cFi: nacFb


Commercial brokers are offering more


The NACFB Member Services initiative has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2010 and 2011 looks to be the year that sees users of CommercialKeeper and the partners registered with the scheme, increasing even further


by


Adam Tyler, chief


executive, NACFB


The past few years have been anything but easy for the commercial broker and the availability of funding has obviously been seriously reduced. With this in mind, the NACFB looked to find alternative ways for brokers to weather the storm and find alternative income streams. The difference between scraping by in difficult market conditions or prospering by looking for alternative options for income has become ever more important for the commercial broker.


OppOrtunities await In 2010, the NACFB Member Services was created, aimed squarely at helping commercial brokers maximise their incomes from their existing client base. With lending becoming more and more scarce, the Association highlighted the wealth of potential opportunities often sitting dormant in the broker’s existing client files.


Valuable serVices Essentially, the NACFB and the CommercialKeeper system offers members registered with the scheme, the ability to submit leads and referrals to partners registered with the NACFB. These partners can add valuable services to a broker’s armoury, meaning that they can offer facilities that they had not


54 mortgage introduCer APRIL 2011


perhaps thought about previously and products which their clients may not even be aware that their broker can provide. The growing list of partners that brokers can refer business to range from key man insurance, commercial insurance, currency exchange services through to overseas mortgages arrangements and professional services such as employee law specialists.


extra incOme


These services may not have been at the top of the list of priorities a few years ago, but in challenging times survival requires adaptation and overlooking these opportunities could seriously limit your brokerage’s income. It is incredible how many brokers do not


revisit their existing clients and recognise that there is a wealth of additional services that the broker can provide to the client. All too often, the client is not aware that the broker can offer additional products such as commercial insurance or key man insurance, and this is exactly where Member Services fits in.


new recruit To ensure the CommercialKeeper system was promoted adequately to the NACFB membership, the Association appointed Chris Whittaker as a business development manager in January 2011. Chris has been extremely pro-active in letting the membership know the opportunities available and has contacted the membership to explain how easy the system is to use, becoming the main point of contact for NACFB Member Services. Chris has worked very closely with the


membership and the NACFB partners to ensure that the referral process runs as smoothly as possible.


Chris has been successful at promoting the system and the referral rates to the partners on the scheme have rocketed in the last few months.


GrOwinG business To give an indication on the growth of CommercialKeeper, it is worth noting that the leads passed through to our partners from December 2010 to the end of January 2011, saw a whopping 275% increase, so it is clear to see that the potential benefit for brokers is huge and the message is getting out to the membership.


traininG days


The Association has also been running a series of training days designed to explain the CommercialKeeper system, with NACFB partners providing brief presentations to outline just how easy it is to submit business to them and earn lucrative commissions. So far this year, the Association has visited Birmingham and will be at Leeds on the 23rd March and London on the 31st March with plans for more dates throughout the year. These services that the partners are offering are exclusive to NACFB members and most of them require minimal training . To find out more about CommercialKeeper and how NACFB Member Services can help your brokerage find additional income streams visit www.nacfb.org.uk to find out how you can boost your business.


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