We speak with Janine Leafe, who has been a senior mortgage broker at the chartered accounting firm PKF Perth since 2020, about her experiences in working with her referral partner, accountant Kirsty Jones, how that relationship works, and what brokers should be across when entering this space.
It’s long been said that accountants are the right-hand of SMEs and SME finances. But while this continues to be true, brokers are increasingly becoming a key player for small businesses looking to explore their options.
It’s a development that highlights an underlying value of brokers establishing partnerships with other financial providers, specifically in the instance where one is looking to enter the realm of commercial finance.
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We speak with Janine Leafe, who has been a senior mortgage broker at the chartered accounting firm PKF Perth since 2020, about her experiences in working with her referral partner, accountant Kirsty Jones, how that relationship works, and what brokers should be across when entering this space.
The Adviser: You work with an accountant at PKF. What’s the experience of having a partner when working with SME clients?
Janine Leafe: We have to work together collaboratively. I don't try to say that I do understand things when it's not there, but we quickly work to a solution. I'll go straight to Kirsty and say, “Look, this doesn't make sense. Can you explain this?”. We don't try to dwell. When Kirsty comes to me, generally for the SMEs, it'll be for equipment finance or commercial loans. It's then for me to be able to quickly read through the financials.
Do you think that partnership has made a difference for your clients?
When you've got a good relationship with your accountant, it makes the difference because where Kirsty fills my education gaps, it really works to a quicker outcome for the clients, too. So it's important for a broker to have strong relationships. That's where it all begins I think.
Is there anything specific that has contributed to that difference?
I try to do as much as I can without having to get too much information from Kirsty, because I'm very aware that she's got a lot on her plate. So what I've been doing over the last 18 months is upskilling. Making sure that I'm doing a lot of learning like studies through, whether based on MFAA or the FBAA. I'm actually a member of both which most brokers don't do. I’ve found that it's been an interesting point of difference because I can get education through both sides.
What’s the actual process in how you and Kirsty build a plan for a small business client?
The process is definitely client specific, because some might already have a relationship with other PKF divisions. But if Kirsty, for example, has a really well-established relationship, I can extract a lot of data without having to go to the client first. That’s super important in terms of alleviating the client’s stress. It's just making sure that the clients come first. We don't touch base with the clients until we've done as much as we can as a team.
What about in terms of finding a solution?
I try to do data collection solutions, or my perceived solutions, then I'll ask the accountant for their advice and say, “Well, this is what I think, does this actually suit their needs moving forward?” because it's important that it doesn't only suit the needs short term. We're not going to jeopardise something that may happen in the next financial year. Sometimes the products might be suitable short term, but not long term.
Do you have a certain methodology in place over who discusses what with each client?
Again, it generally comes down to your personal relationships. I always ask Kirsty, because if it's introduced through Kirsty, it's ultimately their client. And I want to give the clients the same service as what I would give one of my external clients. Generally, I like to put it back to the referrer and ask them what they would like.
What would you say is the first concept a broker should be across if they’re looking to enter this world?
That it’s a two way street, ultimately. Your partner needs to understand their client's needs and then be able to come to me understanding that they probably can already get the facility that they require. You wouldn't want somebody that's referring and just gives you a name and a number and just leaves that on your desk. I think if it's a broker referring to the accountants, you'd also want that sort of relationship too. That's the way I see it anyway.
Is there anything a broker can do to ensure that the partnership starts well immediately ?
I think what a broker needs to do is just establish a rapport with the person that they're going to deal with, and say, “Look, I've actually gotten my degree or I've got a diploma or whatever it may be” or, “Look, these are the case scenarios that I’ve had” or just some live examples. Unfortunately it is a timing thing. You can't force trust, you can't force credibility and reputation.
Is there anything a broker should avoid doing when looking for a partner to assist with small business clients?
Do not pretend that you know what you're doing, because accountants will sniff you out very quickly. If you do have knowledge gaps, you're going to have to make that known straight away. If you’re going out there and pretending that you know, and then the outcomes off the back of that are all negative, you're going to quickly burn your relationships with accountants. Be open to the fact that you need to upskill to meet them in the middle somewhere.
Tips from an accountant - Kirsty Jones
Understand your product.
“I can tell [Janine] exactly how much [a client is] making, how they're doing it, what the business prospects are for the future. But in terms of the product that they should actually be selecting, that's where I really rely on Janine's expertise.”
Be reliable
“Whoever you refer to they're an extension of that. So you really need to be able to trust in them, their ability and their knowledge.”
Find someone you can build with
“You have to be able to build that rapport, and you have to know that they're going to be able to build that same rapport with the client as well, because otherwise the relationship is just not going to work.”
Have a referral
“Obviously the best referral is going to be someone introducing them. So finding someone that you've got a similar contact with that could do that referral.”
You can find out more about Janine Leafe and Kirsty Jones in The Adviser’s Elite Broker podcast.
Tune in to the episode with Janine and Kirsty, How brokers and accountants can best service SMEs, below
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