There’s nothing quite like getting out ‘into the field’ and meeting your customer base and therefore our trip to the Financial Services Expo Manchester last month was well worth it. What was most pleasing during all our conversations with brokers at FSE was just how many now offer conveyancing recommendations to their clients – we have been beating the drum about broker take-up of conveyancing services for so long that we perhaps forget just how many advisers are fully converted to the cause and have added this service to their kit-bag.
This is certainly pleasing news and, if the mortgage market does continue to pull back from recent transaction highs (as all the figures appear to show it is) then the importance of cross-selling and satisfying all your clients’ product and services needs grows ever more. It is a message that continues to hit home and we were particularly encouraged by how many FSE attendees did offer their clients conveyancing recommendations as part of a much more holistic approach to advice.
In terms of the conveyancing relationships the FSE brokers had, no single approach dominated. A few advisers did have direct local relationships with the ‘conveyancer down the road’ which, perhaps unsurprisingly, rarely involved a referral commission for them. In a way I respect this business relationship – there is absolutely nothing wrong with local firms supporting each other however it seems odd that the conveyancing firm (in the main) was not paying a referral fee for the introduction and, speaking to many of the brokers, I got the sense that very few local conveyancers were seeking out strong relationships with advisers.
The service the local conveyancer was providing may be perfectly serviceable and, for the main, provide all that was required of them however it seemed slightly ‘one way traffic’ on their part if they were not rewarding an introducer for its introductions. We certainly recommended that those advisers currently in this position look at what they were getting out of the relationship and whether there were far better income-generating opportunities to be secured for exactly the same work.
In a sense this leads on to a similar issue which was raised by our FSE broker discussions – the nature of advisers and their ‘conservative’ (with a small ‘c’) nature. I was particularly surprised to learn just how many brokers continue to use the same comparison sites they had always used and, even with all the new entrants/technology/products/services in the market, hadn’t yet looked around to see if there were cheaper and more lucrative options available.
I can well understand a ‘stick to your knitting’ approach in some areas but given the greater competition in conveyancing distribution over the past 18-24 months, and the ability to secure cheaper prices for clients and greater income, it seems odd that you would not explore what others in the market have to offer. In essence, it is businesses like our own who are part of this new breed able to offer much more – technology has led the way and those who utilise it the best have the lower operational costs and can be much more competitive across the board. Add in the ability to earn more money using a different distributor but with the same conveyancers and such benefits as being paid on exchange rather than waiting post-completion, and it was obvious to many they should be (at the least) exploring their options and shopping around.
All in all a show like FSE is not just a way to engage with new and existing brokers but it is also a factfinding mission for us and the way we operate in the marketplace. Clearly, we need to work hard on our message and ensure those who may have a conservative nature are not holding back their own revenue streams, and have the right information and support in order to easily change and reap the rewards. We shall certainly be working on this over the months ahead.
Harpal Singh is managing director of BrokerConveyancing.co.uk