It's been a very exciting 24 hours.

First, I would like to express my excitement for the newly announced merger of our Aggregator, National Brokers Group with two other aggregators, The Brokerage, and The Mortgage Professionals.  It has been a long process since it's inception last year but finally it has settled and we are now associated with one of the largest Aggregators in Australia.  I have yet to meet the new CEO Jeff Zulman, but I have heard great feedback about him and I'm delighted that National Brokers Group CEO, Steve Lambert has moved into the role of Chief Operating Officer of the new company.  Steve has been with NBG (formerly FASA) for a long time and his association with us goes back to the days when he was our BDM and also the Special Projects Officer for NBG.  

The name of the newly formed group is Vow Financial.  Given the complexities of the merger it will take some time to bring it all together, so in the meantime it is business as usual.  Over time we will definitely see some changes and so for our existing members it is a great time to send me through your suggestions for possible improvements so that we can provide this input to the group.

On another note.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a piano recital by David Brodsky, the event which was sponsored by one of our brokers, Ian Cook.  The night was a great success and for the modest investment to sponsor the night, Ian obtained some great exposure and has already seen two new home loan leads as a result of it.

In March, Ian is holding the official launch of his mortgage broking business and I'm really excited to be invited to be there for him on that night.  It is fantastic to see someone really take hold of their business and to look for opportunities to put it out there.  Activity breeds success.

We have been mentoring brokers for a few years now and we've seen people enter the industry from a wide variety of backgrounds.  We have seen many enter the industry part-time, with others leaping in feet first.

Here are a few observations which I have made over this time.

1. For those thinking to enter the industry full-time, please ensure that you have the financial resources to see out 1 full year with little or no income.  This doesn't meant that you won't make money in the first year.  BUT, it does give you a safeguard and allows you to proceed without the stress or pressure of having to replace your income immediately.  Remember that this business is built over time and the major benefits come from having built a solid client base and a long term trailing income. 

2. For those who are entering part-time, set yourselves goals and targets to where you can leave your current employment and start full-time in this field.  While we are mentoring you, we will help you to meet these goals.  But without those goals, we've seen many brokers who exist in a limbo between their day job and their broking business.  Yes, working in your business to get loans approved is important, but you need to spend time working ON your business, in order to get it to a position where you can take it to the next level.

3. The most successful brokers we have mentored are those who are open to new ideas and are willing to put themselves Out There.  The role of the mentor is to help you to find ways to grow your mortgage broking business, but all of our coaching and suggestions are useless unless they are acted upon.  Take yourself out of your comfort zone and find new opportunities.  Socialise, network and meet people - this is how you grow your business - with people.

4. CUSTOMER SERVICE.  Your clients should come first every time.  Look after them, keep in contact with them and don't wait for them to call you.  Create a successful partnership with them and they will stay with you and they will then recommend you to others.

On the last note, I'll be updating our forum tomorrow with some insights from some Customer based research myself and several others undertook recently and it has some amazing insights. 

That's all from me today - my customers await.