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How To Stay Motivated In A Challenging Market

November 3, 2021
How To Stay Motivated In A Challenging Market

Brokers and loan writers are having more deals done and seeing more loans than ever before. This allows any broker and loan writer the opportunity to create a solid database of clients, potential clients and referral partners.

However, not all business will be good business. In this market, it’s important to stay true to yourself and stand firm on the type of professional you want to be.

What 2021 has taught us the most is that unpredictability is here to stay for a while yet. The key is to be flexible, open to multiple moving factors and adapt when you need to. 

How to Motivate Yourself and Your Clients

In our 2021 market, expectations are high. Expectations from clients and banks are higher than ever. Not to mention added expectations of working from home, homeschooling, lockdowns and the rest! It’s been a trip.

Here are some tips on how to motivate yourself and your clients right now:

1. From your very first interaction with a client, be clear on what type of relationship you will have, what role you will play in their journey and the outcome you wish for them. You’re setting the scene, you’re in the driver’s seat, you’re the professional they are putting their trust in. 

2. Nothing builds confidence more than a professional with a plan. Be clear on your plan, be honest about the risks, the potential hiccups and the state of the current market. Give your client as much information as they need [even if it’s not always a good news story].

3. If you ask more questions up front, you will save yourself a whole lot of time down the road. Take the time at the beginning of your relationship to understand your client. 

4. Be clear in your communication and protect yourself and your client. Look at your systems and processes and make sure that you have set up a clear “roles and responsibilities” in your processes with your clients. Have your clients review and sign off on what your responsibilities are [and are not] and where your role stops and starts.

5. If a deal gets declined and a bank is not coming to the party, this could negatively affect your client. If a lender denies a deal this could mean more stress to your client. Try to keep them motivated by explaining your next steps and how you’re going to get this deal done for them so they're aware of the process ahead of them.

6. Make sure you communicate with your client and keep them abreast of any changes as they happen. You want to be the go-to person for your client, and you want them to see you as the trusted advisor.

7. When you’re with your clients, be present. Invest in your time, energy and responses with your clients. I talk about the 4 C’s of client relationships: Compliance, Control, Communication and Common Sense. When you take part in any client interaction think about whether you’ve ticked off the 4 C’s.

How To Stay Healthy In Life And Business In A Challenging Market 

  1. Take care of your energy and mindset.
    You can’t be the type of professional you want to be if you’re running on empty. Read this article for some tips around energy management.
  2. Don’t forget your referral partners.
    When there is a lot of business coming at you it’s easy to forget about your top referral relationships. Now is the time to reinvest in that relationship, go to lunch, organise a breakfast and spend quality time.
  3. Look ahead and plan out your year.
    None of us could have predicted our 2020/2021. However, if the worst is behind us, what would you like your life, work, portfolio or business to look like in a year’s time? Now is the time to plan for that and put the steps in place to make it happen.
  4. Focus on your WHY.
    Why do you do what you do? When a challenge presents itself remind yourself why you got into this business and why it is that you keep going.

    Most of us got into broking and loan writing because we love the client experience and creating outcomes for our clients. No one said that it was easy, but it’s the moments when it isn’t easy that defines us. Our actions and how we handle those moments gives us the ability to create long-lasting clients and raving fans.
  5. Do your best.
    Celebrate your wins. Be proud of yourself.

How You Can Get More Tips Like This

Success and Broker have created the Broker Journal™ just for brokers and loan writers like you. Via our online learning platform, you gain access to a 52 week learning hub of tips and actions to start implementing ASAP. 

The Broker Journal™ will help you build your client base and your business. It will help you stay on course with step-by-step, easy to understand actions and instructions week after week, month after month, year after year. 
Plus the FBAA and MFAA are accrediting 30 CPD points to any broker or loan writer who works through the Broker Journal.

Ultimately, the Broker Journal is all about better outcomes for you, your clients and your referral partners. It’s designed to help every broker and loan writer who is willing to invest in themselves, grow and succeed. Sign up for just $2 a day! You can start at any level of business and any time of the year. There’s nothing holding you back. 

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Ian Winn
24 September 2026
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Ruan has been my mortgage broking coach for 6 months. Having owned a very successful mortgage broking business and now a coach of many businesses he has unparalleled experience to share with his clients. He does this in a very clear and consultative manner. He is always looking for improvements and innovation for clients to implement in their businesses. He has a big picture approach which really helps you get out of the weeds when analysing your business. He has helped me grow my business and provide clarity to achieve my goals. Thanks for your support.
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Anisa Buckley
14 September 2026
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I have learnt so much from Ruan and the team at Success & Broker. Ruan's practical advice to me as a new broker has been incredibly helpful and I have incorporated many of his strategies and approaches into my own business.
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Bree Rivers
14 September 2026
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Working with Ruan has been great. He genuinely cares about your success and provides honest practical advice from his own experience that can be applied to get real results. I highly recommend Ruan to any broker wanting to grow.
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Your favourite Bald & Bespectacled broker
6 August 2026
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Great weekly 50min session with Ruan himself, done online over Zoom with other brokers. Intimate session of around a dozen people, including Ruan and the host. If you're a new broker and have under three or four years of experience, and wish to get an insight into Ruan's mind + pick up tips and tricks, it's a very good six month-long training program. Even if you're a more seasoned broker like myself (nine years in December 2026), it's worth an education session - I have a few pages of notes and thoughts. Give it a go, brokers.
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Christopher Dodson
6 August 2026
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Thanks Ruan for your insight and warm approach
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Achani Kodippili
4 August 2026
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That was an amazing journey with Success & Broker. Excellent guidance is simply practical. Thank you team for the opportunity.
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Sara Shome
1 August 2026
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I’ve really enjoyed being part of Ruan’s Grow Broker Program. As a broker with an over 5 years of experience, it is easy to reach a point where you feel like you’re doing well but not really moving forward. This program challenged me to rethink almost everything I thought I knew about broking, relationships, branding and what it really takes to build a sustainable career. Ruan has an incredible ability to make you look at your business and thinking from a completely different perspective while providing genuine support and practical strategies that you can implement immediately and easily. It is not about quick wins or generic coaching. It is about building the right foundations and becoming a better broker and business owner. The confidence and clarity I gained through the program played a crucial role in my decision to move into a BDM role. It helped me recognise where my strengths truly lie and gave me the self confidence to take that next step. I would highly recommend Success and Broker to anyone who feels they have reached a plateau or wants to take their career to the next level. It has been one of the best self investments I have made.
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Jonathon Rhydderch
22 July 2026
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The Success & Broker course has been fantastic. As a new broker, you learn a lot about the technical side early on: compliance, lending policy, structuring deals. But what nobody really teaches you is how to build a sustainable business around all that. Ruan's program fills exactly that gap, giving you so many practical, actionable ways to grow: daily habits and consistency, marketing that actually works for a brokerage, operations and systems that scale, and how to genuinely deliver a great client experience rather than just process loans. What I liked most is that it's not generic coaching. It's built specifically around where you are as a broker, whether that's establishing strong foundations early on or working toward running a proper business with leverage and a team behind you. The 'Broker Journal' kept me on track throughout the course and is a great reference point when i need to work on my business. It is like a blueprint for success. All of it is delivered in a refreshingly warm, positive, and genuinely invested way. You can tell they actually care about your outcomes, not just ticking a coaching box. Big thanks to Ruan, and to Ryan too. Highly recommend to any broker serious about building a real business, not just writing loans.
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Alex Ritchie
8 July 2026
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Ruan and the Success & Broker team have been really helpful in getting us to think about how we operate, how we build out or team, and where we want to go. Ruan is super knowledgeable, having spent many years as a broker running multiple firms. He asks the right questions and challenges your thinking.
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Lachlan McKean
6 July 2026
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I've worked with Ruan at Success & Broker for the last 12 months~ and it's been great. Always makes time to discuss what's going on and the advice is invaluable. If you're a broker thinking of using Ruan's services, it's definitely worth jumping on board.
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