He does the extra 10% work up front to make sure deals run smoothly
Within almost just two years of going out on his own, Napoleon Finance director and 2018 MPA Top 100 Brokers finalist Sam Carrello was able to grow a multi-million dollar generating brokerage in a challenging market and earn numerous awards along the way all because of three factors.
The first, Sam told MPA, is his team especially client manager Roisin Brown who prepares application lodgements and does bank follow ups after he structures the loan. By working as a team the level of service he and Roisin provide has resulted in many happy clients, Carrello said.
Second is the brokerage’s referral partners which consist of a high performing real estate agency and a leading financial planning firm who Sam has been looking after since launching Napoleon Finance in July 2017.
With the laborious effort required to hit the $75m per year threshold, long hours and hard work count as the third factor. Structuring and preparing a successful application take a lot of time; being a mortgage broker is no longer a nine-to-five job, Carrello said.
After completing university in 2012, Sam entered mortgage broking by taking a job in a large building company. After a year off to work overseas, he went back to Australia and worked as a sub-contractor for a broking firm in Perth for 18 months before deciding to set up his own business.
“These two firms gave me a good education on how to write loans and structure deals, among others, which put me in good stead to be successful with Napoleon Finance,” Carrello said.
No need to chase tail
Napoleon Finance doesn’t actively advertise to look for new clients; it instead relies on referrals from their dependable partners and existing data base. Carrello’s team adopts a three-step process to give their clients the best outcomes. First, his team dives into research and talks to banks to know where to primarily place deals for faster turnaround time and approval.
"There is no such thing as an easy deal these days. So, prior to submitting any application, I will call my BDM or their credit line just to make sure the application has the best chance of approval," Carrello said.
"If you do the extra 10% work up front, it ensures that the deal will run smoothly all the way through. Get it right from the start and you don't have to chase your tail as the deal progresses with the bank."
Second, they use Connective’s Mercury CRM to make sure applications complete each stage of the loan process. And third, the team go through a client board each morning to map applications and determine what needs to be done on each day.
Keeps it lean and strong
Although he had talked about growth and business planning with people who handle over 50 staff, Carrello, at present, prefers to operate with a lean manpower and is only looking at adding two to three members to his team to keep up with growing demand. “I think this is far more efficient and links in well to the Napoleon Finance values,” he said.
Carrello has recently sought the help of a recruiter as he finds running a brokerage and looking for the right people who can fit well into his four-man team to be more than he can handle.
A sports and fitness enthusiast, Carrello is involved with the UWA state league soccer team, regularly trains with the F45 cult and gets his company to sponsor a few sporting teams and events. He and his wife love to travel and try to get away as often as they can.
