2014’s Young Gun of the Year George Farmer on keeping Aussie Bundaberg alive through Queensland’s devastating floods.
2014’s Young Gun of the Year George Farmer kept Aussie Bundaberg alive through Queensland’s devastating floods. But rebuilding a town was one thing; rebuilding a brokerage was quite another.
Bad luck does strike twice, Queenslanders know all too well. Seven weeks into his new career as a broker, George Farmer was struggling; neglect by the previous brokerage owner had left a legacy of missing client files and community distrust. So when Cyclone Oswald struck on the afternoon of 26 January 2013, many brokers would have seen it as the final straw. For Farmer, it was just the beginning.
Winning the Australian Mortgage Awards Young Gun of the Year award is testament to the astonishing transformation of Aussie Bundaberg over the two years since those floods. Farmer’s brokerage went from being among the weakest Aussie franchises in the country to one of its fastest growing, through quick reactions, innovative marketing and tireless attention to community opinion.
It helps that Farmer’s connection to Bundaberg runs deep: his father moved to the town after leaving the army and Farmer was raised there. Leaving school, Farmer went straight into work at the front counter of a finance company and worked his way up; he describes himself as an “old-school banker”. He doesn’t feel a lack of university education held him back and he wouldn’t demand it from new hires: “It’s something I’ve faced but not really had issues with … I’ve seen situations where people have got a job because they had a degree, who weren’t really ready for that role … the street smarts and the life experience is often a lot more valuable than having that degree.”
Instead he credits his 18 years in banking as giving him essential skills. “Whatever business you write there you have to collect it,” he explains, “so you get a really good appreciation really quickly for credit, what’s a good deal, what’s a bad deal … it gives you a very strong grounding in credit essentials.” Broking was not on his mind at that time, but becoming increasingly disillusioned as a senior business manager at NAB, he felt it was time for a change. His wife Sandy hailed from Gladstone, and so they decided to move back to Bundaberg, buying Aussie Bundaberg in December 2012.
“There are some things I’d probably do a little differently” is how Farmer modestly reflects on the move. “I had an expectation that there would be reasonably robust records around client base and those sorts of things, and to a degree some of that is true and some of that wasn’t.” The brokerage was writing just $7m worth of business a year and was in terrible shape: a third of the client files were missing, and the local community was either unaware of the brokerage or downright hostile towards it. Yet Farmer was able to find a silver lining in the clouds: “I was able to see quite quickly there was opportunity there in terms of doing a good job; conversion rates were very low so straight away there’s opportunity to get more business.”
The story of the Queensland floods is well known but still retains its power to shock. Seven thousand people in Bundaberg were made homeless, some for months, and the Burnett River burst its banks, leaving the town under 9.5m of water. Farmer vividly recalls the “major, major devastation … there were holes in the roads where you could literally park a semi-trailer in the hole and fill it with sand; you’d never know it was there”. With 600 businesses flooded, and water knocking 30–40% off the value of houses, the economic impact was far longer lasting. Displaced residents were caught between mortgage repayments for their ruined homes, short-term accommodation rent and mounting credit card bills, as many were made unemployed.
In response, Aussie Bundaberg partnered with the local council and Salvation Army to offer advice to residents struggling to deal with banks. “We felt we had the information and the skills to be able to contribute that,” remarks Farmer. “Being part of the community and being good corporate citizens, it was incumbent on us to do that.” The key was interpreting banks’ hardship policies, and helping residents explain their precarious situations. Farmer doesn’t deny there was a business opportunity in getting involved: “I’d be lying if I said we didn’t sit down and talk about it – here’s a way for us to build credibility and build goodwill in the community very quickly.”
Clearly, the Queensland floods were not a straight business boost to Farmer’s business – the town’s economy was wrecked, and many of the residents who used his advice later used their insurance payments to get rid of their mortgages altogether. Valuations suffered across the state, and only now are house prices beginning to recover (although mainly in Brisbane). But the floods were a great opportunity to show the brokerage was under new management, and this was a first and important step in rebuilding Aussie Bundaberg’s local reputation.
“Everything we do is about how we improve our profile within the local community” is how Farmer defines his current approach to running the brokerage. Working alongside his wife Sandy, who is trained as a loan writer, and one supporting staff member, Farmer has ploughed resources into the brokerage. As well as his radio advertising campaign and Facebook page, Aussie Bundaberg’s office and signage underwent considerable renovation, and it now has two branded vehicles and staff uniforms. It’s well located and highly visible, in central Bundaberg, and is rewarded by a large number of walk-in clients. Furthermore, Farmer’s scrupulous attention to customer relationship management is paying off: “One thing that’s very pleasing to me, given from where we’ve come, is the repeat and referral business we’re now getting. That accounts for 30–40% of all the business we write.”
Aussie Bundaberg was writing $7m worth of loans when Farmer arrived; it wrote $22m in the following 12 months, and Farmer is convinced he can double that number. “Doubling our current loan volumes is absolutely achievable,” he argues. “I have a view that if you have good people in a business with a name that is as respected and trusted as Aussie, then your market share should be well and truly above what the natural market share of the franchise is.” He’s also planning to take on another loan writer and run a series of local seminars, something “that typically hasn’t been done in town, or has only been done very sporadically”.
The brokerage is a family affair, being run by Farmer and his wife, whose two children are 15 and seven years old. Farmer is involved in a variety of sports – cricket, fishing and golf, although his handicap (11) has fallen far from its glory days (4). He’s also a DIY enthusiast: “Next on the agenda is a wood-fired pizza oven at home.”
What can other brokers learn from Farmer’s example? The Queensland floods were a unique and tragic occurrence, but Aussie Bundaberg’s success lies in their aftermath: rebuilding a reputation along with the town’s wider recovery. Neither happened overnight but required continual effort, Farmer emphasises. “Do what you say you will do, go above and beyond, and do everything to improve your profile.”
Bad luck does strike twice, Queenslanders know all too well. Seven weeks into his new career as a broker, George Farmer was struggling; neglect by the previous brokerage owner had left a legacy of missing client files and community distrust. So when Cyclone Oswald struck on the afternoon of 26 January 2013, many brokers would have seen it as the final straw. For Farmer, it was just the beginning.
Winning the Australian Mortgage Awards Young Gun of the Year award is testament to the astonishing transformation of Aussie Bundaberg over the two years since those floods. Farmer’s brokerage went from being among the weakest Aussie franchises in the country to one of its fastest growing, through quick reactions, innovative marketing and tireless attention to community opinion.
It helps that Farmer’s connection to Bundaberg runs deep: his father moved to the town after leaving the army and Farmer was raised there. Leaving school, Farmer went straight into work at the front counter of a finance company and worked his way up; he describes himself as an “old-school banker”. He doesn’t feel a lack of university education held him back and he wouldn’t demand it from new hires: “It’s something I’ve faced but not really had issues with … I’ve seen situations where people have got a job because they had a degree, who weren’t really ready for that role … the street smarts and the life experience is often a lot more valuable than having that degree.”
Instead he credits his 18 years in banking as giving him essential skills. “Whatever business you write there you have to collect it,” he explains, “so you get a really good appreciation really quickly for credit, what’s a good deal, what’s a bad deal … it gives you a very strong grounding in credit essentials.” Broking was not on his mind at that time, but becoming increasingly disillusioned as a senior business manager at NAB, he felt it was time for a change. His wife Sandy hailed from Gladstone, and so they decided to move back to Bundaberg, buying Aussie Bundaberg in December 2012.
“There are some things I’d probably do a little differently” is how Farmer modestly reflects on the move. “I had an expectation that there would be reasonably robust records around client base and those sorts of things, and to a degree some of that is true and some of that wasn’t.” The brokerage was writing just $7m worth of business a year and was in terrible shape: a third of the client files were missing, and the local community was either unaware of the brokerage or downright hostile towards it. Yet Farmer was able to find a silver lining in the clouds: “I was able to see quite quickly there was opportunity there in terms of doing a good job; conversion rates were very low so straight away there’s opportunity to get more business.”
The story of the Queensland floods is well known but still retains its power to shock. Seven thousand people in Bundaberg were made homeless, some for months, and the Burnett River burst its banks, leaving the town under 9.5m of water. Farmer vividly recalls the “major, major devastation … there were holes in the roads where you could literally park a semi-trailer in the hole and fill it with sand; you’d never know it was there”. With 600 businesses flooded, and water knocking 30–40% off the value of houses, the economic impact was far longer lasting. Displaced residents were caught between mortgage repayments for their ruined homes, short-term accommodation rent and mounting credit card bills, as many were made unemployed.In response, Aussie Bundaberg partnered with the local council and Salvation Army to offer advice to residents struggling to deal with banks. “We felt we had the information and the skills to be able to contribute that,” remarks Farmer. “Being part of the community and being good corporate citizens, it was incumbent on us to do that.” The key was interpreting banks’ hardship policies, and helping residents explain their precarious situations. Farmer doesn’t deny there was a business opportunity in getting involved: “I’d be lying if I said we didn’t sit down and talk about it – here’s a way for us to build credibility and build goodwill in the community very quickly.”
Clearly, the Queensland floods were not a straight business boost to Farmer’s business – the town’s economy was wrecked, and many of the residents who used his advice later used their insurance payments to get rid of their mortgages altogether. Valuations suffered across the state, and only now are house prices beginning to recover (although mainly in Brisbane). But the floods were a great opportunity to show the brokerage was under new management, and this was a first and important step in rebuilding Aussie Bundaberg’s local reputation.
“Everything we do is about how we improve our profile within the local community” is how Farmer defines his current approach to running the brokerage. Working alongside his wife Sandy, who is trained as a loan writer, and one supporting staff member, Farmer has ploughed resources into the brokerage. As well as his radio advertising campaign and Facebook page, Aussie Bundaberg’s office and signage underwent considerable renovation, and it now has two branded vehicles and staff uniforms. It’s well located and highly visible, in central Bundaberg, and is rewarded by a large number of walk-in clients. Furthermore, Farmer’s scrupulous attention to customer relationship management is paying off: “One thing that’s very pleasing to me, given from where we’ve come, is the repeat and referral business we’re now getting. That accounts for 30–40% of all the business we write.”
Aussie Bundaberg was writing $7m worth of loans when Farmer arrived; it wrote $22m in the following 12 months, and Farmer is convinced he can double that number. “Doubling our current loan volumes is absolutely achievable,” he argues. “I have a view that if you have good people in a business with a name that is as respected and trusted as Aussie, then your market share should be well and truly above what the natural market share of the franchise is.” He’s also planning to take on another loan writer and run a series of local seminars, something “that typically hasn’t been done in town, or has only been done very sporadically”.The brokerage is a family affair, being run by Farmer and his wife, whose two children are 15 and seven years old. Farmer is involved in a variety of sports – cricket, fishing and golf, although his handicap (11) has fallen far from its glory days (4). He’s also a DIY enthusiast: “Next on the agenda is a wood-fired pizza oven at home.”
What can other brokers learn from Farmer’s example? The Queensland floods were a unique and tragic occurrence, but Aussie Bundaberg’s success lies in their aftermath: rebuilding a reputation along with the town’s wider recovery. Neither happened overnight but required continual effort, Farmer emphasises. “Do what you say you will do, go above and beyond, and do everything to improve your profile.”
