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Brokers - what are you going to be doing differently in 2024?

Journalist: John Fitzsimons, Freelance

ended 02. January 2024

Morning brokers

First off, happy new year!

We'd love to get an idea of what you plan to do differently with your business in 2024. In effect, what are the new year's resolutions for your advice business this year?

This could cover the advice process itself, the technology you use, how you communicate with clients, even the work/life balance.

Any and all thoughts on this are very welcome!

9 responses from the Newspage community

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Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
Three main areas for me:
1. Diversify, diversify, diversify. New markets mean new clients, new blood in the veins of this business.
2. Tech's our Tommy gun. No more paper trails and dusty ledgers. Hope to invest in slick online platforms, AI-powered tools to streamline the process. Faster approvals, happier punters, more lolly in the bank.
3. Transparency ain't a weakness, it's a razor. Im cutting the jargon, speaking in plain English. No smoke and mirrors, just straight-up advice you can trust.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
The last 12 months felt difficult to plan for, given the speed and effect of the economy on mortgage rates overall. Looking forward to 2024, it is imperative to take back some control of our work, find more efficiencies within the firm and also look to plan better, given the outlook looks more settled.

With more confidence, we can look to build on our lower cost base, and use more automation to deal with the back office admin, freeing up more time to meet and speak with clients, which is where we can add the most value.

Education is so important to borrowers, and we will be looking to launch a new tutorial channel helping all types of clients. With plenty of online resources to share, we can hopefully make the process of applying for a mortgage more streamlined and a better experience all around.



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Imran Hussain
Director at Harmony Financial Services
I intend to be offering more areas of property finance to diversify our offering for our clients, old and new and also more partnerships and service offerings for our client base with the opening of a second location, which has been in the works for the past 12 months will mean we make a massive shift over to using tech and becoming fully paperless, which has been in the works for the past 12 months to allow for more hybrid working practices to allow more time to be spent with my young family.
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Mike Staton
Director at Staton Mortgages
2024 is set to be our biggest year yet, we are looking to add a lettings department into our Estate Agents and also a Property management company, along with Mortgage advice, we hope to be able to offer a full, true, inhouse service to all of our clients. We also want to grow our self-employed broker arm and aid them in finding true lead sources and not wishy-washy marketing scams offered by people with zero financial service advice background other than conning newly qualified brokers.

I can tell you one thing I will not be doing, subscribing to "Mortgage Marketing Specialists" that have no FCA accreditation and zero qualifications in the mortgage world. It would be the same as taking mortgage advice from Martin Lewis.
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Denni Tyson
Mortgage and Protection Advisor at Henchurch Lane Financial Services
I think the main change this year will be the use of social media and the importance of being a strong brand within the market. As a result of 2023, people have now become more aware of mortgages and the impact they have on their household budgeting.

Therefore, to reach clients quickly and more effectively, the use of social will allow our clients to see snippets of information about mortgages and protection. This will in turn allow us to provide tailored advice on the biggest monthly spend of every household!

Give it a whirl and see.....
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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
Making more efficient use of my time is top priority for 2024. Part of that will be qualifying prospects better, so less time is wasted on tyre-kickers or leads that are unlikely to go anywhere. It's so easy for clients to view a mortgage broker as a commoditised service, so I'll also be working on improving our value proposition and positioning.
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Gareth Davies
Director at South Coast Mortgage Services
For us, 2024 is set to be very interesting. Tech is my main focus right now as we are looking to utilise whatever we can to make the client journey easy and to reach more people. I'm more confident about the market than I was 12 months ago and i'm hopeful we could see the return of the purchase market as this dropped off a cliff in 2023.
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Alastair Hoyne
CEO, Finanze Capital at Finanze Capital
Diversification and innovation have been our watchwords in 2023 and it's served us well. We'll move forward with a collaborative approach, strengthening our ties with key players and partners. Staying agile is key in a changing market and our team have proved their worth in that regard, honing their skills and staying calm through turbulent times. We'll continue to create products that serve emerging needs and are conscious of the challenges still to be faced by those coming off historically low fixed-rate deals onto the current rates. We're pushing ahead with investments in training and development for our whole team to enhance our offering and service. Creating a success culture is key in business no matter what is happening elsewhere, and in this respect, we've established a team that is resilient and determined.
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Anil Mistry
Director and Mortgage Broker at RNR Mortgage Solutions
Firstly, we will intensify our engagement on social media, strategically focusing on self-employed individuals and business owners. Our minimal social media activity in 2023 has surprisingly yielded valuable leads, indicating a clear opportunity. It's time to prioritise and capitalise on this platform.

Secondly, we're implementing pivotal refinements in our client journey, from the initial interaction to the successful completion of the mortgage. The aim is to expedite the collection of essential information and documents, ensuring a swift and efficient onboarding process for clients keen to utilise our services. It's about enhancing effectiveness with a professional touch.