A lot of our clients are using acquisitions as a strategy in their mortgage businesses.

We help them think clearly, make the right decisions, and maximise the opportunities.

Many mergers and acquisitions are ill thought out, and leave a lot of money on the table due to incomplete strategies and under-resourced businesses.

There are two different types to consider:

Trail book acquisition - simply buying a client list and trail income.

Mortgage business acquisition - more complex involving purchase of a client list and trail income, but also systems, key staff, referral partnerships, branding, offices and so on.

Both can be used effectively, depending on the desired outcome.

Both require the right strategy and tactics to make them worthwhile.

If you don’t have a sound strategy (and reason) to acquire loan books and/or businesses, you can quickly have your head under water… physically stretched for time and also financially.

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, we discuss the key factors to consider in this space. 

Want to accelerate faster?

• Visit Broker Ideas Group to access special resources and events designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Go straight to the source and Let’s Talk about working together to grow your mortgage business easier and faster.

Do you want to get off the tools?

Work more ‘on’ your business rather than ‘in’ it?

I hear this like a broken record.

A throw away statement.

Often from brokers who have no intention or desire to do it.

Being a mortgage broker, helping clients and writing loans… is easy.

And most brokers love it.

Building and operating a mortgage business… is hard.

And most brokers hate it (or aren’t good at it).

I find it bizarre that most are trying to run away from the very thing they are good at and enjoy… and towards something that is tough, a completely different skill set, and something they will not enjoy.

So, instead of following the masses, the first question to ask is:

Why get off the tools? (a seemingly simple, but deep and complex question)

And then second, if the decision and goal is to remove yourself from writing loans, the question becomes:

How to get off the tools? (a simple solution, but deep and complex tactics)

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, we discuss the concept and desire for getting off the tools properly, so you can ask yourself the right questions, make the right decisions, and then act with clarity and intent (and not do something you’ll regret!).

Want to accelerate faster?

• Visit Broker Ideas Group to access special resources and events designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Go straight to the source and Let’s Talk about working together to grow your mortgage business easier and faster.

Bigger is not always better; it’s what you do with it that counts.

So they say.

This could be the most crass or cliche way to start an email ever.

But, there’s an appropriate analogy here for a mortgage business.

I assure you.

Because in business…

Bigger is not always better; it’s the profit and value creation that counts.

But unfortunately… most brokers focus on the wrong things:

• Growing a bigger business and team.
• Writing more and more loans.
• Winning awards and following passion projects.
• Adding technology, complexity and moving parts.
• Digital marketing and social media.
• Often to the detriment of making a profit and/or creating value.

In fact.

A lot of brokers, even the “successful” ones (I put successful in quote marks because the industry rewards the wrong things, measuring success incorrectly):

• Don’t know what a profitable mortgage business looks like.
• Don’t even know if their business is profitable or not.
• Don’t understand their end-game or purpose (income vs value).
• Don’t have the right model to suit their goals.
• Don’t look at their numbers or focus on making money.

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, we discuss the concept of having a profitable mortgage business model, and the dangers of being caught (or stuck) in the middle.

Want to accelerate faster?

• Visit Broker Ideas Group to access special resources and events designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Go straight to the source and Let’s Talk about working together to grow your mortgage business easier and faster.

This week's episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration is special.

I have a ninja business-building guest with me, taking the seat of Ash for the week.

This episode is for the serious mortgage business builders.

A behind the scenes look at how our business grew by 500% in the space of a couple of years, and simultaneously went from almost full reliance on me to virtually zero reliance on me.

This is not a one-off case study either.

We’ve helped a number of mortgage brokers achieve similar levels of success through our 10X advice and coaching program.

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, meet the business system genius behind the growth of BIG, and learn smarter and easier ways to develop your business, build systems and lead a high-performance team.

Want to accelerate faster?

• Visit Broker Ideas Group to access special resources and events designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Go straight to the source and Let’s Talk about working together to grow your mortgage business easier and faster.

I am giving you permission to work less and earn more.

Now let’s take a step back… because it’s not that simple.

I’ve worked with hundreds of brokers over the last 15 years.

Some who are just making ends meet, to those making seven-figures a year (in personal income, not settlement commissions / revenue).

You want to know the common thread, that is consistent among brokers, regardless of how much they earn?

They all keep working hard, full-time hours, Monday to Friday, 9-5… and more.

Many sit at the desk all day, even when there is no work to do, or they are completely unproductive.

And then there’s some, too many in fact, that think it’s ok (or expected) to work nights, weekends and holidays.

Let me tell you that both of these situations are B.S.

Don’t settle for it.

This episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration runs deep on our society and mindset. Don’t skip it. We discuss the unconscious “need for 9-5”, linking being busy to being valuable, and how most brokers have an outdated belief system that is stopping them from working less and earning more.

Want to accelerate faster?

• Visit Broker Ideas Group to access special resources and events designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Go straight to the source and Let’s Talk about working together to grow your mortgage business easier and faster.

There are levels of how hands-off you can go in business.

From zero, i.e. you are responsible for everything!

To completely, i.e. you are responsible for nothing.

Most brokers want to end up somewhere in between.

They love what they do.

But they want flexibility to have a life, travel and follow passion projects.

I’ve personally been at both ends of the spectrum. Having a business that was essentially “all me” and also a business that ran independently of me. Both have pros and cons for sure.

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, we discuss the different levels of systemisation (we call it Go Hands-Off), how to think about them and progress through the ranks. Note this month is all about systems, but it runs deeper than that, which you’ll find out when you listen in.

Want to accelerate faster?

• Visit Broker Ideas Group to access special resources and events designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Go straight to the source and Let’s Talk about working together to grow your mortgage business easier and faster.

Building systems, processes, workflows, automations and so on is a MUST in business.

I know that.

You know that.

Even the guy down the street… who is not in business… knows that.

Because without systems you have a mess… fly by the seat of your pants... business.

The problem I see working with brokers, is the definition of systems, and the extent and depth of their installation… is vague and half-baked.

Take an easy example.

Brokers with little-to-no systems, they know this and know they need to do something about it… which is a good thing. Because if they stop working, everything stops.

Here’s where it gets tricky and dangerous.

Brokers who do have a lot of systems in their business, think their systems are really good and are kicking goals, but in reality it’s primary school level at best. If they stop working, some things keep working because of a support team in place, but many things stop and break without them.

A lot of brokers have a basic system for the loan process, but have virtually no systems for lead generation, referrals, partnership nurture, marketing, admin, HR, team performance, client care, reporting, and so on.

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, we discuss the purpose of systems and the various levels of ‘system achievement’ needed to go from solo broker to true business owner that is not required in any way.

Want to accelerate faster?

• Visit Broker Ideas Group to access special resources and events designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Go straight to the source and Let’s Talk about working together to grow your mortgage business easier and faster.

As a mortgage broker and business owner, you can focus on two types of value.

Now Value and Future Value.

You also have the choice of how to invest your time (a finite resource) each day.

Most invest all their time on Now Value tasks; such as generating new business, writing loans, nurturing referral partners, client care, working with support team, and so on.

A focus on Now Value means you have a job, not a business. If you stop working, your business and income stops (or is greatly reduced). Now Value is about creating an income from your effort now and forever.

The fundamental purpose of business is to build Future Value, and I’m not talking about building your trail book, that’s very limited in thinking and one-dimensional.

Future Value is doing something today that will make tomorrow easier, or even better, something you no longer have to do. Future Value is about creating an income (and asset) that doesn’t require your effort in the future to generate it.

If you prioritise business building, and Future Value, you will result in income generation and asset creation that is independent of you and your time.

If you fail to prioritise business building, and keep chasing Now Value, you will be locked in having to trade your time and energy for money indefinitely.

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, we discuss this in more detail and share why you should switch your focus to business building and Future Value, but doing it smart so you continue to generate a solid income (Now Value).

Want to accelerate faster?

• Visit Broker Ideas Group to access special resources and events designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Go straight to the source and Let’s Talk about working together to grow your mortgage business easier and faster.

There are many common mistakes brokers make when building a team.

And it makes business hard, annoying, and frustrating.

In fact a lot of brokers end up thinking it’d be easier to just go solo and do everything themselves! But we all know that’s not a real business of course… that’s just a job.

So we need a team.

And if we do it right, it can be easy, fun and lucrative.

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, we discuss the key mistakes to avoid when it comes to team building and team management. These are hidden mistakes brokers don’t even know about, so this is a guaranteed eye-opener.

Accelerate Faster

• You can visit Broker Ideas Group to learn more about us, access special events and download useful resources designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Want to work with James, Ash and the BIG team to grow your mortgage business faster? Our Growth Coach team can help you. Let's talk!

What’s the one person all brokers should hire… but virtually none do?

Is it a loan processor? No.

Is it a parabroker? No.

Is it another broker? No.

Is it a CSM? No.

Is it a virtual assistant, or a marketing person, or an office manager?

No. No. No.

It’s actually not what you think, which is why almost nobody does this.

I’d argue that it’s impossible to have an efficient, high-performing team without ‘this person’.

In this episode of Mortgage Broker Acceleration, we discuss the trap most brokers fall into when hiring people, and share the smarter hiring strategy that will accelerate results.

Accelerate Faster

• You can visit Broker Ideas Group to learn more about us, access special events and download useful resources designed exclusively for mortgage brokers.
• Want to work with James, Ash and the BIG team to grow your mortgage business faster? Our Growth Coach team can help you. Let's talk!