"When brokers go self-employed, they tend to find they get a lot more referrals business, especially if they really immerse themselves in the local community."
When it launched there were just three brokers led by Carl Parker, who had previously headed up Countrywide Mortgage Services.
Within seven months, Carl’s team had risen to 13 brokers and he had also recruited two very experienced Sales Managers. By the end of 2017, another sales manager was on board and the number of brokers had increased six-fold to 81. Since the start of 2018, a further 13 have joined. So what’s the secret?
I believe it is all about creating a model that works for everyone.
We launched the self-employed division because we could see there was this whole group of brokers who had enough knowledge and experience to become self-employed, but they were reluctant to give up the support they were getting from their employers.
And there was another group who were already self-employed but felt they needed a bit of extra support. So we looked at how we could provide a solution.
Brokers working for the Just Mortgages self-employed division are completely self-employed but have a dedicated sales manager to help and support them, from making a business plan and ensuring they are FCA complaint to encouraging them to become a part of their local communities and helping them find introducers.
Unlike other networks with self-employed arms, we do not charge a monthly fee. Everything is done on commission which means it is in everyone’s best interest for the brokers to be successful. That is why our sales managers provide so much support in helping our self-employed brokers find clients and get referrals.
We also ensure that each of our sales managers has no more than 40 brokers to look after – this means that they can spend quality time with each one, helping them and supporting them in finding leads and generating business.
Employed brokers tend to get between 40-50% commission; Just Mortgages self-employed brokers can earn up to 85% commission with no monthly fees – so it is a very attractive deal.
But being self-employed is not for everyone, and Just Mortgages won’t take on brokers with less than three years’ experience, as they need to ensure the broker is making the right decision.
Going self-employed is a huge decision that is not to be taken lightly. We need to be sure that brokers who want to take this step are ready, so we spend a lot of time with them to make sure it is the right choice for them.
There is currently a fairly even split between brokers who have joined from estate agents, banks and other employed positions, and those who were already self-employed.
It is all about diversification. Brokers – including those currently employed at Just Mortgages - are increasingly looking to go self-employed so we are offering them a self-employed option. And since launching, we have significantly reduced staff turnover because we are proving an outlet for people who want to make that move.
When brokers go self-employed, they tend to find they get a lot more referrals business, especially if they really immerse themselves in the local community.
People tend to trust their local tradesman, and it is no different for mortgage brokers. Our self-employed brokers are networking in their local communities, and are seeing a huge increase in their referrals.
Just Mortgages is really pleased with how the self-employed division has grown and plans to increase broker numbers to around 150 by the end of 2018, with plans for around 250 over the next three years.
We don’t want to grow too fast because the key to our success is the experience and support we offer our brokers – in fact, we are taking on another sales manager in April to ensure we maintain that level of support.
The key to our success is great support from highly experienced managers have all been brokers themselves and whose own livelihood depends on the success of the brokers, and paying great commission.
