This broker says building close relationships is the best part of the job
Melissa Procajlo used to work in marketing, but almost five years ago she embarked on a whole new career path – one that would foster her love of helping people and bring plenty of satisfaction along the way. MPA spoke with the Shore Financial broker about why she entered the industry and how she has overcome the challenge of change.
Having a meaningful impact
When Procajlo started looking for a new job about five years ago, she didn’t expect to change careers completely. But after discussing broking with one of the members of Shore Financial, she soon realised it was the perfect fit.
“I was selling products and sometimes not products that were changing people’s lives necessarily.”
“That was a bit of a gap for me - I wanted to do something that was a bit more meaningful and had a bit more impact on a personal level.”
“When I started researching what mortgage broking was and how you end up helping somebody potentially into their first home or build wealth through property, I thought it was something so personal.”
Over the past five years, Procajlo has gained plenty of satisfaction from helping clients achieve their property goals; rating relationships as the best part of the job.
“Being a broker, you end up learning things about people that the closest people in their lives don’t know about.”
“It’s kind of like speed dating but on a much more intimate level.”
She says it is really important to establish a close and trusting relationship with clients that extends far beyond the numbers – something she believes has led to her success.
“My business now is very much just from referred existing clients - and people aren’t referring you just because you’re good at the maths, they’re referring you because they like dealing with you as a person.”
Keeping on top of change
For Procajlo, keeping up with the vast amount of change in the industry over the past few years has proved the most challenging part of being a broker. She has overcome this by setting aside regular time to read through lender updates and BDM correspondence.
She says working at Shore Financial has also proved invaluable.
“The company has a strong team culture and we share a lot in terms of updates.”
“We’re always getting bite sized pieces of information on a daily basis.”
