His team once helped clients who had been abandoned by a major bank keep their home
After over a decade of working in the commercial lending division of big four banks, Iconic Financial Services partner Tada Souvannavong decided to shift career to serve the market segment as a broker.
The 2019 AMA La Trobe Financial Broker of the Year (Commercial) and Pepper Money Broker of the Year (Specialist Lending) finalist is not heavy on using technology to attract business; he relies instead on word-of-mouth and his “reputation in the marketplace” to maintain his loan volume every year.
“A lot of them know who I am. Lawyers basically refer me to their clients just because they know I can provide their customers with solutions,” he told MPA.
“A lot of my clients refer me to their business associates as well, so it’s pretty much building a network. That’s about it.”
Finding solutions for clients in need counts as Souvannavong’s top accomplishment. Some such clients were patrons of a major bank for six years and had a maturing mortgage. The bank, for some reason, pulled the plug on the loyal customers and gave them three months to exit the property. But just before the facility matured, Iconic Financial Services was able to find them an alternative lender.
With regulatory requirements becoming tougher, preparing files for submission has become more time-consuming, Souvannavong said. In order to meet the challenge, his team puts more processes and systems in place that would enable them to avoid spending a considerable amount of time going through every piece of document and information prior to submission.
Souvannavong is not presently looking to expand his team of two brokers and one associate. “I just want to be able to manage my clients as my book grows,” he said. “Obviously, the more clients you have, the more plus points you need to do.”
“Just being able to maintain a small business, and my close relationships while maintaining a larger clients base, I think, will be my biggest challenge.”
Souvannavong is active in his church. He considers holidays with his young family pretty much his spare time.
