Tips for building loyalty with self-employed borrowers

Building client relationships that encourage repeat business and referrals is a great way for brokers to build long-term stability and profitability. In fact, a recent survey of Bluestone’s network of accredited brokers found that 73 per cent of them regard referral marketing as one of their best-performing growth strategies.

Self-employed borrowers are the perfect market to target when looking to build return business, as their financial needs are often more comprehensive and more likely to call for regular support. Below, I’ve summarised some tips for attracting and retaining these customers.

Provide genuine value

First and foremost, if you want to build a loyal fanbase, you need to provide great service. Strong product knowledge and a good relationship with a diverse panel of lenders are key to always having the best solution at your fingertips. This is the foundation that has to underpin your service, but it’s only the start to providing a truly memorable experience.

The difference between good and great service is in the details. Find ways to make your customers’ lives easier, such as sending regular SMS reminders and updates so they never have to worry about the status of their loan application.

Get to know their Business

When a self-employed borrower approaches you, they have a specific need. Maybe they want to purchase their first home but don’t have access to the records other lenders require, or perhaps they want to refinance their existing mortgage to pay off a tax debt.

While helping them meet this need, try to understand the broader context of the business. What does their cash flow look like, and do they regularly need cash injections to keep everything running smoothly? What are their plans for expansion over the next few years? How often do they need to replace or repair major equipment?

Taking note of this information will help you proactively check in with your customers when you know they may have new financial goals you may be able to help them achieve.

Learn how to solve their problems

If you’re serious about sourcing and retaining self-employed clients, think about how you can diversify to address more of their needs.

In the case of residential home loans, different lenders offer different features for self-employed borrowers. Nonbanks like Bluestone offer a   variety of options like cash out for business purposes, the ability to consolidate business debts into a personal home loan, paying out ATO debts and multiple options for proving income.*

If you want to go further, expanding into business and equipment loans, insurance broking or even financial advisory services can be another way to make sure you can assist in solving problems they face.

Stay in touch

Your client relationships should never end at settlement. Make sure you have a strategy in place to be top of mind when borrowers need you again.

Where possible, check-in points should not be impersonal – your customers will notice if you’re only sending mass emails that go

to everyone in your network. Instead, focus your check-ins on individual customers’

journeys, for example:

• Key milestones, like the anniversary of settlement
• Periods where you know finance needs may arise, like tax time or pre-holiday periods necessitating cash injections for merchandise stock-up
• Any period your customer signalled for key business goals, like target dates for_expansion
• During significant market developments in their suburb or industry

Self-employed borrowers are one of the best segments to target for ongoing relationships. Bluestone offers a variety of purpose-built solutions to fit a wide variety of business owners. Get in touch today to learn about how Bluestone can help your self-employed customers.

*Subject to conditions. The information provided in this article is general in nature and should not be taken as constituting professional advice.

Written by Royden D’Vaz, National head of sales and marketing, Bluestone

Last Updated: 14 March 2022

Published: 06 March 2019