Over 90% of its business comes from referrals and repeat clients
Serving many self-employed first home buyers who grapple with the extremely tough WA property market and working closely with several ethnic first-generation Australian communities have prompted Direct Financial to take on the role of educator for its clients who “often have limited knowledge of the Australian financial system.”
“The trust they place on us is paramount. We ensure that we look after them very well,” Darryl Bevan, Direct Financial general manger and 2019 AMA ALI Group Broker of the Year - Insurance (Mortgage Protection) finalist, told MPA, sister publication of NZ Adviser.
“I have a very loyal customer base and we work hard to go the extra mile for every client. This in turn has made them advocates for Direct Financial, with over 90% of our business coming from personal recommendation or repeat clients. We now invite clients to review our service and encourage feedback.”
Although Bevan’s team has been using an external source and their aggregator’s platform to automate their marketing and communication efforts as much as possible, they still rely on written checklists and processes to get the job done. They even send out birthday and Christmas cards to their clients via traditional post, which they find particularly effective in keeping Direct Financial top of mind.
Bevan, entering his 14th year as a broker, considers having to regularly alter their goalposts the primary cause of frustration among his team last year. And although he believes this challenge will continue in 2020, he views it as a “great opportunity” because the value of brokers remains on the upswing with the lending landscape becoming more complex.
He added that amidst the challenging lending environment, Direct Financial continues to thrive and attract the attention of numerous industry bodies. For the past three years, it had been recognised as “Broker of the Year (less than five brokers)” by its aggregator.
Looking ahead, Bevan and his team aims to further diversify their offerings, particularly in the area of asset and commercial finance as they have a significant number of self-employed and SME clients.
Bevan, a father of two young daughters and a strong believer in giving back to the community, supports several charities. One that is dearest to him is the non-profit charity for disadvantaged children “The Smith Family”.
