A business built on relationships

Suncorp has overhauled its partnership model to become a true business partner to brokers and aggregators

Suncorp might not have the biggest reach of Australia's banks, but its innovative partnership model is setting it apart from the competitors. With a focus on relationships, the model is not only giving brokers better support but also giving aggregators the ability to respond to changing needs in the market.

According to Mark Vilo, Suncorp’s head of bank intermediaries, the model is surprisingly straightforward.

“We took the notion that our business is built on relationships and partnerships, and then we designed the model around ensuring that we gain a deep knowledge of every level of an aggregator or broker’s business. That’s it in a nutshell. It’s as simple as that,” he says. 

Dubbed ‘The Power of Partnerships’, Suncorp’s model moves away from the traditional geographically determined system and instead matches a three-person team with a specific aggregator.

“We wanted to get focused on understanding the aggregator and the brokers within that business,” Vilo says.

“We wanted to gain a deep understanding of their strategy – what was challenging them, what things we could do to partner with them, what things we could do to support them.”

Under the new model, a dedicated business development manager is on the road talking to brokers every day, a business development consultant is providing over-the-phone support, and a small business BDM is sitting alongside those two individuals to create what Suncorp has deemed the Power of Three.

“The BDM is naturally busy, as we would expect, and they’re in and out of meetings all day, but we have a BDM who is in the offi ce waiting for brokers if they need any questions answered, or if they have a situation they’d like resolved, or if they have something they want to put to us,” Vilo says. 

The BDMs are now more accessible, and there will always be somebody in the offi ce that brokers can call. 

“We know brokers are busy, so we want to be able to off er them the opportunity to choose their own method of being engaged with. If they don’t want to have a BDM come and visit every month or two months, that’s fine,” Vilo says. 

In addition to giving brokers the ability to customise their own interactions, the new model makes it easier for BDMs to become genuine business partners who can provide meaningful insight. 

“We wanted to gain a deep understanding of brokers and aggregators’ strategy – what was challenging them, what things we could do to partner with them, what things we could do to support them” - Mark Vilo, Suncorp

“We don’t believe that a transactional conversation is a sustainable one, so we’re ensuring that our BDM team – whether they’re on the phones or on the road – are able to have a conversation which is about more than just our latest rate,” Vilo says. 

“We want them to be able to have good, rich conversations about business and what’s going on in the regulatory environment. We want them to have an opinion and be able to share those opinions and take feedback from brokers around what their views are. We’re trying to get our business to the stage where we’re more of a trusted adviser, rather than a transactional BDM.”

One way the bank is ensuring its BDMs are in a position to do this is by bringing together everyone who manages the same aggregator on a quarterly basis. 

“We’ll have a Power of Three looking after one aggregator in New South Wales, and we’ll have another Power of Three looking after the same aggregator in Victoria, so we get them all together to discuss what’s going on strategically at that particular aggregator – what insights we have, what we understand at the most senior levels and what that strategy means in relevant regions,” Vilo says.

“We also discuss what brokers are saying about the aggregator – the issues they’re dealing with, the opportunities they’re seeing, what customers are saying.” 

The feedback brokers have been sharing with Suncorp doesn’t stop there. The bank passes on information to aggregators so they can respond and make any changes required.

“We’re able to share those insights back with the aggregator – both the positive and the negative – and the things brokers are looking for as we head into this period of change and a more stringent regulatory environment,” Vilo says. 

The model has only been in place for around nine months; Vilo says Suncorp is committed to refining the system and has a full-time employee assigned to do just that.

“Her sole role is to ensure the model is embedded and continues to improve over time,” he says.

“She looks at things like our 90-day plans and how the Power of Three meets. We want to provide them with a framework so there’s an action-oriented meeting occurring and they’re talking about how they’re going to work with their aggregator group this week, the next week and so on.”