Having built a multiple-award-winning brokerage, Peita Davies of Choice Home Loans has big plans to expand even further
Having built a multiple-award-winning brokerage, Peita Davies has big plans to expand even further
Choice Home Loans Blue Mountains are one of the most decorated franchise brokerages in Australia. They’ve won a stack of Australian Mortgage Awards, including Best Customer Service for three consecutive years, and are the current AMA Franchise Brokerage of the Year. And they’ve done it despite being a mum-and-dads brokerage, in a regional area, miles from a town centre.
Mostly based in the local area, Peita Davies’ clients are made up owner-occupiers and refinancers in equal measure, with a smaller proportion of investors, although these have been growing. Business tends to grow from the existing loan book, Davies explains, although the brokerage’s prominent location provides 5–10% of clients.
Choice Home Loans Blue Mountains are one of the most decorated franchise brokerages in Australia. They’ve won a stack of Australian Mortgage Awards, including Best Customer Service for three consecutive years, and are the current AMA Franchise Brokerage of the Year. And they’ve done it despite being a mum-and-dads brokerage, in a regional area, miles from a town centre.
Mostly based in the local area, Peita Davies’ clients are made up owner-occupiers and refinancers in equal measure, with a smaller proportion of investors, although these have been growing. Business tends to grow from the existing loan book, Davies explains, although the brokerage’s prominent location provides 5–10% of clients.
For Davies, community involvement is less about reaching out than about maintaining an established relationship. “The clients in the Blue Mountains are different than city folk; we expect them to support our business in terms of coming through the door, so in turn, we like to be in our community and supporting the community,” she says.
Staff members take part in a bewildering range of activities, from the Springwood Fair Day, where they paint faces and parade the Davies family’s pet turtles, to charity fun runs and specialised events for local businesses.
This approach also works on social media, Davies says. “We’ve looked at Facebook over the last six months – how we get more activity and engage with social media ... and unfortunately it comes down to us. Where we’ve tried to provide valuable information, it just kind of sits there, but when we post pictures of us, it gets legs … anything that relates to the staff and personal things gets far more momentum.”
Davies has been the sole broker, but there are two new-to-industry brokers in the office, alongside five support staff. Their process is fairly straightforward, with one exception: certain administration and compliance work is outsourced. This frees up Davies and her team, whilst being far more efficient.
The offshoring was just one part of a constant process of self-improvement. Davies has extensively used the business coaches provided by Choice to increase the brokerage’s annual settlements (to a total loan book of $250 million) and to train new staff. The brokerage is most definitely in ‘growth mode’, Davies says.
Next on the agenda is a opening a new office in Penrith, which could appear as early as mid-2015.
The brokerage is beginning to outgrow the Blue Mountains, Davies explains, “There is not potential economic growth in the Blue Mountains; it’s a heritage-listed area and will always remain that, so we have no land development.”
Davies also wants to make the brokerage less reliant on her personal brand. She’s working on building her staff’s confidence and making customers comfortable dealing with them so that she can step back in a few years.
