When I first became a mortgage broker, I was pretty much dropped in at the deep end and taught to sink or swim. Luckily for me, I swam, but it wasn’t an easy process. Someone once said to me “learning how to be a broker isn’t a steep learning curve, it’s a vertical one” and they couldn’t have worded it better.
If you speak to many brokers in our industry, I’m sure this statement would resonate and say they experienced the same “sink or swim” training. I know for a fact it wasn’t just me who started out this way.
But times have changed, and you simply cannot do this to new brokers anymore.
For one, the industry has changed. The role of being a broker is more intense now than it’s ever been. With Covid criteria, sharp rate pulls, intense criteria changes and clients in cost of living crisis mode – brokers have to be able to support their clients through the mortgage process better than ever.
You have to be on your game, in the know, and a safe pair of hands.
But how do you do this when you’ve just started out, and what do companies recruiting brand new brokers really need to know about training.
Long-term mentoring vital for new brokers
First of all, a two-week course just isn’t enough. A new broker needs a mentor for at least a year. They need a trainer, a mentor, an accountability group, and a coach. All of them.
Because the truth is – and I learnt this the hard way – the role of a mortgage broker cannot be taught. No-one wants a textbook broker.
Every client is different, every situation is unique, and every human appreciates a different kind of interaction and service.
Not to mention every broker is different. The struggles one broker has will be different to another.
A broker is not just a broker anymore, they’re a marketing manager, a therapist, a marriage counsellor, a protection advisor and an admin extraordinaire all in one.
Build confidence of new brokers
We have identified through main recruitment drives in The Mortgage Mum what a new broker needs to possess, and this has become part of our entry framework.
You need drive, determination, resilience, empathy, organisation and an ability to step outside of your comfort zone to name a few.
The main struggle of a new broker is lack of confidence. Confidence cannot be taught either, so how do you build confidence?
Some tools we have identified is letting new brokers know that they have people to turn to, they can ask the silly question and letting them know they’re not alone.
You need to support your new brokers, so they can support their clients, all while navigating a new role themselves. You need to check everything they do, everything they say, and their unique method to problem solving.
A new broker needs to be encouraged to market themselves from day one before the fear sets in. They need to be reminded that people buy from people. That people get mortgages from people they know, like and trust and that their social media is their shop window.
They need to know that they will wear multiple hats, and that some days they will struggle. They need to be reminded to have boundaries to ensure they get a life outside of work. That this job can be 24/7 if you let it.
That clients often find properties the day before you go on annual leave. That mortgages can be like buses – none for a while, then they all come at once.
Broker career a winner
But for those considering it, let me tell you it is one of the most rewarding careers you will ever choose.
You get to be the facilitators of dreams. People’s homes are an extension of them, and you quite literally change their life, and if you do it right, they will always remember you. You become part of their story, their journey and even become part of their family.
Ultimately, create an environment where they will thrive, be there as they grow and celebrate their wins as they fly.
