Brokerage director shares how a service-first approach has propelled his firm to success
Broker in Focus is a dedicated series that highlights the unique journeys of mortgage brokers, providing them with a platform to share their experiences, insights, and expertise. Through compelling personal stories and professional reflections, each featured broker recounts the key moments that have shaped their careers, delves into the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today, and shares the valuable wisdom they have gained along the way.
MPA had a chat with Mark Bonnici (pictured above), director of Westlend Home Loans, who has not only grown his business but has also played a role in influencing lender policies, particularly for underserved sectors like religious workers.
Full name: Mark Bonnici
Job title: Director/ Senior broker
Company: M.A Bonnici Holdings trading as Westlend Home Loans
Number of years in the industry: 10
Location: Penrith, NSW
When did you become a mortgage broker?
I became a mortgage broker in 2015 and have developed some specialty niches in home loans for ministers of religion.
In your opinion, what has been the most positive development in broking?
The most positive development is hard to split between obtaining great outcomes for first-home purchasers under the Home Guarantee scheme. Having met with young couples who have struggled to navigate the complexities around first-home ownership, the first home guarantee which is managed by our broker, Elyssa Bonnici, has seen a high percentage of young couples and families find home through Westlend Home Loans.
The other area that has seen very positive development is the policy adjustments with a few of our lenders around the income verification for ministers of religion. Many times, applicants who are tenured to certain regions which are unaffordable, have also been unable to purchase something they could capitalise for retirement. With better understanding of how clergy and other religious workers are remunerated, Westlend Home Loans has been able to impact policy changes that give fairer outcomes for workers in this arena, resulting in a significant increase in home ownership.
What challenges do you see currently facing the industry, and what solutions would you propose?
With the integration of AI in the online lending space, I see the biggest challenge for Independent brokers particularly, is the new business lead generation space. Lenders have been working hard to develop online platforms that may in time gain back some of the face-to-face service from the broker channels.
Younger home buyers who may not prefer face-to-face service will be more likely to make large purchases online as well, which seems to be the direction lending is heading. Overall, this will have an impact in a few areas, particularly new brokers entering the space to replenish retiring brokers. As the number of exiting brokers begins to outweigh those coming into the broker space, I think the leverage larger lenders will gain may impact broking in adverse ways.
The solutions to these are hard to identify apart from the aggregation groups becoming more active in the new business lead generation space to assist their brokers further. Better tools to follow up and identify applicant activity for their existing clients to ensure better retention. Lastly, our peak bodies like MFAA need to be working harder to ensure a level playing field by mitigating the inequitable marketing campaigns some of the online lenders are promoting, such as cashbacks, which are not passed on to their broker channels.
Can you share a memorable or challenging experience from your career as a broker and the lessons you gained from it?
I think my biggest challenge starting out as a broker was implementing the culture and values that makes us who we are today as a mainstay at Westlend. I was forever saying to myself early on as the only broker that everything I do must be service heavy. Service to my clients, even when I might lose time or money (and I have), is the vital ingredient for a good brokerage and that each of our customers senses that they are the most important client at the time they are ready to buy. Service and valuing my clients comes first and the dollars will always follow.
Now, 10 years on, with three other brokers on the team and a support staff, we are still pushing the same mantra because when everything is said and done, I know we all believe that we ought to treat people the way we’d like to be treated. There is an axiomatic vibe in that statement that rings true.
Could you share any valuable advice for individuals aspiring to become brokers or those new to broking?
Always keep an eye on the numbers, not the money. What I mean by this is that when you create metrics to aim for a goal or target, you will set up targets that need to be met for the desired outcome.
An example is that if you want to achieve a volume level of around three mil per month, then you will reverse engineer the metrics so you understand how many enquiries you need to achieve for the desired outcome. As a simplified example, three mil on average equals three settlements. Six settlements at a conversion rate of 40% from appointment means you need to get at least 15 appointments per month. To get 15 appointments per month, with an average conversion rate from enquiry to appointment of say 50%, you need a minimum of 30 enquiries per month for a final outcome of six settlements. I haven’t included attrition relating to submission, between 10-15% but all of these metrics help you plan to grow and improve.
Over time, as you develop your own real time metrics you will be able to project based on real outcomes. After five to 10 years, these outcomes become much more reliable so that you can take calculated risks around growing your business by investing in other elements like support staff. Metrics are necessary to develop a thriving brokerage.
Broker in Focus is a weekly MPA feature spotlighting mortgage brokers from diverse firms and locations across Australia. Among those recently featured are Rebecca Timms of Realise Home Loans, Scott Stevenson of Mortgage Choice, Xavier Quenon of Go Mortgage, Peter Bassilios of Money Tree Mortgage Brokers, Andy Truong of Alliance Mortgage Group, Andrew Hadjidemetri of Australian Financial and Mortgage Solutions, John Minihan of Professional Finance Mortgage Broker, Daniel Bowler of Mortgage Choice, Scott Wills of Mortgage Choice, and Camilla Lewis of Derwent Finance.
Are you a mortgage broker interested in being featured? Email the author with your details.
