Tough love message is what clients want: brokers

As brokers move more into the role of investment advisors and lifestyle coaches, they are finding themselves in the position of sharing more than just rates and product news with clients; they are, in fact, advising them on how to conduct business of a more personal nature

As brokers move more into the role of investment advisors and lifestyle coaches, they are finding themselves in the position of sharing more than just rates and product news with clients; they are, in fact, advising them on how to conduct business of a more personal nature.

And it is a message that needs to be told, says Graeme Moss, last year’s CMP Broker of the Year for alternative lending (complex work) and principal broker for Fair Mortgage Solutions in Hamilton, Ont.
“It does help them to hear the honest truth,” says Moss. “A big issue can be people living within their means. People are afraid to give that sort of advice or tell a person what to do – but it really does help them, and they appreciate hearing the honest truth. And they respond to it.”
Moss likens it to being “a lot like a lifestyle coach.”

Job loss, illness, divorce – there are a lot of different life event issues, as Moss describes it, that when they enter the financial realm, it is always considered “their problem,” and the banks generally don’t want to know.

“Our philosophy is that every single person has ups and downs,” says Moss. “So wherever they are, it is like giving them really good technical advice – a blueprint – of where they are and where they need to go.”

This is especially necessary when it comes to rebuilding a client’s credit, and having the broker understand what the complete picture is an absolute necessity, says Gleb Ioussoufovitch, director of sales and marketing for XCEED Mortgage Corp.

“Brokers need to understand the story behind bruised credit – most of the time it is a result of an unfortunate life event, however sometimes people just get carried away by excessive spending,” says Ioussoufovitch. “In either scenario, alt lending can be a solution and a shortest way to repair and/or rebuild bruised credit.”