Five simple steps to build your business this year – O'Reilly

So, taking steps to ensure your business is ready to weather any storm is important for every mortgage broker. 

Leeds Building Society’s head of intermediary partnerships, James O’Reilly, offers his top five tips to help brokers grow their business during uncertain times. 

1. Don’t underestimate your existing client base

While recruiting new clients is crucial to expanding your business, many brokers would agree that looking after their existing client base and nurturing those relationships is of equal importance. 

It’s a good idea to take the time out and ensure you are utilising the full capability of your CRM systems and are segmenting your client base to deliver tailored communications according to their individual needs. Are you tracking when existing clients will be coming towards the end of their existing fixed term and approaching them to support them in finding their next deal? Or contacting clients who have expressed a desire to extend or renovate their homes to talk about additional borrowing? Your CRM provider should be able to provide a refresher on what their system can offer to ensure you’re making the most of the opportunities available. 

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It is important to consider any ongoing communications strategy to build relationships with existing clients that are less transactional. You’ll remain a trusted resource while keeping your name front of mind as they navigate future decisions, such as refinancing, purchasing their next home, or further lending on their existing property.

Using email platforms to automate follow-ups, brokers could consider approaching existing clients to raise awareness of additional mortgage borrowing as a possible funding stream for work they may be considering on their home. 

Similarly, this can be used to help clients consolidate debts and manage their monthly outgoings to reduce the financial strain many households are feeling at the moment. 

2. Build a strong personal brand

In a time where many mortgage holders and aspirational first-time buyers are turning to social media to find out more about what options they have to secure the home they want to buy, creating a strong personal brand is crucial to help brokers stand out from the crowd and build credibility. 

Sharing thoughts and ideas on social media is a great way to start engaging with potential clients online. Providing tips to get clients mortgage-ready can resonate well, and reposting market updates and industry news could be invaluable to those looking to step onto, or up, the property ladder. 

Brokers can take inspiration from lenders and industry experts to position themselves as thought leaders. Translating confusing jargon into a simple and easy-to-digest article is a great way to help potential new clients to navigate a complex subject.

Think about the journey you want the client to follow. Will you be using social media to drive people to your website or get in touch with you direct? Are all of your online platforms of a modern, professional standard and offering valuable information to borrowers?

3. Reviews and referrals are worth their weight in gold

When you’ve secured a great deal for a client, it’s the perfect opportunity for them to share their positive experience with people in their network. Do you actively encourage your clients to leave positive reviews online? Or could they pass you on to their friends, family or work colleagues? You could consider entering people into a prize draw if they refer a friend. 

You should also consider how well you grow your own professional networks. Consider approaching local housebuilders, accountants or solicitors, as well as joining any business networking groups, to help grow your profile. 

4. Become an SEO superstar

Search engine optimisation is the term for improving how your website ranks on website search result pages. It’s no surprise that the pages borrowers land on first are more likely to win their business. 

The most popular search words will drive the most online traffic, but will also be the hardest to gain traction with. Using free tools like Semrush, brokers can see how much search traffic a chosen keyword gets each day, and receive recommendations for related keywords that are easier to rank against.

This is a simple and cost-effective way to identify how your online presence can be improved to benefit from more organic online search traffic. But the days of ‘keyword stuffing’ are long gone – take the time to create website content that potential clients will find genuinely engaging, because that’s exactly what search engines will rank best.

5. Ask for feedback

Feedback is crucial to growth and development. Ask your clients for verbal feedback on how you could have done even more to support them. That will help you to offer an effective service to even more people and become more efficient in delivering solutions. 

Utilising a feedback form can be useful for those not comfortable asking for direct feedback, but make sure you are taking the comments on board and making the most of the constructive comments offered.