This broker has made quite a name for himself as number 55 on this year’s list
Number 55 in this year’s Top 100, Max Harris recently tried offshoring for the first time with great success. He spoke to MPA about the challenges of the past year and why over-servicing clients is especially important in the current market.
Old school approach pays big
The credit advisor for Azura Financial started broking for himself in September 2017 after finishing university. Taking an old school approach to lead generation, he built his business off the back of real estate referral partners and a good dose of cold calling. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Harris wrote more than $86 million in settlements during the 2020 financial year, making 55 on the Top 100 for the first time after being named a Young Gun in 2019.
Throughout his time in broking, Harris faced a challenge that most brokers encounter at least once in their career - staffing. After working with three in-house assistants who proved to be not the best fit, Harris decided to take a different approach and try offshoring.
Read more: How much can offshoring reduce the running costs of a business?
“It was the best decision I have made to date,” he said. “Presently it’s just myself and Kushal my assistant and we’re on track for hopefully $80 million-$90 million this financial year.”
The importance of over-servicing
The past 12 months brought an increase in business as well as a new set of challenges for Harris as COVID-19 hit and “rates went through the floor.”
“It became all about how efficiently you could turn around completed fact finds into bank options for clients to review,” he said. “This meant fine tuning dozens of different templates and perfecting the back-end process.
“During COVID-19 lockdowns my real estate agent partners saw a significant drop off in buyer volumes which, in turn, resulted in less referrals.
“However, in lieu of this, self-generated referrals from existing clients significantly increased as refinances started picking up. It has never been more important to over-service both new and existing customers as the market becomes more competitive and the incentive to switch lenders increases.”
Read next: Top 100 broker on holistic offering
For new-to-industry brokers he offered the following advice: “Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and cold call leads or referrers. Always provide as much information as possible when presenting bank options. This both educates the client and also reflects really well on you as a well-informed broker.”
