New head of property sales keen for feedback
Avanti Finance’s new head of property sales Michael Harrison is on a mission to meet mortgage advisers and support them in any way possible.
Harrison (pictured above) was appointed to the role in July following several new appointments within the team.
He said the adviser channel had always been important to Avanti Finance in terms of distribution, new business and growth, with close to 100% of new mortgage applications introduced via advisers.
“Our recent management restructure in the property team has allowed us to create dedicated roles specific to supporting mortgage advisers,” Harrison said. “My role is to lead a national team of experienced BDMs with plans in place to grow this team further. The BDMs are all very active in their respective regions on the ground providing face-to-face and over-the-phone support.”
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Harrison said it was his intention to get out with his team and meet as many advisers as he could to hear first-hand how he could best support them going forward.
“I am currently working with the senior leadership team to review across the property business how we best support and interact with not only our advisers but the ongoing relationship we all hold with the borrower and customer,” he said.
“At Avanti we have a dedicated BDM channel, along with sponsorship of various aggregator groups that indirectly support the adviser network, as well as local and regional networking events.”
Harrison said he was hearing that a number of advisers were willing to look at diversifying into areas of advice and products they may not have considered or needed in the past.
“I think advisers are optimistic and positive about the current market conditions however those who are more reluctant to change have indicated times are tougher,” he said. “The positive of both views is we have been here before and do come out the other side.
“No one was able to predict the boom post COVID-19 and it’s a lot like that out there now, so many mixed views and opinions on what’s next for the housing market. I do see a huge part for the adviser network to play going forward and as options for finance continue to grow and evolve the role of the adviser will only become more important.”
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Harrison said Avanti had recently appointed Elaine Owen as head of product and markets to the executive team.
“Over the next few weeks and months, heads of department will be working with Elaine to review current offerings and look at what we can enhance and add to our extensive suite of products,” he said.
“Our strategic partnership manager Julia Winterbottom, who is responsible for aggregator relationships, is working with several groups and their IT teams on API links between our AFL system [loan origination platform] and their CRMs.”
