IT’S difficult for Roy Hall to avoid the ‘one stop shop’ cliché when describing his mortgage, investment and insurance company, but this is a company that serves all facets of risk.
The one-time banker realised that by consolidating his business model, he could increase market share by offering a range of products from a raft of suppliers.
“We used to deal with the Suncorp group for our life insurance product, but now we have 32 different companies that we can offer a more tailored strategy. For example, a scaffold erecter has different requirements to an accountant when it comes to life insurance,” explains Hall.
“I came from the different models in banking and tried to bring those skills to my own business when it was a one man show. I knew that if we had the right team, we could really make a difference and we now have a very strong team who take on opportunities with both hands.”
Hall has built his $4 million company to become a thorn in the side of larger competitors due to a boutique service model. He has his own Australian Financial Services Licence and external and internal audits are undertaken once a year. Hall welcomes the regulatory shakedown in the industry and prides his firm on ethics and transparency.
“I’m already in that frame of mind by having my own licence,” he says.
“The best thing is that the mortgage broking industry is heading in that direction also, so it will sort out the ‘mechanics by day, home loan brokers by night’ operators. We will sit down with clients and some insurance policies that might be of concern and that kind of transparency makes it easy for us to do business. We are able to gather momentum by doing the right thing.”
Hall is also the Queensland chair of the Million Dollar Round Table, an initiative set up to bolster growth and foster support for planners in life insurance.
“It allows me to give something back to the industry and I get to learn from older financial planners,” says Hall.
“I’m always challenging myself to go to the next level and continually improving your service model is the key to attracting and retaining a new generation of clients.”
Hall recently bought a new commercial building on Brisbane Road that caters to the growing demands of the business, which he describes as a ‘location for life’.