A series of workshops running across the country in October will give mortgage brokers the foundation knowledge and skills they need to expand their business into commercial finance.
The MFAA New Commercial Broker workshops will explore these different types of commercial financing and give mortgage brokers strategies and tips to operate successfully as a commercial broker.
The workshops will be presented by David McCleery from MCP Financial Services and Todd O’Neill of Xenium Finance, who are both finance brokers themselves.
When asked why a mortgage broker might want to consider adding commercial lending to their service offering, Todd highlighted client retention.
“Mortgage brokers often have existing clients who are business owners, if these customers look elsewhere for their commercial finance needs there is a risk they’ll take their home loan with them and you lose them as a client,” he says.
“Being able to service more financing needs for your clients strengthens your relationship with them, it can also help you retain them as a mortgage client.”
David says that diversifying a mortgage business has inherent benefits, including risk mitigation through reducing reliance on a single offering, but is also a professional development opportunity.
“Extending into commercial lending can be a chance to learn new skills and have fresh client conversations and experiences,” said David.
“The workshop will provide mortgage brokers with an overall view of commercial finance and how brokers fit into that landscape.”
There are many commercial financing options available to businesses from a growing number of lenders, whether it be finance for vehicles, equipment, machinery, property, inventory or other business needs.
Given this breadth of commercial financing, David and Todd agree that brokers don’t need to go ‘all in’. They say mortgage brokers can start with one type of commercial lending, asset finance for example and then add more as they gain experience and confidence.
A lender expo will be a feature at the workshop as well giving attendees direct access to commercial lenders to find out about their products and ask questions.
MFAA CEO Anja Pannek noted the rise in mortgage brokers also writing commercial loans reported in the MFAA Industry Intelligence Service (IIS) report.
“The IIS highlights the continued customer focus of the industry, with brokers at the forefront in finding lending solutions for Australian homebuyers and business owners,” she said.
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