One of only a handful of female brokers in the industry when she started, this franchisee has built a thriving team and successful career of 15 years
Mortgage Choice Parkside franchise owner Belinda Sugars was one of a small handful of female brokers when she entered the industry in 2005. Nowadays she is head of an all-women team having built a successful career spanning 15 years.
Looking after customers
After working in banking for more than a decade, Sugars decided to jump the fence to broking because she felt it would enable her to provide a more tailored approach to customer service.
“Working in the major banks, I found there was always an element of time pressure. Customers weren’t given enough time to speak with loan consultants, and there was no means of delivering after-hours support.”
“I met with a lot of brokers through my banking role, and I could see they were looking after their customers better and enjoying tremendous achievements within their own businesses.”
After speaking with established brokers and aggregators and conducting thorough research into the market, she settled on Mortgage Choice as the vehicle for her new career.
“It was the security of the brand and the level of support given to brokers that really drew me to Mortgage Choice.”
Expanding the team
She started the business from a home office and grew rapidly, hiring her first admin assistant within the first 18 months before opening a shop front several months later. She then went onto to invest in her own premises and hire a loan writer.
Today, Sugars heads an all-female team of four that includes two loan writers. While she didn’t intentionally hire her staff with this is mind, she says women are particularly well-suited to mortgage broking.
“Women are good at building relationships in general. From the customer’s perspective we understand that women love owning their home, so we truly share each customer’s joy when we make that happen.”
“Our strength with relationships also means women make excellent referral partners. I refer my clients to a number of female real estate agents and conveyancers because I trust them. That same sense of trust is why they refer clients to me.”
