#Hunt - Are you ready for September?

For many of us in the intermediary mortgage sector, the brief respite of August is followed by event after industry event, whether it’s a roadshow, conference, a trade body dinner or a large exhibition.

For most of us, this is an integral part of the job, as networking and catching up with old colleagues, customers and competitors is vital and I have no doubt that the value obtained drives innovation and eventually delivers better products/propositions for brokers and their customers alike.

This brings me onto the large trade exhibitions, as the next one being held is on 12th September in London (FSE London) and as a broker, it’s right to question the value of attending, as it could be considered a lost fee earning day. However, in my view, this is a very short term outlook.

As someone that has exhibited at these shows for a number of years, I’m pleased to say that the days of people just coming up to the stand and grabbing all the freebies are long gone – what did people do with all those pens, mousemats, stress balls and canvas bags?

With the many new entrants into the specialist lending market and the amount of tweaks to criteria we have seen recently from all lenders, the opportunity to talk to lender representatives and understand the types of cases they will consider, will be invaluable information to take back to base.

There will also be the opportunity to hear first hand from various business leaders in the seminar sessions and again, the insight these and the Q&A sessions that follow can provide should not be under estimated.

Aside from the lenders, you’ll also be able to visit stands from technology firms, trade bodies, master brokers and other businesses that support the intermediary mortgage sector.

As a veteran of these shows, plan ahead, download any apps available and decide which stands & seminars you must visit/attend, you’ll thank me for this, trust me!

There are other large trade exhibitions in London after FSE too, like MBE, where all the above applies too. I hope you’ve had a great August, good luck for September and I hope to see you at one of these events soon.