April 2020
By Paul Brett, Managing Director – Intermediaries, Landbay
For those of us who choose not to engage with the mainstream media’s increasingly tedious finger pointing at what they consider to be the government’s failure to have had all the right answers during this current crisis, I would like to offer some thoughts to those of us who believe our time is better spent considering how we intend to move our businesses forward and by recognising that our future depends as much on our own efforts as it does on government intervention.
Like most of you, I don’t underestimate the situation we find ourselves in both personally and professionally. However, I feel that it is important to concentrate our energies on what we can influence and control and one of the most important is in looking carefully at how we can make our propositions more attractive, at a time when new business is hard to come by.
Client contact
The mortgage sector has had a bumper period leading up to this and many advisers have been hard pressed to follow up on customers for whom they have arranged finance. Now is the time to make those calls. Not only to see if customers are happy with the job you have done but to check whether they have any questions you can address that might have come as a result of COVID-19. Many landlords will be concerned about the likelihood of non- payment of rent and how their lenders are likely to react. Close contact at this time will lead to stronger relationships down the line.
Embrace technology
Lenders reconsidering their exposure to higher LTVs and premium pricing was not unexpected by most, but the number of lenders who could not carry on lending because of a reliance on human intervention at critical points in the process, is not just a wakeup call for lenders, but a moment to reconsider whether your clients would be better suited to lenders who have a fully online process with teams able to work just as easily from a home address as they are in an office.
What about you?
In between contacting clients and assessing lenders for their online ability to deliver the funding your clients require, I believe this is the time for broker firms to take a look at their own technology and its ability to help manage their businesses. Most firms have a basic CRM system, but the question has to be whether an up to date system could be providing a service which not only manages customers but also makes it easier to link the services which will make them competitive in a post COVID-19 market. Direct links to sourcing systems, life insurance and GI providers ID verification services and the facility to have customers directly input data and supporting documentation are already available, so check out how you can streamline and improve your service.
Whilst we are still lending, albeit at a reduced capacity, Landbay is taking the time to prepare for the next stage in our development. We know that the market will recover and I would urge you to take this time to prepare for that future. One thing I can guarantee is that Landbay will be here and ready to partner you and your landlord clients.