Staying in touch keeps a client close. Being useful across their whole financial life keeps them from going anywhere else.
Most brokers know their back book is their biggest asset. Existing clients drive most of their new business, and the brokers who stay relevant to those clients are the ones who keep growing.
However, staying in touch is only half the job. A client who hears from their broker once a year may still buy a car through a dealership, insure their home online and find a conveyancer through a search engine.
Each of those is a financial conversation that happens without the broker and could become a missed opportunity to strengthen the client relationship.
NSW broker Rohit Puri has built his business around closing that gap.
A business built on the clients he already has
Rohit came to broking in 2019 from superannuation with no lending background. After four months without a single deal, he went on to build a $100 million loan book within three years. Today, his brokerage Flourish Finance has over 100 five-star Google reviews and grows through the people he has already helped.
Even his first deal, which was declined, became a lasting relationship. “That applicant is still my client because we worked on it and now his whole family are my clients. The majority of my business is repeat business and referrals from existing clients. That's my model."
Step one: stay front of mind
Rohit still calls two or three clients every day, just to say hello. As his book grew, he knew calls alone wouldn’t scale, so he leant on AFG's Smart marketing program to send birthday, loan anniversary and rate-change emails, plus a quarterly lifestyle newsletter, and to flag clients who may be thinking about leaving.
"When you scale, you can't call the customer as frequently, so you need tools to help remind the customer that you're there. It's a touch point, so clients keep getting reminded that Rohit Puri exists."
Step two: be the first call for everything else
Contact keeps the door open. What comes through it depends on what the broker can offer.
Rohit is connected with every partner currently in AFG's Partner Connect referral program, which links brokers with specialist partners across asset finance, commercial finance, utilities, insurance and conveyancing. When a client needs something outside his core offering, he has someone to send them to, keeping clients well looked after and adding a new income stream to his business.
For Rohit, the measure of success isn’t the size of each referral. It’s whether the client has a reason to look elsewhere.
"What's important is that you refer and provide the additional service to the client, so that they don't go anywhere else."
Trust is what grows the back book
Rohit’s next move is commercial lending, drawing on his accounting education. He’s starting with the people he knows best.
“I’ve started touching base with my existing clients who are self-employed just advising that I can help.”
It’s the same thinking he applies across his whole book. About 60% of his business is purchases, mostly first home buyers, and many will need insurance, a car loan or a conveyancer long before they need to refinance. If he’s the first person they call, that business stays with him.
For Rohit, that comes down to trust.
“Mortgage broking is not about interest rates. It’s about trust. It’s not giving the best rate. It’s giving solutions.”
The brokers who protect their back book don’t just stay in touch. They’re useful every time a client gets in touch with them.
Three questions to ask of your back book
1. Would you know if a client was about to leave?
2. What will your clients need next and who will they call?
3. Which clients could you help in a new way?
If any of these gave you pause, consider what the right support and tools could do for your next stage of growth. At AFG, Smart helps you stay front of mind and Partner Connect helps you become the first call for everything else. Your next opportunity is probably already sitting in your client list.
Download AFG’s information pack to find out more about Partner Connect and Smart.
Thinking about making a move? Talk to the AFG team about joining.
