06 Jul Collaborate. Contribute. Create.
The competitive spirit is inherent in all of us. For some it’s a loud, arrogant kicking down of doors and take no prisoners approach, for others it’s a quiet celebration of a small win – one that no one else may even be aware of.
We see it when we are driving, when we are trying to get our kids into the school of our choice, when we try to beat that person with the overflowing trolley to the checkout so our 3 items can be processed first……
But recently we’ve been asking ourselves: “What’s the point?”.
In this race to be first, better, stronger, more agile……… what actually is the point?
How does this never-ending constant competition help everyone reach the shared end goal?
Some things will never change
The shared end goal is still the same – to assist people with their property and business funding requirements.
The people we work with along the way are still the same: Brokers, Accountants, Solicitors, Real Estate Agents, Referrer’s etc.
No real reason so far for competition.
We have the advantage of working in a pretty specialized niche.
Not just any old Joe can do what we do.
It takes decades of experience, skills learned through doing, a huge personal network of referrers and investors, exemplary processes and compliance, and the right support team to keep a private funding firm ticking along for nearly two decades.
From a competition perspective, there aren’t too many private funders in Australia who can truly say they possess all these qualities or have experienced the longevity we have.
That’s the IBN difference.
And the IBN difference is what makes YOU look good in front of your client.
A collaborative approach.
Competition is fun; however, it can hold people back from what they want to achieve because it is inherently divisive – there can only be one winner.
In our game, everyone wins, and YOU get the credit.
A collaborative approach encourages everyone to work together, its about progressing as a whole unit, as a team if you will.
The team wins when every member has crossed the finish line.
That’s where we’re headed.
Consider yourself (the Broker, the Accountant, the Real Estate Agent, the referrer) as the captain of the team. You are working on strategy, figuring out the next big move, surrounding yourself with the players who will give you their best to get you what you need – the win.
We are those players; we are your team.
We have the skills and experience, the knowledge and the network to get you across the finish line and hoist you on our shoulders to the cheers of your adoring and appreciative client.
You want a financial solution that meets your clients needs, doesn’t cause you or your client unnecessary delays or anxiety, you want a team behind you that just make it happen.
We are your team.
We regularly review our processes and operating rhythm (you know we love a good buzzword) and constantly strive to do better, to be better, to make doing business easier for our clients and referrers.
We want you and your client to get the best from us, we want to make you look good in front of your client so they return to YOU.
So they tell all their friends and colleagues about how YOU made it happen for them.
So they can meet their financial goals, because YOU made it happen.
Consider us the Robin to your Batman.
Working Collaboratively.
Working collaboratively sparks inspiration and the desire to work to a solution through group effort.
In this HBR article organisational psychologist Adam Grant notes when employees are encouraged to give of their time, assistance, knowledge and connections: “Higher rates of giving were predictive of higher unit profitability, productivity, efficiency, and customer satisfaction, along with lower costs and turnover rates. When employees act like givers, they facilitate efficient problem solving and coordination and build cohesive, supportive cultures that appeal to customers, suppliers, and top talent alike.”
Fascinating stuff. Makes sense to work this way, doesn’t it?
A Mental Shift
Changing in-built, long-held behaviours can be tough! That fear that your ideas will be appropriated for alternate use, credit will be shared among the team, and the rightly earned applause will instead be directed at the loudest player on the team not necessarily the player who contributed the most.
It can be scary to open yourself up and subject your thoughts and ideas to scrutiny, ridicule, or dismissal.
We’ve found that the energy it takes to indulge in competition is energy that isn’t focused on obtaining an ideal outcome for a client.
Competition can be healthy, but not at the expense of creativity, collaboration and contribution.
Going forward.
We’ve identified that our communication isn’t always clear. Our intentions and information have been, at times, misinterpreted. Sometimes, inadvertently, the client doesn’t receive the whole message causing unnecessary delays and anxiety.
We hear you and understand your client needs clear and concise information and instructions.
We feel so strongly about taking a collaborative approach, that we are changing the way we do business.
We have always supported your right to retain your client. We have never interfered with that, and we aren’t about to start. We are known for paying Referrers their share of brokerage years after the initial introduction when the client has approached us directly. This won’t change.
What we seek to do, is work WITH you AND your client, collaboratively.
This will give you back your time, remove back and forth emails, misinterpreted conversations, and the risk that key information isn’t received by the client.
To be clear: we aren’t interested in stealing your client, treading on your toes, or making life difficult.
You will retain your relationship with your client and be paid in full.
We seek to work with you, to provide outstanding service to you and your client, and to get your client the funding that meets their needs and requirements.
We are aware that organisationally, many of our referrer’s KPI’s are linked to their financial results. Not necessarily from the perspective of funds settled, but from brokerage or commissions paid.
We don’t seek to impact that.
We will continue paying full brokerage to referring partners.
All that will be changing is how we communicate and who we communicate with, to make life easier for YOU.
In conclusion.
As referrer and funder, we have a shared goal, and that’s what we are bringing the focus back to.
Now more than ever we need to work together, collaboratively, to help our clients meet their financial needs and goals,
If you and your clients have worked with us in the past, one of our team will be in touch over the next few weeks to talk about this evolution and how we plan to support you going forward..
And if you simply can’t wait and want to hear all about of this from the horse’s mouth, click here, and we’ll set up a chat with the boss-man himself.
Alternatively, you can always call us on 1300 668 551.
We look forward to a long, productive and collaborative relationship with you.
#CollaborationNotCompetition