David Gilman is partner in charge of Blacks Connect
It’s not often you get to spend two days solid talking to hundreds of advisers and brokers but that’s exactly what the Blacks Connect team did last week at the very first Financial Services Expo.
These exhibitions are not just an exercise in getting new individuals signed up to our proposition – although clearly this is great to do – but they also give us a chance to talk with existing valued customers and all mortgage sector stakeholders to see how they are coping with the market at present.
I’m pleased to say that the overwhelming response we received at FSE was very positive and there was a recognition – sometimes not always shown by some in the advice profession – of the importance of controlling the conveyancing process for clients and the need to support their legal services’ needs wherever possible.
It is too easy to see the mortgage advice process in splendid isolation – particularly in a growing marketplace – and come to the conclusion that you are only there to service the client’s needs in this one area.
Nothing should be further from the truth and our aim at FSE was to show brokers the value in working with clients in areas such as conveyancing and legal services. Indeed, the brokers we spoke to recognised their own needs in these areas particularly around employment law, litigation, etc. There needs to be this type of understanding that most individuals have the same needs and they don’t just start and stop with the mortgage.
Overall we were particularly pleased with our two days and I know we have spent the time since contacting and dealing with the hundreds of new brokers who registered with Blacks Connect. No-one understands better than us the fact that giving up a day in the office to attend such an event is a big ask for any professional at this moment in time and therefore the brokers we encountered at FSE were not just serious about the knowledge they could pick up by attending the event, but were also on the lookout for opportunities and potential new revenue drivers which they could take back to their businesses.
In that sense there was a very real ‘seriousness’ to those we talked to and, regardless of all the positivity around the property market at present, there was an understanding that business still had to be earned and made the most of when it did come through the door.
This is good news for the advice sector and is a sign there is a continued acceptance of the need to continue diversifying even if mortgage business volumes have increased. There is certainly a short-sightedness to those who are currently easing back and/or dismissing other products areas such as protection, general insurance, conveyancing, and the like, simply because they are dealing with more mortgage clients than in the very recent past.
Our aim – once brokers recognise the value in being active in these sectors – is, as always, to make the process of conveyancing/legal services advice and recommendations as easy to deliver as possible. Which is why the online platform we have developed is simple and effective.
We know that brokers want to ensure the client’s needs are covered but also do not want to prolong the advice process by any longer than is absolutely necessary.
This being the case it is increasingly evident that brokers and advisers are willing to look at these product options because they know they can deal with quality partners who will look after their clients, and deliver, in the right way.
All in all we left FSE buoyed by our interaction with attendees, enthused by the growing sense of positivity about the market and looking forward to what is sure to be a very interesting last three months of 2013.
