Broker on the need to take time and never assume how much a client knows
Getting the basics right and taking time with each mortgage client is key and can be ‘horribly underestimated’, suggests adviser Oscar Goulding (pictured) who points to the speed of some brokers in turning around business.
Goulding, who started out his career at HSBC, and recently branched out on his own as a mortgage and protection broker for the Home Me Mortgages network, believes that advisers should also be careful never to assume how much knowledge a client has – you can be proved wrong, he suggests.
“I've worked in a variety of brokerages, and often you see people will do very quick business,” Goulding told Mortgage Introducer. “But for me it's about making sure to take the time with every single person, to sit there and explain the difference of a fixed rate, a tracker rate, the advantages of repayment or interest only and making sure that clients are all at the appropriate knowledge level, to make good financial decisions and also understand you when you're making your recommendations.”
He continued: “It's about doing the basics well. I think doing the foundations well is horribly underestimated. It's about setting expectations for clients from the get go. It's about understanding where they are and making sure that they know precisely what you think they know. You know, it's about ensuring that everybody is comfortable with the knowledge level and it's about bringing people up to the right point.”
Read more: How to make more money as a mortgage broker
The importance of an open dialogue with clients
How clued up then, does Goulding think clients generally are? “I think it very much depends as to what walks of life they come from, what age range they are and things like that,” he said. “There have been instances where I've seen others trip up, assuming somebody knows an awful lot because they are a professional in another region and their knowledge is not necessarily quite up to where it needed to be. Having an open dialogue with people is always critical, and whilst you can't make assumptions, I think you can ascertain relatively quickly what is on the table, as it were.”
Goulding joined the financial services industry in 2012, perhaps influenced by his parents who began their careers in banking. He initially did an almost four year stint at HSBC, where he was promoted to mortgage and protection manager. Roles have followed, variously at Dynamo, Kirk Rice Accountants and now Home Me Mortgages. His move into mortgages came from a desire to add a personal touch, which he felt was missing in his initial role in banking customer service. “As a mortgage adviser, the great joy is about having that conversation with people about what their preferences are, but also adding your own experiences, your knowledge, to help them achieve what really should be a better client outcome for them,” he said.
Certainly, in little over a decade in the industry, Goulding has seen plenty of change in the way the mortgage process operates. “Back when I started, we weren't in the days where rate comparison sites were quite so easily available,” he said. “The premise of doing a mortgage application online was almost a laughable concept. So the industry has certainly shifted to a more digital approach and I think that's a really good thing because it enables a lot more dynamism. People have the capacity to move and make things work far quicker, which I think is very much more beneficial for clients.”
Having recently taken the leap into a self-employed role, Goulding is appreciating a more self-motivational approach to his work. “You want to expand your repertoire, to see what the greater broking market could be,” he explained. “It's very different motivation-wise. It's that requirement to get yourself up and get going. I am enjoying it so far. The market is in a funny space, with the Stamp Duty changes and all of the rest of it. We're seeing a lot of people rushing to try and finish things off there. But, I also think, given the circumstances around interest rates, I think we're entering into a little bit of a lull until people adjust to the new normal.”
