Understanding your brokerage’s worth: Business Accelerator Program, Day 1

Leading mentor and business coach Jason Back from Broker Essentials was the epitome of how disruption in business is no barrier to success and growth as he harnessed technology and new ways of working by virtually presenting to brokers via the virtual portal, all while in lockdown in Melbourne.

In the first session of the program (held on Tuesday, 25 August), the Broker Essentials director outlined what makes a business valuable and why it is important to not only have business plans and strategies for writing loans, but also to increase the value of their business in the long run. By detailing an eight-point valuation plan, Mr Back also emphasised that having good data and having good record-keeping systems was intrinsic to a strong business operation. 

For the second session, the director and former GM of leading brokerage The Australian Lending & Investment Centre revealed effective business planning and key physical and behavioural tools that brokers need to embrace to ensure success.

While behavioural and planning tools are key for a healthy business, the mental and physical health of the broker behind the business is paramount. As such, the managing director of gold partner Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA), Peter White, outlined practical wellness tips for brokers and their teams, emphasising the importance of understanding that mental and emotional stress triggers can overwhelm individuals.

The third and final workshop session of the day involved embedding wellness principles into business by avoiding burnout. Jason Back differentiated what being busy and being productive looks like and laid out the most common derailers of productivity. He concluded by recommending brokers undertake an energy and time-saving audit to identify where their time-sapping activities are.

Introducing the event, the CEO of online mortgage platform HashChing, Arun Maharaj, acknowledged that while the coronavirus pandemic was causing uncertainty, anxiety and upheaval across the globe, there were still opportunities for brokers and borrowers.

“Of course, we have no control over these global forces and the impact on the housing market, instead we can focus on what we can control, and that is ourselves. Getting better is an infinite game… the way that brokers interact with customers has drastically had to change. The challenges of transitioning a business to a fully digital operation often take years, yet our industry has had to do this in a matter of months,” he said.

Mr Maharaj continued: “The brokers who are here today, who have taken active steps to improve and tackle the challenges in front of them, are almost always the ones that succeed in the long run.”

Registered participants are able to view the sessions from the Business Accelerator Program 2020 for free via the online event portal until the end of the week.

The 2020 event will continue on Wednesday (26 August) to uncover the technological tools that can improve efficiencies in a brokerage, while the final day of the program (Thursday, 27 August), will highlight leading marketing and lead generation strategies.

The Adviser’s Business Accelerator Program 2020 is brought to you in partnership with:

PRINCIPAL PARTNER 

HashChing

PLATINUM PARTNER 

Pepper Money

GOLD PARTNERS 

Adelaide Bank

FBAA

Mortgage Choice

Nextgen.Net

Prospa

Social Broker

Suncorp Bank