Broker to mentor – Nurturing the next generation of broking professionals

When Ben White sold his mortgage broking business, it wasn’t the end of his time in the mortgage and finance broking industry, it was his time to nurture the next generation of brokers.

After 26 years as a mortgage and finance broker, Ben, FYI Business Coaching, said the time was right to do something a bit different, and that’s turned out to be mentoring.

“During my time, I think I’ve achieved most of what I wanted to, won numerous accolades, but I’ve really enjoyed mentoring mortgage brokers in my business over the years.

“And, as I retired from active mortgage broking, I thought the next logical step was to become a full-time mentor,” Ben explained.

While Ben did have experience in mentoring brokers within his broking business, when he made the decision to dive into becoming a full-time mentor Ben contacted aggregators to find out what standards they expected. These conversations led him to the MFAA Mentoring Standards, which he’s used to help him put his own structured mentoring program together, and become an MFAA Endorsed Mentor.

To make sure his mentees have access to information when they need it, Ben is leveraging the power of video, creating an on-demand resource covering the areas required in the MFAA Mentoring Standards, and more.

“I call it ‘nine o ‘clock at night when you’re looking to put a deal together and you can’t remember what your mentor said at 4.00pm’, it’s really handy to have those videos there to refer back to,” said Ben

Ben also notes that mentoring is about more than compliance or the best way to structure a home loan, it’s about supporting mentees in the ways they need to be.

Part of a monthly form Ben asks all his mentees to complete is a mental health check.

“Just basically asking how you’re feeling this month. And, depending on the result, that can lead to our next meeting sometimes just being about their mental health. Sharing some stories about some tough days that I’ve had and how we got through it,” Ben explained.

“Mortgage and finance broking can be a very lonely profession when you’re doing this from home, or a cafe on your own. And this is where I think that a mentor is not only someone who shows them how to structure a home loan and do some compliance, but what I’m looking to do is really turn them into a professional.

“And I’m also using my years of experience to help them build a business – a sustainable, profitable business,” he said.

When asked what some of the things he has personally got out of his new role as a mentor, Ben commented that he has a newfound appreciation for the work his team did for him at his previous broking business.

“I had a big team and I have learned and reflected on how much my assistants did for me,” he said

“My respect level has grown from where it was, it was already at a very high level to, wow, I can’t believe they were doing that for me every day!”