An innovative mentorship program, launched just two months ago, has received positive feedback from its inaugural intake of brokers.
The Elite Broker Academy was established by Michael Trencher and Brad East to not only supply the expected industry knowledge, but to provide business training as well, cultivating a lasting community of both new and experienced brokers able to share best practices and draw on the relationships and resources provided for years to come.
Trencher explained, “We recognised that there was a gap in the market. The training and mentoring programs out there at the moment are very technical and compliance based – how to structure loans, how to pull an application together, the regulations to adhere to.
“We’re in a compliance regime at the moment, so it is very important to have those things, but there wasn’t an option that involved all-around business acumen and business coaching, the real how-to for running a small business.”
As such, the Elite Broker Academy educates brokers on the technical side of the industry as well as helping participants establish a business and marketing plan. Through guiding the creation of 'mission, vision and values' statements, the program helps brokers take ownership of their businesses and actively shape future growth. It dials down yet further to the nuts and bolts, addressing the logistics of cash flow, sales planning, operations and time management.
The two-year program kicks off with a three-day intensive session divided into separate days of business coaching, utilising media tools such as Facebook and Google for sales, and the traditional technicalities of all that goes along with writing loans.
Trencher has spent more than 30 years in the mortgage and finance broking industry in a variety of capacities, from broker to head of broker distribution at Australia's largest mutual bank. Currently, he is director of Impact Consulting, which has developed his experiential coaching prowess, a technique he has carried into the Elite Broker Academy.
“I’d never tell a small business owner what to do, but I share with them the best practices I’ve seen from hundreds of businesses across the last 15 to 20 years. I’ve seen what really works in the mortgage broking world, and that’s what I share with my clients,” said Trencher.
“A lot of mentoring models take a cut of their brokers’ commissions for the first few years. We don’t believe that’s fair. Our brokers keep 100% of their commissions, they just pay a flat fee which is in line with a standard mentoring fee, even with all the additional stuff we’re doing,” he emphasised.
Program participants are provided fortnightly video conferences, quarterly gatherings geared towards facilitating member connection, and access to an experienced credit manager and coach with 25 years of experience, as well as continued direct access to Trencher and East moving forward.
The Elite Broker Academy is currently available in Sydney and will soon be launched in Melbourne. As demand increases, Trencher plans to bring the program to Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.
“The Academy is not just a program, but a community,” said Trencher.
