An investment in the future of mortgage broking.

July 11th, 2018

The MFAA regularly undertakes research to determine what motivates young professionals to join our industry. Connective is proud to support this initiative – nothing could be more important to us than understanding why new entrants choose broking as a career. It’s the only way we can continue to build an industry that more young people want to join and to ensure the sustainability of broking as a profession.

For those of you already in business, finding the right people to help you grow is key. Young professionals under 35 years of age currently represent approximately 18% of MFAA membership – and we don’t want them to become a scarce commodity. Understanding their outlook, aspirations and challenges will help us to recruit younger brokers and create strategies to support and retain them longer.

“It is our responsibility, as an aggregator, to develop and support the new talent entering our industry…”

Mark Haron, Director, Connective.

A few key findings of the 2018 report

What makes a good broker?

While the research shows 50% of brokers over 35 came from a bank or lending institution prior to becoming a broker, a new trend is emerging amongst young professionals. This year’s report indicated that only 35% previously worked for a lender before becoming a broker, and this figure has fallen by 6% since the previous report.

That means that in 2017/18:

35% of brokers under 35 came from non-financial backgrounds.

According to participants in the report, when recruiting new brokers, a finance background is not as important as the sort of person they are – with one interviewee saying: “Some of the best people I’ve recruited have been the ones I’ve poached from other industries”.

In our own research, Connective found that the three key attributes that make a successful broker are: sales, personal and technical orientation. Clearly, people with good sales skills, a passion for helping people, and good computer skills make great brokers – broking is not strictly the realm of number crunchers!

Key challenges faced by brokers?

Both young professionals and brokers over 35 said that lead generation and marketing was their biggest challenge. Recruiters need to bear this in mind when considering new brokers for their businesses, particularly when considering those without a sales background or established marketing skills.

It was also interesting to note that staying up-to-date with lender product and policy changes was also a big challenge for both groups. This suggests that experience isn’t necessarily an advantage when trying to develop lending solutions – which leads us back to the benefits of recruiting people with the right mindset from outside the industry, rather than sticking with those who have a background in finance.

We’ve also observed that many of the key challenges highlighted in the report may be addressed with the right software. However according to the survey, tech itself was not considered a key challenge, which is a bit of a mystery –  amongst Connective brokers, there is a distinct correlation between our most successful brokers and the early uptake of our built-for-purpose IT Platform Mercury. Key issues like time management, compliance, marketing and managing client relationships, staying up to date with lender products are all vastly aided by familiarity with our Mercury software.

What is the key to success as a broker?

It was gratifying to see that most young professionals under 35 believe the key to becoming a successful broker is a focus on the customer experience. Good customer outcomes must remain front-of-mind if our industry is to continue growing.

“A key highlight for me was the fact that the top attribute of being a good Young Professional broker today is a focus on customer experience. It’s so positive to see that good consumer outcomes are front and centre with these young brokers. That focus alone, is why this profession will continue to thrive”.

Mark Haron, Director, Connective.

We are seeing a new era in the Australian mortgage broking industry. It’s a future where rapid regulatory change, heightened scrutiny, increasing consumer expectations and emerging fintechs are the new normal. But it’s a future that will be owned by innovative, resilient and customer focused brokers ready to turn change into opportunity.

Consumers are looking for a source of truth in all this complexity, so it’s time to shine. It’s such an exciting time to be a broker, and at Connective we love being a part of the profession’s evolution.

To find out more about the 2018 Young Professionals report visit mfaa.com.au or simply click the link below to download our summary.

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