charges on a case-by-case basis.