We would like to acknowledge those who are currently affected by the nation's bush fire crisis. Whilst the devastation is catastrophic, we have also seen Australians at their best pulling together to help communities through this testing time.

If you would like to donate to the Victorian bush fire relief efforts, you can do so here. If you would like to donate to the New South Wales bush fire relief efforts, you can do so here. If you would like to donate to the CFA, either to a specific brigade or provide a general donation you can do so here. Secondly, we would like to highlight the long and short term impact to the tourism industry of these communities. The Instagram account @spendwiththem features businesses in these fire affected communities. You can follow them here to buy from them now or in the future. 

With some of us still in holiday mode, we thought we would take this opportunity to focus on the basics. This includes the simple, yet common errors that when corrected will result in higher conversions and happier clients down the track. For a moment, think about someone you know within your industry that is succeeding. It could be a friend, mentor, colleague or partner. Think about what they do differently. Do they never see a less than perfect client? Are they afforded higher LVR’s? Do they have approval to declare lower expenses? Are they adhering to different lender guidelines than the rest of us? Or is it that all their NCCP requirements are waived?

Here is a hint…It’s not!

If it’s not any of the reasons listed above, why is it that we see some brokers excel and others stumble? In fact, it is simple. Every transaction can be split into two groups as seen below.

In the circle of concern are all the components that make up a transaction. These are the components of which we have no control over for example, lender policy and your client’s credit score. Our smaller circle of influence, however, includes all the things you can control.

Let's take a look at the application factors that you can control and how this separates the good from the great brokers. By incorporating our 7 tips below, you too can become a great broker.  

What does this tell us? It’s not the level of complexity that’s holding us back. It’s the familiarity or probably more accurately, the unfamiliarity. When something is unfamiliar, often we will push it away as best and as quickly as we can. This means that with each one we forget the last, without creating and following any process. It is through repetition of our methods, however, that habits will be formed. Consequently, you need to work out your processes when assisting your clients with asset finance. What documents do you need and at what stage? What information will you need in order to quote? Once you have the process mapped out you have won half the battle! If you would like help setting up your process, ask our team for guidance.

Secondly, and similar to home loans, when you see a client who ticks all boxes, they may sit with a tier one lender at a great rate. On the other hand, if a client’s financials are less than perfect, we look at non-conforming lenders with increased rates. Asset finance is no different. The bottom line is that a quote without all the information is not worth much.

We require any loan regulated under the NCCP act, to have all disclosure documents completed. Our team can provide you with assistance but please speak to your aggregation group for any clarity you may need. If consumer applications are sent through to our team without the disclosure documents, it will delay the process.

If you don’t know what your client wants, why they want it and understand their personal and/or business circumstances, the likelihood of you adequately relaying this onto a third party is slim. When submitting an application to a third party, consider the submission as confirmation of your support for the deal. The deal needs to make sense to you before you try and convince anyone else. If the application doesn’t, then don’t submit.

It is surprising how often payslips, tax returns or financials are sent through to us without so much as a glance over from the sender. If you are doing a full application, the expectation is that you have verified that it services. If they don’t have the income to service the loan, we can do no more than you. We will happily provide you with support but make sure you do your part too!

With the launch of our new platform NLG Connect, all our members will be transitioned over the next two months. Look out for your roll out email with your logins and transition date. Training sessions via webinar will be available and as always, we are here to offer support.

NLG Connect will help make your processes more streamlined. Below we have laid out our 10 easy steps from submission to settlement.

One issue holding up transactions, has increased due to the changes in credit reporting with the different levels of visibility now available. It’s not uncommon for liabilities to exist that clients have no knowledge of. If it is listed, however, we will need to either include the liability or receive formal notification of its removal from the lender to exclude it. 

Understandably this can get the deal off track and cause long delays. We recommend checking your client’s credit file early in the process, ensuring it matches the details they have declared. If there are any discrepancies, working this out early on can save you a lot of time and stress down the track.

Happy to help.

If you are looking for a solution to assist your consumer and commercial clients with all asset, equipment and cash flow finance solutions - but don’t yet have the knowledge and can’t justify the high costs associated with multiple accreditations, specialist systems or a full time specialist on the payroll – then NLG Leasing is the right business partner for you. If you would like more assistance, please contact the NLG Leasing team on 1300 722 011 or email support@nlgleasing.com.au