Trish Marsden of O’Hagan Home Loans and Insurances tells us the joys of working in a small town
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Trish Marsden started her career as a nurse, life experience that has given her an advantage in mortgage and insurance brokering because she’s not afraid to ask the hard questions, and has abundant amounts of empathy.
Marsden runs her brokerage, O’Hagan Home Loans and Insurances, in Whakatane and says there is a strong sense of community in and around the town, which basically means you need to get it right, “because everybody knows everyone else”.
“This is my community and I say ‘hi’ to every second person walking down the street. And I have to face these people, so I need to do the best from them,” Marsden explained.
“Ninety nine percent of our business is from referrals. It’s how we do what we do that makes us the most trusted brand in the town, ahead of the banks.
“Banks are getting more and more away from the relationship model and are becoming more digitally focused – re-fixing, top up loans – everything is going to generic online stuff. People might do research online but I find when it comes down to the dotted line, people actually want to speak to a person about their specific situation,” Marsden added.
Marsden said women tend to be more nurturing, and this coupled with her nursing background has helped her build rapport with customers. At the end of the day, both nursing and broking is about problem-solving, Marsden says.
People were surprised when she decided to switch careers but there are many similarity – they're both about helping people, she said.
“Before I start talking to them about their insurance, I say I used to be a nurse for 17 years and most of that was in the Bay of Plenty, so there is nothing they can say that will shock me. And if there is, there’s a bottle of whatever they want to drink.”
“People said ‘how come you jumped from being a nurse to a broker, isn’t that a big jump? And I’d say, know it’s not actually, it’s really all about problem solving. You have a client that wants to achieve a certain objective and your job is to try and find the best way they can achieve that.
“I believe we are the clients advocates. Everything is geared up in the banks favour, they have large legal teams which means that the bank will always be in a strong position in any transaction but there’s no one for the client. I believe we level the playing field, and I just love getting people into homes.
“I am really passionate about property investment. I invest in property myself, and I love seeing people develop their portfolios,” Marsden said
Marsden came in 10th in our inaugural Top Adviser Rankings, which were announced last month.
2 – Read Bruce Patten’s profile
4 – Read Nick Kotze’s profile
5 – Read Phil Caldwell’s profile
9 – Read Glen McLeod’s profile
Related stories:
Regulation will turn more people to brokers
How brokers can maximise marketing
Marsden runs her brokerage, O’Hagan Home Loans and Insurances, in Whakatane and says there is a strong sense of community in and around the town, which basically means you need to get it right, “because everybody knows everyone else”.
“This is my community and I say ‘hi’ to every second person walking down the street. And I have to face these people, so I need to do the best from them,” Marsden explained.
“Ninety nine percent of our business is from referrals. It’s how we do what we do that makes us the most trusted brand in the town, ahead of the banks.
“Banks are getting more and more away from the relationship model and are becoming more digitally focused – re-fixing, top up loans – everything is going to generic online stuff. People might do research online but I find when it comes down to the dotted line, people actually want to speak to a person about their specific situation,” Marsden added.
Marsden said women tend to be more nurturing, and this coupled with her nursing background has helped her build rapport with customers. At the end of the day, both nursing and broking is about problem-solving, Marsden says.
People were surprised when she decided to switch careers but there are many similarity – they're both about helping people, she said.
“Before I start talking to them about their insurance, I say I used to be a nurse for 17 years and most of that was in the Bay of Plenty, so there is nothing they can say that will shock me. And if there is, there’s a bottle of whatever they want to drink.”
“People said ‘how come you jumped from being a nurse to a broker, isn’t that a big jump? And I’d say, know it’s not actually, it’s really all about problem solving. You have a client that wants to achieve a certain objective and your job is to try and find the best way they can achieve that.
“I believe we are the clients advocates. Everything is geared up in the banks favour, they have large legal teams which means that the bank will always be in a strong position in any transaction but there’s no one for the client. I believe we level the playing field, and I just love getting people into homes.
“I am really passionate about property investment. I invest in property myself, and I love seeing people develop their portfolios,” Marsden said
Marsden came in 10th in our inaugural Top Adviser Rankings, which were announced last month.
2 – Read Bruce Patten’s profile
4 – Read Nick Kotze’s profile
5 – Read Phil Caldwell’s profile
9 – Read Glen McLeod’s profile
Related stories:
Regulation will turn more people to brokers
How brokers can maximise marketing
