It's made this broker's business more efficient and is even more convenient for customers too
Melbourne-based MW Mortgage and Wealth director and 2017 AMA Broker of the Year finalist (specialist lending), Margaret Wilcock, doesn’t make home appointments to clients any more. Nevertheless, she’s still able to perform all her client duties while also making them feel deeply cared for and attended to.
Wilcock works out of three office locations, and asks clients to choose which is most convenient for them. She also gives them a checklist of requirements so they’re prepared in advance. This setup allows her to schedule more appointments because she no longer needs to travel between client houses all over the Melbourne area. When she meets with clients, she finds out what they want and limits any surprises by constantly communicating updates to them.
“I can generally see three clients in one evening if I work in one of the offices,” Wilcock told MPA. “If I travel, I can only do two. This is a more professional way of doing business. I can see clients back-to-back without needing to travel.”
Having a printer and scanner at the office is an advantage as well because most clients don’t often have these in their homes, according to Wilcock. She also found that clients often got distracted by their kids during home meetings.
In the cloud
To drive efficiency, Wilcock uses a cloud-based virtual assistant (VA) to lodge and track deals so she doesn’t get tied down with administrative work. Once she completes the research and the application’s critical credit components, and the client has chosen a lender, she hands everything to her VA.
The VA prepares the compliance documents, tracks them through to settlement, and ensures they’re uploaded to Wilcock’s database. If any issue arise along the way, Wilcock discusses them with her client and their lender personally.
On the horizon
Wilcock has weathered the peaks and valleys of starting a business, and has now achieved a balance she’s happy with in life. Looking to the future, she hopes to train someone to do what she does, to buy into the business, so she can take some time off to travel.
“I’m keeping my eyes and ears open for the right person for the job,” Wilcock said.
