Loan market exec gives insights
State Manager in the Spotlight and BDM in the Spotlight is a regular series, giving brokers insight into the lives of some of the country’s leading relationship managers.
Leigh Tsoumerkas is a highly experienced operator in the finance industry, notching up almost two decades in various senior roles. He is the focus of this week’s Q&A profile for State Manager in the Spotlight.
Tsoumerkas is Loan Market’s state director for Victoria and Tasmania, and joined Australia’s largest aggregator in 2022.
On leaving school, his dream was to play for the Socceroos but injury cut his football career short and he eventually joined the finance sector.
Tsoumerkas says he loves professional relationships that are built on trust and helping brokers be the best they can be.
“When someone trusts you to deliver on a commitment or trusts you to help them when they’re in a difficult situation, that’s a really rewarding part of the job,” says Tsoumerkas.
Full name: Leigh Tsoumerkas
Job title: State director Victoria/Tasmania
Company: Loan Market
Number of years in the industry: 19
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
What did you do before entering the industry?
After school, I was studying at TAFE but had an ultimate goal to become a Socceroo. I was playing in the NSL (the predecessor of the A-League) with Heidelberg and the Collingwood Warriors.
However, I injured my back and back then, there wasn’t the knowledge or best practice approach to managing injuries that they have today. So, I just kept playing, I didn’t properly recover from the injury and I had to wind up my career.
Before finance, I held roles in data management and retail. Finance had always been around me and my family – my mum was a teller at Commonwealth Bank and my uncle was the state manager of the Victorian State Bank.
In 2005 I started at CBA and a year later I moved to Flexi Group (which rebranded as Humm) where I spent nearly 12 years, and then on to Prospa for five years before joining Loan Market.
A brief description of your role and how you support brokers
Brokers turn to their aggregator for information and advocacy. They’re so flat out operating their business that they rely on us to have oversight beyond what’s in their immediate environment, protecting them, helping them take advantage of emerging opportunities and grow.
I help them utilise all the tools that Loan Market offers, including productivity and compliance features embedded within MyCRM to keep them safe, the “done-for-you” suite of marketing tools to win more business and save them time and dedicated coaching to help them build bigger and smarter businesses.
What’s a goal that you aim to achieve in your role?
Obviously, I want Loan Market brokers to win more market share in Victoria.
The profile of brokers has grown significantly over the last decade. There are more customers reaching out to brokers than ever before. With that demand, there comes the challenges of maintaining an excellent customer experience and managing burn out.
Loan Market is helping brokers navigate this through continual advancements in MyCRM, with tech that does the heavy-lifting on compliance. Our systems also ensure that the customer experience is at the forefront of every best interests duty requirement, while automation in marketing helps.
What’s your favourite part of the job?
I love building connections with brokers and helping them be the best version of themselves. And that’s not just about being the best broker they can be either.
Culture is such a major component of Loan Market’s network and bringing people together to share the professional and personal journey of growth and running a business is something I really enjoy.
For me, I love professional relationships that are built on trust. When someone trusts you to deliver on a commitment or trusts you to help them when they’re in a difficult situation, that’s a really rewarding part of the job.
I’m also the president of LMG’s Best Interest Mates Community. The group brings together men – women are also more than welcome – in a supportive environment with a focus on men's health and wellbeing.
Brokers lead busy and often stressful lives and it’s important that they have a community in which they can share their journey and have that like-minded sense of belonging.
Whether it’s going for a run or cycle – I believe exercise is a great source of mental and physical wellbeing – or simply having a coffee with peers, for those who enjoy a little less strenuous outlets, Best Interest Mates is a great format for our male brokers to come together.
What sets successful brokers apart?
Successful brokers aren’t transactional – they truly care for the clients they serve and the team they’ve built around them. They have amazing connections with everyone they meet. They ask the questions that really break down barriers and build rapport.
When they wake up in the morning, 80% of their day is already planned out and they know if they stick to the structure, they’re going to have a productive day.
What should brokers expect from their state manager or BDM?
I focus on offering connection, education and inspiration to brokers and business owners.
I make sure I’m accessible and approachable. If a business owner thinks I’m hard to get hold of, they’ll stop trying to contact me.
State managers should be communicating regularly and, when they do, the information needs to be relevant and clearly outlined as to what it’s important to them. I think a state manager should also help business owners and brokers identify their ‘why’, and support them to achieve that.
Are there any industry-wide changes that you think would benefit brokers?
Some downward movement by the RBA would no doubt benefit brokers who get asked every day when they think the cash rate might change. While there’s so much speculation about when the cash rate will drop, no one truly has a crystal ball - brokers included.
What do you provide to brokers that makes you valuable to them?
I get to lead a state team that has all manner of backgrounds that make us relatable. We have corporate members who have been business owners, administration specialists in the field who know MyCRM inside out and brokers.
No matter what issue a business has, either myself or my team can provide guidance or a solution promptly. All of us have walked in the shoes of our businesses and that’s very comforting for them.
Describe your ideal weekend
I’m lucky to have a beautiful partner Lauren and a four-month-old baby boy at home.
I love keeping fit as well, so my ultimate weekend is an early bike ride or run in the morning and then come home to the family, maybe head out for a coffee and some breakfast and just enjoy everything about having a young family.
BDM in the Spotlight and State Manager in the Spotlight features a range of relationship managers and BDMs within the mortgage and finance industry.
State managers who have featured recently in this series include: outsource Financial’s Paul Marshall, Bluestone Home Loan’s Tommy Lee, AFG’s Jia Jia Wong, La Trobe Financial’s Brendan Grenfell, Liberty’s Belinda Ng, Mortgage Choice’s Matt Bocking and Ben Livera, Assetline Capital’s Jason Lucas, BOQ’s Samantha Robinson and SFG’s Amy Thorburn.
If you know a great BDM or state manager that you would like featured in this series, please email [email protected]
