Mortgage Choice Melbourne is part of the Top 10 Franchise Brokerages 2016.
3 MORTGAGE CHOICEMELBOURNE
An office restructuring and a willingness to delegate have taken the brokerage even closer to the top
Returning to our Top 10 this year, Mortgage Choice Melbourne is a bigger brokerage than it was last year, and consequently a better one, says co-owner Cameron Price. “We’ve actually beefed up our back end with our support staff ; we call them customer service managers.” Price heads up the brokerage alongside Ashley Koenig and Stephen Zamykal.
Taking on two extra support staff has had obvious advantages. “They do the hard work, that’s for sure, so we have more time to see clients,” Price says. However, the brokerage has also reorganised its structure, promoting a staff member to manage the customer service managers. The move is paying off in a big way, Price explains. “She’s now managing all our customer service staff so there’s a lot more communication there between the sales/broker team and the admin team, which has certainly streamlined our processes, kept clients informed, and they’re having a better experience because they’re being kept updated all the way: valuations, conditional approval, approval, settlement.”
In fact Price says it’s “the best thing we ever did”. After-settlement service has only become more important with 2015’s investor lending changes, as Mortgage Choice Melbourne operates heavily in the investor and owner-occupier spaces, Price says. “It’s making it more diffi cult with borrowing power and pricing being a lot diff erent, and that aff ects clients, but the thing is it creates interest, which is not a bad thing and gives us a chance to review what clients are currently on, and if there’s anything for them.”
Price sees several other opportunities for re-engaging with existing clients: rate changes, fixed rate and interest-only expiries, and valuations to assess equity. Contacting clients is something, notes Price, that “we’re a lot more hot on than we have been previously, now we have time to do that … we’re always on the phone with clients”.
The brokerage also runs seminars, has a newsletter, and sends out “Friday facts”, which, being a mix of finance and humour, get a surprising amount of attention, according to Price.
While the past year has mainly been one of consolidation, the brokerage is using all the staff in the office – not just brokers – to make the most out of repeat and referral business.
“Having good staff is the key; that’s the number one key,” concludes Price. “It’s very hard, sometimes, to [delegate], but once you do you’ll fi nd you have a lot more time to work on the business, and that’s certainly key for us … it’s allowed us to take a bit more of a step forward.”
