Avoid the broking groove and plan with a purpose

This was the topic of conversation in a recent episode of Business Accelerator with Alex Whitlock and Jason Back. For all brokers, it’s key to retain structure.

“Whether an established brokerage versus your new industry or you’re considering even coming into this industry, what do they all have in common? Planning with purpose,” Back said.

“What gets measured, gets done. And I think about, sometimes, the fly by the seat of the pants industry we work in, where we get really busy … we lose sight of what we’re building.”

He added: “Brokers come into this industry for a variety of different reasons. They stay for different reasons, and they leave for different reasons. And I just know that at the moment, while we go through this really interesting phase, as the industry is going through some evolution at revolutionary pace, we really do need to be thinking about what it is that we’re building so that we’re building something with structure.”

This is where business planning comes into play. Going through the motions and being reactive can become the norm in the fast-paced world of broking. However, Back urges brokers to be more proactive with processes.

“A weak business plan tries to convince you that the idea is great. An excellent business plan proves that there’s a consumer demand for your services. And as the consumer evolves and as the industry is evolving, I want to make sure that we’re growing and maturing and we’re really delivering what’s important to the client. So, it’s really going back to understanding what your plan is,” he said.

Whitlock shared similar sentiments, highlighting just how easy it is to become complacent and neglect the vital task of planning.

“I think it’s very easy to end up in a groove that is not of your own making. And speaking from personal experience, life can end up setting its own cadence, and you can end up slotting into that,” Whitlock said.

“From a mortgage broking perspective, you can end up dealing what’s in front of you at the particular time, working with the clients that have a need and have an organic flow of structure and opportunities that come forward. For many people that can be fine. But I think for people that feel that they want to have a bit of control over their destiny, then having clarity about where you’re going and then starting to build some structure into that can become a very valuable thing.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full episode of Business Accelerator, click below.

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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