SPOTLIGHT
brokernews.com.au
25
Trained mentors better than the best brokers Mentors can help even seasoned professionals enter the industry – and they are often better at training than the best brokers
T
rained mentors are better at helping new entrants survive the gruesome attrition statistics that face prospective newbies. Classic Mentoring & Coaching mentor Nancy Youssef has told Australian Broker TV that only a third of new brokers survive the first 12 months. She says the key for getting brokers to survive this period was providing them with a structured approach to training, rather than appointing someone without the time to give. “Whilst we have already identified that experienced brokers have all the technical knowledge, not all of them are really good at training new entrants,” she says. Sally Ashcroft of Finanz Essentials says finding the right mentor was “really important”. “You have to find someone that has the time to train you,” she says. Ashcroft’s experience with the MFAA’s mentor program was that it added value to her business, by providing her with holistic help covering all aspects of operating the business. Graham Wearn of AMW Wealth, who transitioned to mortgage broking after his former career as a stockbroker, says trained mentors also helped new brokers confront their fears. “I would put off difficult things like marketing and selling financial products – in general, that’s a fairly confronting thing, going out and marketing yourself to sell things,” he says. “But with a mentor you have to do it and you are accountable to your mentor so there is no escape from confronting your worst fears,” he says. Wearn says a mentor helped transition him across to the mortgage broking industry. “I have worked in the bank so I know about lending and loans, and I’ve been a stockbroker so I know how to talk to people and to get them to do things,” he says. “Being a mentee obviously brings a structure to the process. You are given quite a defined business plan,” he says.
Youssef says= many brokers drop out of the industry because they don’t have the right support. “In light of that we are looking to lift the success rate.” “A new entrant should have an MFAA-approved mentor, because time is going to be allocated for a structured approach,” she says.
YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO YOUR MENTOR SO THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM CONFRONTING YOUR WORST FEARS
NANCY YOUSSEF
SALLY ASHCROFT
GRAHAM WEARN