Welcome to brokermentor.com.au

Broker Mentor was created by the Directors of Vision Mortgage Solutions to build an online resource for our team and other brokers.  Our business is about providing support, including back office administration, lead generation, and finally mentoring and coaching brokers, to help them to achieve their career and financial goals.  We recognised some time ago that while there are many resources available to teach brokers the technical aspects of submitting loans, the missing element in the industry is the guidance of professional coaching to help people to start and to grow their business.  Now that the MFAA requires new brokers to enlist in a mentoring program for their first two years in the industry, this service has become even more important to our members.

Our members enjoy a number of benefits including coverage under our ACL, inclusion in our COSL membership, free software and access to our lead generation.  This means considerable savings for all of our members.

Over the years we have helped many brokers to build successful businesses, and Broker Mentor was created to help us with mentoring both new and existing members of our team.  Whether you are a full member or an associate members still studying your Cert IV, this website is designed to help you to connect with other brokers and to provide the information you need to help you to grow your business.

To register, click on the Login button and follow the instructions to register. 

Once you have logged in as a registered user, the Forum link will appear in the main menu.

We encourage you to post messages in the appropriate areas of the forum as the site is about gathering the experience and thoughts of the entire network, but please be aware that the Forum is moderated and offensive of counter-productive posts will be removed.

To find out more about us or our mentoring programs, please call 1300 797 144 or email info@visionms.com.au 

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our site.

Regards

Michael Calam
Managing Director
Vision Mortgage Solutions

Broker Mentor
Progress Report
Written by Michael Calam   
Thursday, 12 February 2009 07:22

It's the second Thursday morning of the month and time for me to check my overall position relative to my monthly target.  So far this month I've attended 8 appointments and I've submitted 5 applications.  One appointment cancelled while I was on my way to see them and the other 2 simply aren't ready to proceed yet.

I'm happy as I'm on target, and since my last post about the number of appointments I'd set myself for the month in the first week, a few more appointments have been set simply from referrals. 

I've noticed lately that a lot of people are surprised when I talk with them about buying vs renting.  There are many people out there renting who don't realise that in many cases it can actually cost less to buy than to rent. 

I spoke with a lady yesterday who was asking about a personal loan.  She is on a pension with two teenage children.  When I found out how much she was paying in rent every week I was surprised.  We talked about her monthly expenses and then I ran her details through some of our calculators.  She qualified to buy a very modest unit or townhouse in her area and in the process, based on today's fixed rates, not the lower variable rates, she would save herself close to $60 per week.  This lady had resigned herself to never being able to own her own home, however as we discussed her situation she told me that it was the one thing that she had always dreamed of doing.

I was very careful to point out that her affordability would only allow her to buy a very cheap, modest home - however she was thrilled.  She spoke about the area she currently lived in and told me that being able to actually own any home, regardless of how modest it was, would be a dream come true for her.  And fixing the interest rates in for 3 years would give her the peace of mind to know her expenses while she got her children through high school.

It was really refreshing to speak with someone who understood that a first home won't have all the bells and whistles.  Most first home buyers I speak to seem to have expectations that exceed the characteristics of even the home I live in today.  I have to wonder about what ever happened to starting off small and working your way up.

 

 
 
The Learning Process
Written by Michael Calam   
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 07:55

I think that the biggest mistake that we can make as humans is to convince ourselves that we have nothing left to learn.

I've noticed lately that the most successful people in life are those who are always willing to try or learn new things.  And when I say successful, I'm not talking about just financial success, but those who seem to be enjoying their lives as well.  Sometimes it's so easy to get into a rut and to simply survive on a daily basis, following a routine and losing the joy in the simple act of learning something new.  I won't dwell on the quality of life aspect, I'm sure that you get my point there.

Being able to adapt and being open to learning new things will help you to keep moving forward.  I found myself talking with one of our newer brokers yesterday and he told me about some of the things he's been doing.  I'd never even thought of some of his ideas and I was really inspired.  With no offence to the person in question, but he's no spring chicken either.  However he showed a willingness to experiment, to learn and to adapt which would leave many younger people well behind.

After my conversation with him I was excited.  I sat down and started thinking about other things that I could do in my business as well.  This got me to thinking (always a dangerous activity).

A number of people have registered their profiles on the www.visionms.com.au website already.  I'd encourage members to pick up the phone or email members from interstate, people who you've never spoken with and introduce yourself.  Talk about your business and ask them questions about theirs.

It could be an awkward situation but really, is it going to hurt either of you to do it?  Find out what other people are doing and how they're doing it and open yourself up to new ideas in how to grow your business.

 
 
Just Another Manic Monday
Written by Michael Calam   
Monday, 09 February 2009 19:31

It's Monday and I broke my own rule this morning.

I woke up and knew that I had a hundred things to do today and so I just started doing them.  As a result, I've been chasing my tail all day.  I really feel like I've been unproductive.

Hindsight, being a wonderful beast, allows me to see how I could have saved myself a lot of time and effort today, simply by organising my day up front.  But instead I've jumped from item to item, double handling and working on similar activities at different times of the day.

I know that there is a famous line which reads "The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."  But maybe it doesn't necessarily mean that if you want to go somewhere you should start running immediately, maybe it's better if you know where you're going first?

So, anyway, the end result for my day is that I felt rushed and harried throughout the day and don't feel as productive as I could have been.  I've been the perfect example today of "bad" busy as opposed to "good" busy.

It is such a temptation though, when things get really busy, to just dive in there and get started.  Taking the time to pause, take a deep breath and plan your day makes such a difference though.

Tomorrow will be a different day for me.  My regret today is that a bad Monday normally carries forward into the rest of the week.  So, I think that I'll make tomorrow my backup Monday and get my week planned then.
 
Spinning the Web

In modern business today you just have to have a website. If you're not up there on Google then your business is simply not happening.

I don't necessarily agree.  A website is great, as long as it has a purpose.

I always want to know, what is a website trying to achieve?  It seems to me that many of the ones I've seen are trying to be everything for everyone.  So, before building a website, isn't it important to understand what you want to get out of it. 

For example, with this website, brokermentor.com.au we have two goals.  The first is to provide information online to our broker network, allowing them to have easy access to information, documents and other resources to help them to grow their business.  The secondary goal is to help our network of brokers to both be and feel connected, through both my daily blogs and through the interactions of the forum.

The reason I bring this up, is because we've just launched our new look site www.visionms.com.au

Previously on the old website we had information sheets and calculators and many other tools, but when we really examined it, was the website achieving what we really wanted it to do, to generate enquiries to us from customers.  The unfortunate answer was no, it wasn't.  So the new website is designed to lead the reader into an online enquiry or to allow them to search for their local broker and contact them directly.  It is now a website with a purpose. 

By the way, if you're a potential customer and you've accidently stumbled across this website please don't misconstrue what I'm saying, the reason we want you to speak with us directly is so that we can help you.  Online calculators and all of that sort of thing just don't give you enough information to really make an informed choice.

Which leads me to my next point, if you're a broker in our network and you would like more business - where is your profile?  Send them in so that we can advertise you for free.

On a serious note for today, I would like to add that our thoughts are with the people of Victoria who are currently affected by the bushfires.  We have added a section in our online forum with information about how people can assist, so please login and see what you can do to help.
 
Friday
Written by Michael Calam   
Friday, 06 February 2009 16:31

Welcome to Friday.

I'm quite happy with myself today as yesterday I managed to arrange my final 6 interviews for the month, so now I know that I'm on track.

Today is looking to be quite busy as I have 3 interviews almost in a row. While I'm always careful to take good notes, I'll have to be extra careful today. I know of some brokers who leave some of their note-taking until after the interview, when they're sitting somewhere on their own and not having the client waiting for them. But, if I tried to do that after several interviews in a row, it would be quite easy to make mistakes.

There is a lot of talk about the potential for a recession in Australia and so I have made a personal decision.  Even if there is a recession, I'm choosing not to participate. 

I came to this decision last night while out walking.  I recently took up the offer from Signwave where they have printed 3,000 of our dl brochures for free (as long as their details were printed on the back of each brochure).  Last night my wife and I took the dog and a stack of those brochures out for a walk.  As we went along we dropped the brochures into people's letterboxes.  This got me thinking.

Regardless of what the economy is like, people still buy and sell houses.  They also refinance, consolidate debts and restructure their finances.  Using the example of the free brochures above, I realised that there are literally dozens of ways that the clever broker can market their business for free. 

So, if I can keep my overheads low, have a strong marketing plan and keep on looking for new business, I can avoid participating in the recession.  If we have one that is. 

What's that famous line?  "Failure is not an option."

 

 
 
More Articles...
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>

Page 9 of 12

Latest News

Wanted - Experienced Brokers
Vision Mortgage Solutions is seeking experienced finance brokers to join our team.  Our members enjoy many benefits including coverage under our COSL and ACL plus access to leads. Contact Michael Calam 0401 609 113 for more information.

Back Office Support
Maximise your time by using our Back Office Support service.  Available to all brokers including non-members, our Support team can take the administrative work out of your application process on a fee for service basis.  Get our team to submit applications online for you, prepare document submissions and follow-up on outstanding conditions.  Call 1300 797 144 to find out more.

Credit Checks
Prepare your applications properly by obtaining a credit check prior to loan submission.  This can save you and your clients a great deal of time and wasted effort by making sure that you know all the facts when you're preparing your clients application.  Visit the Purchase Online section to find out more.

Get Home Loan Leads Today
Vision members can now purchase Guaranteed Home Loan Leads, leads which are guaranteed to convert into Home Loan Applications or your money back.  Visit the Purchase Online section to find out more.