Top 100 broker Deanna Ezzy of More Than Mortgages offers her tips on networking and maximising online presence
Top 100 broker Deanna Ezzy of More Than Mortgages offers her tips on networking and maximising online presence
Years in the industry: 7
Company: More Than Mortgages
Location: Canberra
What's your top tip for getting a faster turnaround time for a bank?
Support the banks that support you. Be nice to your BDM, be nice to your assessors. Then you can pull in favours if you need super quick turn around times
(Secondary to that – double/triple check supporting documents and application notes before submission to try and achieve a 1 touch)
What's your top tip for keeping clients updated?
Tell your clients upfront when you’ll be contacting them. For me, every client gets updated on Monday, Wednesday, Friday at a minimum – before lunchtime. Even if the update is “I’ve checked with the bank and your file is in a queue to be picked up on Friday. Nothing I need from you at present. Have a great day”.
What's your top tip for strong referral relationships?
Work with people you like, and become their friend. We spend more than half of our waking lives at work… why not make the day more enjoyable by working with our friends? Secondly (but still importantly), make sure you do a good job. Be a good/timely communicator.
What's your top tip for maximising online presence?
Get good Google reviews (ask your clients to leave a review) so that your website shows up higher up the Google search page.
What's your top tip for networking events?
Wine. Kidding – talk to at least three people you don’t know and don’t be afraid to be yourself. If you find that difficult, have three questions ready for each of them so there aren’t awkward silences. Failing that, more wine.
What's your tip for when you’re feeling overwhelmed?
There’s an app called “Smiling Mind” which is a guided meditation app. You can do three min meditations (or 30 minutes) – so, go for a walk, put in head phones and sit down for 3-5 mins and listen/meditate/breathe… failing that, there is always more wine.
What's your tip for lenders and industry regulators?
Roll with the changes and don’t get upset with your lenders about the constant change. Cover yourself by asking your clients for budgets (to check their living expenses) etc. Anything that the regulators are shining a spotlight on, make sure you cover yourself and do what the regulators want. Imagine each client is an ASIC shopper. Turn away business if there’s anything about the deal that smells fishy.
What's your top time saving tip and how much time does it save you?
Get an assistant. Getting bogged down in admin is a terrible use of a broker’s time. If you can’t afford to pay someone in Australia, you can outsource (overseas) a full time assistant for a third of the cost – the rewards in the longer term will be huge. This is important – you need to make the jump, otherwise you’re stuck doing admin, not earning enough money because you don’t have time to hunt for new business, nor will you have the time to service your current database (earn your trail). If you don’t have the money now, save up for 12 months, then use that savings to pay an assistant for the following 12 months.
