This new to industry broker says finding the right mentor was vital to his broking career
Young Gun Mario Reyad (pictured) was almost ready to leave the industry when an acquaintance suggested a new mentor that could give him the time and expertise he needed to get a foothold. This proved to be a game-changing event for Reyad, who soon went on to build traction and establish himself as a rising talent within the industry. MPA spoke with the Drummoyne broker about how he got started and why managing client expectations has been a valuable takeaway.
Coming from a medical science background, Reyad previously worked for a pharmaceutical company in sales. But as a keen property investor, he became interested in finance through his own experience learning how to structure loans. He decided to start his own broker business but found it challenging to build traction. Two mentors later, he was almost ready to leave the industry when an acquaintance suggested he reach out to Rajan Khatak of Your Finance Adviser.
“Raj is a legend. He is probably the reason why I am where I am today,” he said. “He spent the time and the effort with me and really encouraged me to go for more and more.”
With Khatak as his mentor, Reyad soon started to thrive and was named an MPA Young Gun in 2021.
Read more: MPA Young Guns 2021
He said learning how to manage client expectations has enabled him to deliver a better overall customer experience. This has been particularly true given the COVID environment, where many lender turnaround times blew out to unprecedented lengths.
“Being new, when you talk to your clients, they don’t actually know how much experience you have and how much you really know,” he said. “Sometimes that can create a bit of time delay - on top of lenders’ SLAs blowing out over the last year.
“Now, when I speak to a client I say, this is the SLA for the bank, and these are the SLAs for me to prepare your files. You don’t get any frustrated clients because they know upfront the turnaround times.”
Reyad said along with the honour of being named a Young Gun, his career highlights have included learning different types of deals such as construction loans and bridging loans, as well as writing his largest loan, a $2.6 million deal that involved multiple properties.
