Keeping on top of industry developments requires consistent labour and a touch of confidence
A less-than-ideal early brush with some brokers proved to be one of the driving forces for Asim Ali (pictured) of Dominion Lending Centres (Royalty Financial) to enter the mortgage space.
“When I purchased my first home at the age of 23, I communicated with three different professionals. I realized there was a big knowledge gap among them,” Ali told Canadian Mortgage Professional. “I thought, if I was to ever leave my collections job, I would go into this industry hoping to bridge that gap by having more knowledge about finance – and then passing that knowledge to my clients.”
In his mortgage career so far, Ali said that every day continues to be a learning experience. This is why he believes that well-earned self-confidence and “being comfortable in your skin” will help one keep on top of the continuously evolving and shifting mortgage industry.
“Hard work and being passionate to achieve mastery of your craft will elevate your game, thus resulting in you making better decisions,” Ali said. “If you have a vision and confidence in your ability to push more than the previous day, repetition of those actions will bring efficiency over time, thus leading to better results.”
However, a significant part of a broker’s success also lies in their support system. Ali noted that early on, “building a team was the biggest challenge.”
“I thought there was no-one else who can communicate or underwrite files the way I do them. After speaking to a lot of industry veterans, I realized I was wrong,” Ali said. “I started relying on my team more. I would take time off just to allow my team to take responsibility.”
The clear benefit was ensuring sharper skills across the board.
“If I wasn’t around, they had no choice but to deal with the situations on their own,” Ali said. “That led to having a more robust team in the end.”
Ali believes that the team’s more developed business sense has given them the tools to get to the heart of every problem almost immediately – even to the point of saying “no” in some instances.
“We have adapted a policy where our office doesn’t beat around the bush,” Ali stated. “We don’t keep our clients hanging. If we are unable to do a file due to the client’s credit and income worthiness, we inform the client right off the bat.”
This approach also allows Ali’s team to quickly adapt their strategy as the situation requires.
“We understand that every client is not going to be an AAA client. We will have clients who will have bruised credit, self-employed incomes, and other challenges,” Ali said. “After speaking to a client, based on their situation, we educate them on what type of financing will work for them now, and how can they become an AAA client later on.”
