Lendi Group’s broker program to rule them all

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No matter what career stage a broker is at, Lendi Group recognises the issues at play and has a battery of solutions that will carry those under its umbrella to new levels of achievement

BROKERS ENCOUNTER various problems as they progress through their career, from finding a customer base to learning new technology, scaling their business, taking on staff or opening a new office. Perhaps one of the most existential issues they face when starting out is just getting some money coming through the door. “One of the main challenges for new brokers is speed to earning. Starting out as a self-employed business owner is challenging, particularly in the current economic environment,” says Matthew Whyte, general manager for distribution growth at Lendi Group. Lendi Group is familiar with the problems that dog brokers at different stages of their career and has a comprehensive infrastructure known internally as its Pathways Program to cater to them all as brokers learn the trade, develop skills and expand their businesses.

Lendi Group was created in 2021 though the merger of Aussie Home Loans and Lendi to form Australia’s largest retail mortgage broker. Both were founded as market disruptors to help Australians to get better deals, better rates and better information on home loans. Lendi Group’s platform helps customers compare, apply for and settle loans online while being supported by a team of experts and brokers who power its brands, products, services and relationships. With a shared history of challenging the status quo, the two brands provide different experiences for customers, with the same goal of helping more Australians achieve homeownership.

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Brokers happy about Lendi's broker platform

Matthew Whyte, Lendi Group

The solutions that Lendi Group deploys for its brokers through its Pathways Program aren’t just lip service. The initial cash flow problem is a case in point: Lendi Group has an eight-week graduate program that supercharges a broker’s ability to seal deals and hit the ground running. “Our graduate program is designed to help brokers find their feet quickly. The program has brokers ready to see customers from their second week, and graduates are averaging over eight deals in their first eight weeks – well above industry average,” Whyte says. Indeed, Lendi Group has new-to-industry brokers who will settle $50 million in their first year – a level of activity almost unheard of for brokers early in their career. To put the numbers in perspective, only several hundred brokers in an industry of over 19,000 last year wrote more than $100 million – many of whom had decades of experience under their belts.

The graduate program is just one illustration of how Lendi Group aims to get the best from its brokers no matter what stage of the journey they are at, and its Pathways Program has similar high-octane solutions for all kinds of problems and all types of brokers.

Then there are Lendi home loan consultants and Aussie mobile brokers, who are self-employed, independent contractors. These brokers typically transact with customers in their communities both face-to-face and virtually, depending on their customers’ preferences. There are also Aussie store brokers who can be self-employed or salaried employees of one of Aussie’s 225 stores across the country. These brokers are either employed by or contracted to Aussie franchisees. The Aussie franchisees comprise yet another distinct broker class, where brokers can go out on their own and scale their businesses themselves.

“[This is] what we would call being the CEO of your own business,” says Whyte. The Pathways Program also inherently recognises that some ‘ducks’ have a Lendi background, and some have an Aussie background following the merger of Aussie and Lendi in May 2021. As of the end of June, the Lendi Group had migrated all 1,100 Aussie brokers onto the new Aussie platform just eight months after the first batch were moved across a little over a year ago. “The main point of difference we offer brokers is choice,” Whyte says. “Following the merger of Aussie and Lendi, we now have a range of opportunities across the group, from salaried broker and independent contractor roles, right through to franchise opportunities.” Whyte says the program ensures Lendi Group is setting up brokers for success, transitioning them into the business model that best suits their professional and personal goals and requirements, both now and as they evolve. Broker diversity is recognised and welcomed. “Lendi Group is a place where brokers can start their career, build their career and grow their future, with our Pathways Program giving them the opportunity to be whatever they want to be – whether that’s a salaried broker, a mobile broker, an online broker, a store broker, or a store owner and franchisee.”

“Our multichannel business model ensures there are suitable avenues for brokers to explore as their goals evolve or their requirements change”

“Lendi Group is a place where brokers can start their career, build their career and grow their future, with our Pathways Program giving them the opportunity to be whatever they want to be”

No matter what career stage a broker is at, Lendi Group recognises the issues at play and has a battery of solutions that will carry those under its umbrella to new levels of achievement

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck – but who knew how many different types of ducks were out there? Brokers are the same, and Lendi Group provides a range of channels tailored to different types of brokers. “Our multichannel business model ensures there are suitable avenues for brokers to explore as their goals evolve or their requirements change,” says Whyte. First, there are Lendi home loan specialists and Domain home loan specialists. These are salaried brokers who are direct employees of Lendi Group. They have company-generated appointments booked into their calendars by the Lendi team and receive full support for their loan submissions from Lendi’s client solutions team.

Taking all the different types of brokers on board and creating solutions to the myriad career-stage issues they encounter may seem like a Sisyphean task. But there are common themes that Lendi Group has used to corral the issues into manageable chunks. Lendi Group recognises that for brokers both new and old, customer acquisition is challenging and scaling an operation is hard. “Not all leads are created equal,” Whyte says. Lendi Group’s fully supported operating model, Platform Plus, has a number of systems to turn low-intent leads into high-intent customers. A team of associates sorts out company-generated enquiries and readies opportunities for broker engagement. Those opportunities that are ripe can be quickly converted, while others can be left on the vine to receive bespoke communications tailored to their specific situation.

“Lendi Group is a place where brokers can start their career, build their career and grow their future, with our Pathways Program giving them the opportunity to be whatever they want to be”

MATTHEW WHYTE, LENDI GROUP

“Lendi Group is a place where brokers can start their career, build their career and grow their future, with our Pathways Program giving them the opportunity to be whatever they want to be”

Recognising the universe of broker types

Common broker problems – and Lendi Group solutions

All stages of the broker life cycle

Common broker problems – and Lendi Group solutions

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Published 13 Nov 2023

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All about Lendi Group

Loan book in excess of

$80bn

1,400

brokers in the Lendi Group distribution network

>225

Aussie retail stores across country

>600

team members in home office supporting brokers

Matthew Whyte, Lendi Group

Down the track, more than 50% of Lendi broker submissions end up coming from these re-engaged customers, underscoring the importance of both priming and timing. The group also recognises that the industry can be a complex one. “Changing policies, credit niches, compliance, multiple lender systems – there’s a lot to navigate,” says Whyte. This is where Lendi Group’s centralised client solutions team comes into play to remove and automate repetitive tasks for brokers. The team provides loan processing support for brokers, taking the loans all the way through to settlement. Through Platform Plus, Lendi Group’s client solutions agents can liaise with customers on the broker’s behalf. Client solutions agents are subject matter experts on one or two lenders each, providing centralised loan processing support and a strong collective knowledge of all the lending options available. The result for brokers is less time wasted, with a level of requests for more information (RMIs) from lenders that is less than half the industry average. Another challenge is ensuring compliance in a highly regulated environment. “Our proprietary platform allows compliance to be a competitive advantage through utilising the technology-driven ‘codified compliance’ and responsible lending systems and processes developed by Lendi,” says Whyte. Finally, Lendi Group is well aware that one of the main issues that brokers encounter regardless of their career stage is the challenge of meeting customer expectations. This is made doubly hard by the shifting background of economic conditions and technological change.

“Customers now expect a new age of engagement with a new age of technology to support it, so it’s critical to deliver the experience they expect,” says Whyte. Platform Plus puts technology at the forefront, providing sales tools, calculators and integrated features – from customer ID, verification and document uploads to its proprietary Approval Confidence technology. “[It] directly integrates with lender decision engines, providing customers with a real-time indication of the likelihood of approval,” Whyte says. “It’s possible to have an appointment, submission and approval all on the same day.”

Industry-average number of monthly loan submissions

3.5

Average number of monthly loan submissions for seasoned broker on Lendi Group platform

Accelerated submissions

Source: Lendi Group

The result of leveraging technology so efficiently is a time dividend for brokers. “Brokers expect technology and processes that enable productivity and scale in their businesses and allow for the cutting down of the time it takes to complete tasks, or eliminating manual tasks all together.” Instead of spending time calling cold leads, processing paperwork or sitting on hold with banks, brokers can focus on doing what they do best – directly interacting with customers. Customers, of course, are the main beneficiaries, with an increased speed to lodgement and turbocharged time frames to unconditional approval.

Nobody likes to feel like they have been thrown in the deep end without a life ring or at least some basic paddling skills, but with the comprehensive support systems Lendi Group provides, its brokers will never need to fear abandonment. “Our Pathways Program is a point of differentiation in our broker value proposition and provides a foundation for making strategic recruitment decisions,” Whyte says. “Having such a breadth of channels and opportunities across the country allows us to connect with a broad spectrum of candidates and mitigate barriers to entry like experience level or geographical location.” Whyte has seen how the program has enabled numerous brokers in the group to up their game to levels that not only challenge their own assumptions about themselves but also redefine what is possible for the mortgage broking industry as a whole – whether brokers are just starting out or seasoned veterans looking to leave a legacy. As the economy continues to send out mixed signals, many brokers will be looking for all the support they can get in 2024. “With the volume of brokers that have accelerated their success, transitioned channels within the group and built scale in their businesses, it’s clear that our brokers value having opportunities to grow or pivot their businesses as their circumstances evolve,” says Whyte.

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Matthew Whyte, Lendi Group