LMG’s New Broker of the Year gives secrets for success

Estelle Dejean took home the LMG New Broker of the Year award. Working with Finans Brokers, Dejean works across residential, commercial, and asset finance lending.

Dejean brought years of experience into the new venture with Finans, which has been operating for just 10 months.

“Being brand new and being nominated was already an incredible achievement and recognition for the business itself. But winning that award just topped it all,” she said.

“When we very first started 10 months ago, we had a goal to be bold, be different in the industry and make as much impact and noise as possible. And this award is just a recognition of all the hard work that was put over the last 10 months and I just couldn’t be happier.”

Setting yourself apart

In an industry with over 21,000 brokers, finding your rhythm and setting yourself apart from the others can be extremely beneficial. For Dejean, being there for the client along the whole loan journey is an important aspect of the business.

“[I decided to] do things a little bit different because I found that within the bank sector, sometimes you lose your focus a little bit. What’s really important to me with this brand is the customer experience, the customer journey, being able to deliver something that is seamless and being able to be there with them every single step of the way,” she said.

“We’re not just a transaction. We look ahead of the future. So, we’re there from the very beginning inquiry stage up to settlement. We do regular reviews with our clients every three to six months to make sure that everything is on track. Twelve monthly we review their portfolio, their loan. We do renegotiation of their rates and then we discuss as well their goals to see if we may be able to assist with anything. So, we’re not just a tick and flick with customers.”

Diversification is also key for Dejean. Being a one-stop shop for clients is important for keeping them satisfied.

“When we very first started, we had a few brokers say to us, you need to focus on residential lending only or you need to focus on commercial. You stay in your lane and you just do it well. We don’t say it like that at all. We like to disrupt. We like to be able to provide a whole experience for our clients,” Dejean said.

“I would feel awful telling my clients, hey, you know what? Yes, we can help you with your home loan. But if you want to have a business loan, we’re going to have to refer you to someone else. As a customer myself, I would hate to go through this experience because you just spend time building a relationship with someone. You’ve told them about your goal. You’ve been vulnerable on sharing those insights. And now you’ve got to start again somewhere else.”

Further to building trust is developing strong relationships. This is a core value at Finans, said Dejean. Customer experience is the “main goal”, she said.

In the modern workforce, digitisation is paramount. This includes online presence, which can often be the first point of contact for a customer.

“We really play a big role within the digital space. So, we’re trying to reach out to more of that audience who’s on Instagram, obviously TikTok, where we can provide that education piece. When they start looking at brokers, they can find us on Instagram, look at the education piece, and then come to us and say, hey, you know, I’ve seen your Instagram video about first-time buyers, I’ve seen your Instagram video on how to work with your accountant to achieve your goal as a self-employed,” said Dejean.

“The social space, I think, is a big space that a lot of brokers don’t play into well enough. And with the way the world is going, everybody’s going online these days. And if you’re not within the social world, I don’t think you are doing it right.”

Advice for brokers

Sharing her experience, Dejean encourages new brokers to be creative and try something different.

“The best advice to new brokers or aspiring new brokers would be to not be afraid of thinking outside of the box, shaking things up a little bit. I find the mortgage industry can be so in the box and at times quite boring as well. But with the world and the way it’s moving, you need to be able to start playing in different fields and being able to be different to everyone else,” said Dejean.

“So having a strong brand, having a strong online presence, building some really great relationship with your clients and being able to educate them on every piece, because I find that clients these days have this hunger for being educated. And it’s not just good enough to say, hey, here are the products that I’m giving you. This is what you’re going for. Sign here. Let’s do it. You need to be able to back yourself up and actually bring that care piece for your clients as to why you’re providing these products.

“And I think this is why a lot of our clients come back to us, because at the end of the process, they say to me, hey Estelle, your process was so smooth, so seamless. And I actually feel like I’m walking out of this knowing what is going on and having this idea of what we can do next. Being different and not being afraid of thinking out of the box is something that I would highly recommend.”

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Jack Campbell is the editor of Broker Daily. After graduating from the University of Wollongong in 2022, Jack began his journalistic career working on Broker Daily’s sister brand, HR Leader. In August 2023 he was made the news editor and worked alongside some talented journalists writing articles and recording podcasts.

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