It's the best time to be a broker, says industry expert
If you want to be a successful mortgage broker, try stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a risk – that’s the advice from Peter Tsouroulla, who has spent over 30 years working in financial services.
Tsouroulla’s top tips have been honed over a long career that includes over 22 years at London broker John Charcol Associates, and three years as the current head of mortgages at wealth management business Trinity Lifetime Partners.
“You can really get out there and spend more time talking to clients because you're doing less time travelling, you're doing less time waiting around for trains. So, I think that's fantastic.”
He conceded: “The market may be harder in a sense that there's maybe not as many transactions as there were before, but I think that just increases the value of the ones that you do.”
Beginning his career at NatWest as a financial planning manager, Tsouroulla went on to become an independent mortgage broker and business developer for John Charcol.
“You've got to throw yourself in harm's way sometimes,” he said. “People will talk to you if you engage with them. Be prepared for a ‘no’ or to be laughed at - as long as you laugh with them, it's fine.”
READ MORE: What is the next big thing for the mortgage industry?
Make the most of your opportunities
Tsouroulla is remarkably resourceful, seeing opportunity where others might not, for example, striking up a conversation with someone in a pub about their financial planning.
“My wife was recently involved in a nasty incident,” he shared. “She had to go to hospital – I talked to the doctor while she was being looked at. I remortgaged him with Nationwide two weeks later - I'm not joking.
“Two weeks ago, two young ladies were sitting near me on a train, talking about mortgages and houses, and I said, ‘We've got six minutes left on this train journey, do you want six minutes of financial advice? I said, ‘I'm a mortgage broker, ask me any questions you want.’ It was generic advice.”
Tsouroulla likens being a mortgage broker to playing sport.
“There'll be a ball delivered at you - you think to yourself, ‘I might be able to get that back in that corner.’ You'll try and if you miss, you miss. Life is all about trying,” he reasoned.
What, then, does Tsouroulla think makes a good broker?
“You've really got to have the client interests at heart,” he said. “You've got to be prepared to ask plenty of questions, and listen to the answers and record the answers. You shouldn't be afraid to challenge your client if you don't understand the answer, or if you don't agree with it.
“You've got to be proactive, not just reactive. You have got to follow it up - put it in an email after the meeting. If you didn't put it in writing, it didn't happen. People have to trust you - trust is a huge factor and, really, if you can't do something, don't be afraid to say.”
Tsouroulla simplifies his broker tips to what he calls The Six Rs: reputation, relationships, review, results, referrals and repeat.
“Protect your reputation as much as you can by being as professional as you can,” he suggested. “Do not take existing relationships for granted and always look to further new relationships. Review what you've done, review with your client and go back and review in six months and 12 months. Make sure the result actually matches the requirement, and challenge yourself on how well that process went to get to the result.
“Referrals are the lifeblood of what you do - always be looking for referrals. Always repeat the good things, always repeat success. Good habits are the key to all success. I believe those six Rs, if you understand them, embrace them, and do them, it will result in you having a great business.”
He added: “I quite like the old adage of look like a General, act like a General, speak like a General and you will be a General. I think that's quite important, to this day.”
