As a franchise owner and one of the country’s top brokers after just two years in the business, Leteisha Peleggi is one to watch.
As a franchise owner and one of the country’s top brokers after just two years in the business, Leteisha Peleggi is one to watch.
Peleggi, who started her Mortgage Choice franchise in 2011, was awarded the AMA Young Gun of the year award last Friday.
Product knowledge, confidence and exceptional service are the three key ingredients that make up a top broker, says Peleggi, and “everything else is just natural”.
A genuinely warm and outgoing person, Peleggi studied social work at university, which she says helps her to build real connections with clients and help them deal with their financial worries.
Between herself and two office staff, Peleggi says she aims to be the point of contact for all her clients’ financial needs, from initial contact extending well after loan settlement.
“Clients will come to me about everything. If it’s a question that relates to a real estate agent they will come to me instead because they know that I’ll help them,” she says. “People say to me I’m doing too much, but that’s how I get referrals. My argument is it’s never too much, I just do what needs to be done – and try and get things done before they even know it has to be done!"
Half of all Peleggi’s clients come from direct client referrals, and many clients that came to her as first home buyers are coming back to her for advice on their first investment properties, she says.
“They need a lot of guidance and they need someone to put that confidence in them for that move. When they’ve got questions, anything they ask for gets done. We concentrate on service and making sure the client is updated every two or three days – it’s about putting confidence back into the client.”
Peleggi came to the industry by chance, after finding a full-time job as a credit assessor for a mortgage management company. This background, she says, gave her a real head-start in terms of product and policy knowledge.
“I didn’t really find it hard getting into broking because for a year or so beforehand I’d been telling brokers what they need to get me! I was chasing them up when they’d submitted half applications and telling them what needs to happen, so I already understood that stuff very well.”
Because of this extensive knowledge and natural confidence, Peleggi says her age has never been a barrier for her, and says she looks for similarities when hiring new staff.
“When you hire someone you know whether or not got they’ve got that personal touch for great service. Hire a person you would want to meet with and generally product training and the rest of it we’ve all got systems to help us through that part anyway. Get them focussed on service, making sure that while they’re learning products they’re not lacking in service to the client. If you get those two key things get right, everything else just falls into place.”
