Having a mentor and mentoring program provides the skills, emotional support and industry connections necessary to succeed.

While there is a plethora of programs available, a good start is to search the finance and broker associations, aggregators, franchisors and private mentoring programs to see what they have on offer. Most will endorse individuals with select experience to help new brokers out, ranging from brokers, loan writers or educators in the lending and credit industry. 

Programs offer everything from loan writing, case studies on lending scenarios, business management, compliance handling and general day-to-day operations, plus much more. 

For former marketing specialist Catherine Denney, joining a new industry was daunting, but having a mentor gave her the “comfort” needed to build a successful brokerage in the competitive Australian capital, Sydney.

“The fact that we have a mentor for two years is a brilliant industry initiative,” Ms Denney told The Adviser.

“It’s given me a lot of comfort as a new broker, knowing I’ve got someone I can call and that relationship is there for that reason.”

Finding the right mentor 

Indeed, finding the right mentor to suit your needs requires some research and an understanding of your own individual needs. 

As a fairly “independent person”, Ms Denney knew what kind of business she wanted to create and sought a mentor who was going to be in line with her values.

“I know the pace at which I’m working to build my business… [and] I wanted a mentor who was going to support me with that but not direct me,” she told The Adviser’s Elite Broker podcast.

“Mentors are really different… Some have really structured programmes where you’re part of a group of mentees, others want to take you on and really almost bring you into their business and really sit alongside you.”

Ms Denney met with a number of people and took the time to understand what they offered and how they approached mentoring before she chose Joel De Shannon, a broker at the Connective Group.

“I spoke to quite a few mentors that were put to me by Connective, my aggregator. And I think it helps to have a mentor who is part of your same group,” she said.

“I really sought out [Joel] who I knew was going to guide me and teach me how to fish but not tell me how to do it.

“He’s been brilliant and I’ll ring him with a question and he’ll point me in a direction and then I solve the problem and that’s how I’ve learned.”

The more the merrier

While it’s a requirement for brokers to have a mentor for their first two years, others see an incredible benefit to have a mentor long afterwards, too.

Mortgage broker and founder of Australian Property Home Loans, Adele Andrews, was nearing her two-year mentoring tenure when she decided to continue a mentorship program that offered something different.

Ms Andrews began searching for “more of a business coaching arrangement”.

“I believe that no matter what stage you are at in your business, there is always someone better than you to learn from,” Ms Andrews said.

“I think it’s really important to continue to have that support network. The industry changes so frequently and there are so many different types of loans that come through,” she said.

Following her two-year mentorship, which paved the way for starting a successful brokerage, she joined Mario Borg and Andrew Tan to take it to that “next level”, such as to master marketing and other aspects of the business as well as grow her network. 

“I have slightly new needs in terms of development and business coaching. Mario and Andrew have a great reputation in the industry and have a great offering in terms of both mentoring and helping further build a broker business,” she said.

“I think it’s important to align yourself with successful people, Mario has run very successful, lucrative businesses and if he can do it and teach me how to do it then I am all for that.”

However, she added that the initial mentoring support from her first mentor, Sue Hayter, was critical in navigating compliance, processes and loan applications.

“I had no idea what my requirements were and to have someone assist with processes, templates and systems so that my compliance was looked after was instrumental,” Ms Andrews said.

“The ability to have someone as a sounding board about how to structure a deal was also very helpful, as was getting overviews of lender policies on a regular basis. 

“Sue was terrific at introducing me to so many people in the industry which meant I was building relationships and feeling more comfortable in a relatively new world to me. Overall though, I would have to say processes and structure [was the most important thing I benefitted from]... absolutely imperative!”

In finding her mentors, Ms Andrews searched who was “prevalent at the time for new-to-industry brokers” and what the mentor’s commitment, accessibility and the training programs were.

Going from loan admin to broker

Lauren Conde at Ever After Loans, who had been a loan administrator before becoming a broker herself, said that even while having in-depth knowledge of how to process a loan helped, there was still much to learn.

This included needing to understand sales and marketing as well as credit policy and structuring of a loan.

“Having a good mentor to turn to and ask about loans and not just sales and marketing is essential,” Ms Conde said.

“It is all well and good to sell yourself and build your sales skills, but at the end of the day you need to be able to structure and submit loans, too.”

Before starting out on her own, Ms Conde worked as a loan administrator for Home Loan Connexion (headed up by broker Tracy Kearey) and attributed her success to the mentorship program as well as harnessing the skills from her colleagues. 

“Working alongside other brokers willing to give their time is such a great thing for new to industry brokers and those getting back into the mix,” Ms Conde said, calling out the support she received from brokers Rod Lingard and Eleanor Crosby over her two-year training.

Returning the favour

Having lived the benefits the two-year mentorship program provided her, Ms Conde put her hand up to become a qualified mentor herself. 

She suggested that others could look to do the same: “I think it is such an important role to consider if you have industry experience to help support those getting into the industry or the newer to industry brokers. 

“There is enough work to go around and those with experience can help educate new brokers.”

She added forums such as Finance and Coffee were “brilliant” for new brokers to ask questions and gain good insights, but having a good mentor was key for new broker development in the industry.

Thus, spending the time to seek out a good mentor to provide helpful advice, industry insight and build one’s confidence as a new broker will bear the fruits for a successful career.

Want a mentor?

If you’re looking for a new mentor but don’t know where to start, then a good place to start, check out your broker association.

Both the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) and the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) have a host of support tools and contact details for mentors in the industry as well as specific mentoring programs.