Brokers have even been known to wear flip-flops to a client meeting, writes Safebridge VP of Sales Drew Donaldson, but a suit and tie should be as mandatory for brokers as accountants and lawyers.
Whether it’s through the content we provide, the consultative approach we bring to each and every new customer situation or, quite frankly, the way we dress, our vision at SAFEBRIDGE is to redefine the traditional customer experience.
How we present ourselves in terms of our appearance and dress code is one of the easiest and most obvious ways brokers have of demonstrating our commitment to professionalism.
In an industry where the norm is not a suit and tie, why not separate ourselves from the crowd? As mortgage agents, we are helping our clients make the biggest financial decision that they’re likely ever to make.
With that comes a tremendous amount of responsibility, and we believe that we can clearly demonstrate our commitment and awareness of that responsibility in the way we dress and present ourselves to our clients, partners and colleagues.
Last year we hired an executive sales coach to come in for four months of rigorous training with our team and he recommended that even mortgage professionals working from home get up in the morning and dress for success as it has as much of an impact on their mindset as it does the clients' perception of them.
We believe once you are looking and feeling better, you live each day with a passion and purpose for what you do and why you do it.
It is not all about the dress code, but it is a piece of the puzzle for all of us at SafeBridge.
Once your clients and referral partners give you that platform because of your dress code, you show them that you can back that up by your passion, purpose, service and way you give back to your community!
Quite honestly, if we get paid as much – if not more than – accountants and lawyers, then we should dress and act as professionally as they do.
Every industry has a high-end player and we understand that, but what we are trying to do is raise the bar so that the whole industry steps up its game and participates in the responsibility we share when serving the needs of our clients.
We talk about mortgage brokers over bank specialists as if the only difference is we have more flexibility and access to various lenders and rates.
From a consumer’s standpoint, they also see many in the industry dress casually and not to the level that they would expect from someone handling and advising them on the biggest financial decision of their lives. That, in turn, affects all of us.
All that being said, it doesn’t matter how well you dress. Unless you deliver exceptional service and bring the right consultative approach to someone’s mortgage situation, you will never gain their trust, confidence and referrals from family and friends.
