How will you Brexit-proof your business?

 While you may not be able to change what happens in Westminster, you can adapt your business to ensure you are best placed to succeed in an uncertain environment.

Now is the time to review the way you think about your business and the advice you provide to your clients. Small changes to the approach you take, could help deliver business growth in a flat market and more positive outcomes for your clients.

With this in mind, here are three ways you could consider to Brexit-proof your business:

1. Grow specialist areas of your business

Research by Pepper Money last year found that specialist cases only take 2 hours 44 minutes more than a mainstream case. Based on fees charged, the average hourly rate earned by brokers on a mainstream case is £44, whereas the hourly income on a specialist case is £58.

By looking at your approach to time, you can identify what type of business delivers the best outcome for your clients and the greatest reward.

While there might be a perception that specialist cases are more time consuming, that time could prove more profitable. Think about how you can grow the specialist areas of your business.

2. Offer your clients a solution

One way of growing the specialist areas of your business is by proactively marketing to your clients to offer them a solution. We know there are still many people who write off their chances of getting a mortgage because of recent financial blips or self-employment, so step up your marketing and make it clear to your clients that there are affordable solutions available for a whole range of complexities.

3. Think differently about affordability

The way that people earn their living is changing. Self-employment and flexible working are becoming more popular, which is making it more complex to assess true earnings. If your clients are struggling to demonstrate the affordability they need to secure the loan they want, are you taking full consideration of all their income sources?

In the right circumstances, where your client earns multiple sources of income, is self-employed or works as a contractor, a specialist lender could provide a solution where an automated approach might not, by individually assessing their circumstances. Specialist underwriting isn’t just for failed credit scores, it can also help address affordability challenges, and this could help you to help more clients.

Whilst the uncertainty of what Brexit will bring is among us, it doesn’t mean there’s not opportunities to provide positive outcomes for clients.