Start 2021 strong: our tips for a happy new year

January always brings a sense of new beginnings, new opportunities and a new leaf, which may be more welcome than ever after 2020. It seems that most people are glad to see the back of last year. However, it certainly taught us a lot, most prominently it reinforced that old chestnut: expect the unexpected. So, with a collectively wiser and more experienced head on our shoulders, how can the mortgage and protection industry build strong foundations for the year ahead? Well, here are our top three tips:

Diversify

Now may be a great time to expand your business and increase activity in less traditional areas of the industry. Residential and buy-to-let mortgages are the bread and butter of the brokers in our mortgage network. However, this year we think there will be a surge in home improvements and a need to fund these improvements. UK homeowners spent an estimated £55 billion in spring 2020 alone. It’s not a surprise that people want to change the four walls they’ve been staring at over the past year and if moving house isn’t an option, improving is the next best thing. For the even more adventurous, self-build is becoming increasingly more talked about, especially due to the recent government announcement of a Help to Build scheme. Help your customers get their Grand Designs on and strengthen your business back-up plan.

Secondly, give protection more attention. Many of our mortgage club and network members are also protection advisers. With research showing that two fifths of people are more open to insurance after the coronavirus pandemic, now is an ideal time to start making protection a priority. Start the protection conversation early and bring it up consistently.

Revisit existing customers

Advisers have a wealth of opportunity at their fingertips (literally, if you access your customer records with a keyboard). An adviser is for life, not just for Christmas… or a house move. You will have customers who may want to remortgage onto a new rate, have new protection needs or are interested in any manner of things that you can help with.

For example, recent research has suggested that over a quarter of people are on their lender’s highest possible rate of interest. Further to this, 18% of the people surveyed said they didn’t know if they were on their lender’s SVR. This suggests that with remortgages alone, you could save your customers thousands, build relationships and increase business levels, simply by contacting customers and seeing how you can help.

Be visible

You don’t know what you’re missing. It’s a cliché for a reason. There are countless potential customers out there who may not need your services right now but will do in the future. Almost-first-time buyers, soon-to-be parents and holiday home dreamers are on the cusp of needing advice and you want to make sure they think of your name when they do. Whether you use social media, leaflets, shop windows, sky writing or any other manner of communication, make your presence known. Customers can’t use your services if they don’t know you exist. Asking existing customers for online reviews and offering a referral incentive can also be fantastic ways to generate attention for your business, and you don’t even really need to do anything!

To find out more about marketing yourself and your services, get in touch with enquiries@experiencemi.co.uk. The Mortgage Intelligence team has a whole library of customisable promotional materials, consumer newsletters and training academies that our mortgage network members can access. So talk to us today!