How to take your brokerage to the next level

James McCracken of The Successful Adviser will hold his Broker Breakthrough Intensive program for established brokers who are looking to raise their game further. Taking place on 27th June in Melbourne, the course has a capacity for 40 brokers who are settling or on track to settle, at least $12 million of loans in their business this year.

MPA: Why should brokers attend this course? What are the six projects they will work through?
James McCracken: For a broker to double their loan settlement volumes (or more), they need a different strategy, structure and system to the one they're currently using. This program will show them how to double their loan volumes without compromising on their service levels. The day will focus on helping brokers with client referrals, building their referrer network, authority marketing, maximising their conversion, developing a business strategy and leveraging their support team.

MPA: Why do brokers get stuck below the 'income ceiling' and what can they start today that will help them break through? 
JM: The main reason they get stuck is either because they run out of time, they become complacent when their trail book gets biz or they don't have sufficient demand to write more loans even when they have the time. What can they do today? Even without a PA, brokers can still gain enormous time efficiencies simply by being more productive and effective on a day to day basis. To achieve this, they can map out a weekly schedule and aim stick to it as best as possible. Almost invariably, they will gain several hours back per week, which they can reinvest back into higher value activities. As their volumes grow, it becomes inevitable to engage a PA to handle the multitude of tasks required to get a loan through to settlement. Naturally, they can use technologies, their aggregator CRM or other tools to support them, but first, they should aim to understand how their time is being spent - and how they use their time more productively.

MPA: What are two practical tips for brokers to give them a 'sneak peek' of the program? 
JM: 1: Aim to build a client-engagement process focused on delighting, not just converting. Delighted clients will want to refer more people.  
2: Learn to engage more effectively with your existing networks. Almost every broker would know a person that would be happy to refer them more often if they were 'activated' in the right way. Instead of seeking out new people, firstly aim to maximise the value of established relationships with people who already like you, trust you and understand what you do.  

MPA: What are three of the most common issues that you see brokers struggling with? 
JM: 1. Managing their time between generating new enquiry and writing the loans. This can be exacerbated with interruptions from credit assessors who want more information before approving a deal.
2. Building the right systems that allow them to submit and process more loans without ruining service levels.
3. Inconsistency in results. Some brokers ride a cash flow rollercoaster and if they don't have a structured and predictable way to generate consistent lead volumes, it can cause stress and tension.   

MPA: Can you describe a real-life example of a broker's situation before and after you started working with them and the difference it made to their business? 
JM: A broker and now friend Stephen attended my event a couple of years ago. At the time he was writing less than $1 million/month and was feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Through the program and some follow up work, he got his settlement volumes to $35 million for the next year and freed up a lot of time to spend with his family and new born daughter. It was a fantastic result for him and his family.

MPA: In your experience, what are some traits that are a recurring theme among top brokers?
JM: Clarity of value proposition, focus on building specialist skill sets, recruiting good staff into their business, persistence and willingness to solve problems, make decisions quickly and change their mind slowly, and a willingness to invest into creating their success quicker to save time rather than save money.

To find out more about The Broker Breakthrough Intensive or to register for the event, visit bbi.thesuccessfuladviser.com.