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Speaking on Broker Daily’s Business Accelerator podcast, broker coach and Broker Essentials founder Jason Back said many brokers overlook the power of end of financial year (EOFY) as a business bookend – a chance to reflect on the past 12 months, reconnect with clients, and lay the foundations for the year ahead.
Rather than focusing solely on tax and other compliance matters, he said brokers should use the period as a natural reason to check in with clients and understand how their circumstances may have changed over the past year.
“I think this time of the year probably needs a bit of a reset and a bit of a rethink from a broker perspective. Maybe it’s more about conversations than compliance,” Back said.
“I think it’s more of a relationship-building opportunity at this time of year than just a straight tax exercise.
“Think about the last 12 months. We’ve had international conflicts, changes to tax systems, property markets and interest rates.
“Lots of things happen in people’s lives – they’ve had pay rises, started a family, sold a business, opened a business, received an inheritance or built equity in their properties.
“I suppose the question isn’t whether they’ve changed, it’s whether you know that they’ve changed.”
Check in, don’t just check up
According to Back, brokers often overcomplicate client engagement when, in reality, a simple conversation can be enough to strengthen a relationship.
To illustrate the point, Back distinguished between what he calls a “check-in” and a “check-up”.
“A check-in could just be as simple as, ’Hey, it’s another year’s gone by. It’s the end of financial year. How are you going?’” Back said.
“It’s as simple as that. No more complex, no agenda. It could be an SMS, it could be an email, or it could be a phone call.”
A check-up, by contrast, is a more structured conversation that gives brokers the opportunity to discuss changes in a client’s financial position and identify new opportunities.
“It might go something like, ’I’d like to organise a time with you. There are three or four things I’ve been thinking about that might apply to you right now. Here’s the agenda. If there’s anything you’d like to add, let’s book a time in,’” Back said.
“Sometimes just knowing you’re thinking about your clients, and that they know they can reach out to you, can be just as important.”
Moving beyond the transaction
Back said it’s these conversations that also play a key role in shaping how clients perceive their broker.
Rather than being viewed purely as someone who arranges finance, he said brokers should aim to become trusted advisers whose value extends beyond settlement – a shift that’s increasingly in focus across the industry.
“Are you seen there as the transactor or are you seen there as the trusted adviser?” Back said.
“When I speak with my broker, we talk about all sorts of things. They’re not necessarily aligned just to my loans. I’m interested in their insights. I’m picking his brain just as much as he’s asking me good questions.”
According to Back, that shift starts with understanding clients better.
He encouraged brokers to leverage their CRM systems and client databases to capture life events, business milestones, and changing financial goals, so conversations become more relevant over time.
Using EOFY as a business reset
While EOFY presents a natural opportunity to reconnect with clients, Back said it should also serve as a business bookend for brokers themselves.
Rather than measuring success purely through settlement volumes, he encouraged brokers to reflect on what actually drove their results over the past year.
That includes assessing which referral partners generated business, what marketing activities brought results, where time was wasted, what technology genuinely improved productivity, and which processes frustrated clients.
“The numbers tell you what happened, but the reflection tells you why,” Back said.
“The brokers who improve every year don’t simply work harder. They become better operators, and they become better operators because those reflections turn into actions.”
Rather than carrying old habits into another financial year, Back encouraged brokers to use EOFY as an opportunity to identify the single biggest improvement they could make to their business.
“If I could only improve one thing in my brokerage over the next 12 months that would give the biggest impact, what would it be?” he said.
“Then effectively build everything else around that priority.”
[Related: SME lending tipped as next growth area for brokers]
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