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truth. AMI does a sterling job arguing on
behalf of members with regulators and gov-
ernment. Anybody who doubts that they get
value for money should look at the guides
they produce on a multitude of issues. When
put into a consultancy context their fees
appear to be good value.”
Demand more
That is not to say that as members you should
not demand more of your trade body or net-
work. I have long been a critic of such organi-
sations in that the likes of AMI, Openwork
and Mortgage Promotions do very well in
supporting their members but they could do
much more. Members (and Lenders!) do not
make enough demands of them when it comes
to them helping their business growth and
client retention programmes. With this in
mind the new Adviser Matrix launched by
Julian Wells has the potential to put pressure
on support organisations and networks to
improve their competitive position as compar-
isons will now be much easier. But remember
if you do not have a business plan you will not
know what you want and so will not appreci-
ate the benefits.
Testing times
The title of this piece suggests that friendships
will be tested in times of adversity and this
testing is likely to be seen in that organisations
that are ‘friends’ will inevitably have different
opinions as to what is going to happen . In
recent weeks AMI and IMLA have disagreed
on the market outlook and brokers are ques-
tioning whom they should believe. Well you
tell me? I have my own views but what I
would say is that brokers should form their
own opinions based on their knowledge of the
markets but more importantly by challenging
the different position statements of the differ-
ent organisations. They each have their own
objectives and should be questioned via their
websites about the substance of their logic.
Having had the debate the broker then forms
their own opinion and sides with the organi-
sation that has the most convincing argu-
ments.
So let’s put the blame agenda to bed.
Brokers need to question further what
benefits and support they are getting for their
fees or commission from their range of part-
ners and then incorporate that detail into
their business plans. We all need as much help
as we can get but we must convince ourselves
that the help we are getting is that which we
need.
In times of adversity we need our friends;
friends are allies who enjoy mutual regard. I
will leave it to the reader to choose the friends
to get you through these adverse times. But
remember who it was who made the choice
and think about it before apportioning any
© Nikolay Mamluke
blame in the future.
www.mortgageintroducer.com March 2009 Mortgage Introducer
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