Strategy over product
Greater access to lenders has not removed the need for advice, but it has changed where value sits. For straightforward cases, there is often little to differentiate brokers on product alone.
“If you’ve got a really nice vanilla client, you can pick any one of the top five. You pick the cheapest, away you go, job done,” Franks said.
The distinction increasingly lies in how cases are structured, particularly where borrower circumstances are less straightforward. “Strategy is the most important part of what we do now,” she said.
That can mean prioritising criteria over headline rates, or advising clients to delay borrowing altogether. That flexibility, she suggested, allows independent brokers to prioritise outcomes over volume. “Because I’m not target driven, I can always do what’s right for my client,” Franks added.
Speed and personalisation
Client expectations have shifted alongside wider changes in how information is accessed and delivered, with speed now a baseline requirement rather than a differentiator. “They are very much wanting faster turnarounds,” Franks said, noting that “the amount of information available to clients now is forcing quicker responses from us.”