At just 22, Brisbane broker and managing director Logan Stanford is shaking up the mortgage industry.
Stanford (pictured above) won the prestigious MFAA National Excellence Awards 2022 Best Newcomer Award in July - Stanford Financial was launched in July 2020 . The brokerage also won the MFAA National Excellence Award for Diversified Business.
“It was actually a massive shock to win,” Stanford said. “We went to Sydney fully expecting to lose but hoping we might be able to take home one award. To take home both the newcomer and diversified business awards was phenomenal. There are brokers who were also up for the awards with much larger portfolios, so winning was really special to us.”
Stanford said he shares a passion for law.
“I studied business law at ADFA [Australian Defence Force Academy] and I like to think I hold my own in discussion on legal nuances with the lawyers,” he said. “I am also involved with Stanford Legal [a separate company to Stanford Financial] and we now have paralegals onboard so I leave most of the day-to-day conveyancing with them. I do however get involved with broader business strategy, client experience and processes.”
Stanford said he was self-conscious about his age when he first started out in the mortgage industry.
“I would take my P-plates off my car in the morning so if clients came to the office they would not see them,” he said. “However, my strategy to manage this was knowing my stuff inside and out and holding a professional manner with my clients. I had to be an unquestionable source of knowledge by learning as much as I could and I would never give my clients the opportunity to doubt my expertise.”
Stanford said being adaptable and remaining agile was a benefit of being a new-to-industry broker.
“My team and I are always innovating, evolving and improving to give our clients the best experience and outcomes possible,” he said.
Stanford said after being injured in the army, he got a role in asset finance at a car dealership. He began his career as a mortgage broker in July 2020.
“I was getting really frustrated only having four lenders to compare for my clients and referring business to brokers because of that restriction,” he said. “I absolutely loved helping my clients and I knew that if I structured debt correctly, I could really help people achieve their goals.”
Stanford said his vision was to prioritise great client experiences.
“My head of lending, Steve Beach, is responsible for client outcomes, however I spend my time trying to constantly improve how our clients feel during their journey,” he said. “This means clients are happier, which means our team is happier. It has so many ripple effects by adding value in as many ways as possible and the money and success will come. We give as much as we can to our clients and trust that we will receive that back in spades.”
Stanford’s advice to other younger mortgage brokers was to know your stuff and to believe in yourself.
“Learn, learn, learn everything you can – then back yourself and put it into practice. One is not any good without the other,” he said. “Always put your clients first and make the experience with them as special as possible.”
