Great broking is a team game
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As spring AFL finals approach, NAB’s Adam Brown and award-winning BDM Kelly Tietjen explain how a strong team helps brokers and customers achieve their goals even as conditions change
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PREMIERSHIPS ARE not decided in September.
Collingwood built its 2010 premiership around a young list blooded three years earlier. Hawthorn’s long dominance − 12 flags in 45 seasons between 1971 and 2015 − was built the same way, on sustained list management rather than finals day tactics. West Coast went from a wooden spoon in 2010 to a grand final appearance in 2015 based on a string of successful draft picks made over five years.
Regardless of your team or even your sport, champions are decided in the hard grind of months and years in preparation before the event, when a team builds the habits and trust it will lean on in the high-pressure cauldron of the finals.
NAB is NAB is dedicated to helping brokers deliver the best customer outcomes, supported by a national network of experienced BDMs and dedicated team through every stage of a customer’s lending experience. Building on our strong broker partnerships, we will continue to invest in the channel to provide brokers with the tools and support they need to help their customers, empowering them to build success on their own terms.
* NAB is Australia’s biggest business lender, according to monthly banking statistics lending data (non-financial corporations) published by APRA, November 2023.
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“Whether it’s a broker with growth ambitions, a lender focused on customer outcomes, or a sporting team chasing a premiership, it’s about being anchored to that common goal and having everyone pull in the same direction”
Adam Brown, NAB
While brokers don’t wear sports uniforms or kick balls around a field for a living, successful ones draw on the same principle: the biggest wins can nearly always be traced back to work put in long before the pressure hits.
“The work is done in the preparation,” says Adam Brown, executive, broker distribution at NAB. “It’s about building the trust and confidence to deliver when it matters most. To be able to do that, you’ve got to have a really great team around you.”
As the AFL finals series gets underway, that idea of a team built over years rather than assembled overnight is one Brown keeps coming back to when he talks about the broker channel.
“When teams win premierships, it’s not just what they’ve done that year, it’s what they’ve done in the years leading up to it. You’re always working towards a common goal, and everyone understands what that goal is,” says Brown.
“Whether it’s a broker with growth ambitions, a lender focused on customer outcomes, or a sporting team chasing a premiership, it’s about being anchored to that common goal and having everyone pull in the same direction.”
Complexity is the new normal
Brown, who leads broker distribution at NAB, says a defining theme in the lending market for 2026 has been an increasing prevalence of more complex lending scenarios, which means brokers are more in demand than ever.
“Customers are taking a more considered approach to major financial decisions and are increasingly looking for guidance through a range of lending scenarios,” he says. “The brokers growing the fastest are often those building expertise in more specialised segments and delivering tailored support to meet customers’ needs.”
As customers navigate changing economic environments, many customers are seeking what Brown describes as a “trusted adviser” relationship.
“When customers are faced with more decisions and more variables in a more complex market environment, that’s where there is a real opportunity for brokers to build stronger relationships and deliver value,” he says.
As customers increasingly turn to brokers for guidance and support, the channel’s role continues to grow. Broker-originated loans now account for a record 81% of all new residential lending, according to Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia figures.
An evolving environment driving decision-making
Brown points to a range of economic factors shaping customer decision-making, including three cash rate rises in 2026, softening housing demand, the flow-on effect of Federal budget tax changes, and higher supply-side costs flowing through to everyday expenses.
Against this backdrop, lending activity has moderated across parts of the market. Equifax data shows Australian mortgage demand has declined year on year for four consecutive months, alongside lower levels of first home buyer activity and refinancing volumes.
For brokers, the changing environment may mean looking for different ways to meet customer needs. “There might be opportunities to review how a loan is structured, rather than just focusing on price, and explore whether there are different ways of meeting a customer’s needs,” Brown says.
Just as a coach reworks the game plan when conditions change, brokers can help customers explore lending solutions that are aligned to their needs and goals.
Customers want more than speed
The need for speed and agility is another feature common to both sports teams and brokers.
“Customers have always valued fast service, but increasingly they’re looking for a seamless experience,” Brown says. “They want proactive communication, reassurance and certainty, not only from their lender, but also from their broker.”
For Kelly Tietjen, business development manager at NAB and a recent winner at the 2026 MFAA National Excellence Awards, responding to heightened customer expectations often comes down to understanding the customer’s experience and being there when it matters most.
“A customer might be buying their first home. They’re nervous; they’re anxious,” says Tietjen. “It’s so important that, as a BDM representing the bank, we’re clear on timeframes. And if a roadblock is hit, that’s when I’ve got to jump in and help that broker who’s supporting that first home buyer.”
Tietjen says the customer experience remains central to a broker’s success. “Brokers want to deliver a great experience because that’s what builds trust and long-term relationships,” she says. “When customers feel supported and informed throughout the process, they’re more likely to come back and recommend that broker to others.”
“When customers feel supported and informed throughout the process, they’re more likely to come back and recommend that broker to others”
Kelly Tietjen, NAB
Part of the shift in customer expectations, Brown explains, comes from customers arriving to conversations already partly informed with a base level of knowledge.
“Customers are increasingly doing their own research and using a range of tools, including AI, before speaking with a broker or lender,” he says.
That greater access to information also comes with higher expectations around security and trust. While customers are increasingly embracing new technology, they’re also more aware of the risks that can come with it.
“Being clear about the safeguards you have in place and giving customers confidence in how their information is protected is becoming increasingly important,” says Brown.
AI for efficiency
Just as customers are adopting AI, so too are many leading brokerages. “There are plenty of opportunities for the broker industry to embrace AI, but it’s important to do so in a way that considers privacy, security and the appropriate use of the technology,” Brown says.
“The best brokerages are always looking for ways to improve their processes and the efficiencies within their business,” he says. “If you can start to take out some of the more routine, repetitive tasks, it gives you more time to focus on your customers and building your business.”
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Published 31 Aug 2026
Building the NAB ecosystem
BDMs are there to support brokers to get great results for their businesses and for customers. Tietjen describes her own approach as “hands-on”, built on more than a decade of experience across different parts of the bank.
“I roll up my sleeves, and get involved at any stage,” she says. “For newer brokers, that might mean helping them navigate our tools and processes and making sure they understand what’s required throughout the application journey.”
But a star player is only as good as the bench behind them, and Tietjen extends that thinking to her own role. “My support is only as good as the support around me,” she says. “We have such an experienced relationship associate team. They’ve come from all different paths – including ex-branch staff and ex-bankers – and having all that depth of experience in my support team has been vital for me in helping brokers and customers.”
The same team-based approach extends through to settlement.
“The case managers we have supporting settlement have made a huge difference,” Tietjen says. “If an issue arises, I can bring the right people together quickly to help keep things moving and support the broker and customers.”
Source: MFAA Quarterly Market Share report
40%
60%
80%
100%
Mar 2018
Dec 2024
Mar 2025
Jun 2025
Sep 2025
Dec 2025
Mar 2026
55.3%
76.0%
76.8%
77.6%
77.3%
76.7%
81.0%
Small businesses are saving time using AI
Source: NAB SME Business Insights Embracing AI: Adoption & Key Opportunities Identified by SMEs April 2026
Automating repetitive work
35%
Improving marketing and sales
31%
Supporting better decision-making
23%
Brown sees Tietjen’s work as part of a broader effort to bring more of NAB’s capabilities to broker-introduced customers, while respecting the broker relationship.
“We’ve worked hard to make it easier for broker-introduced customers to access support across the broader NAB network when and where they choose,” he says. “It’s about complementing the broker relationship. We’re getting really good feedback from our brokers, but also [from] customers when they do walk into a branch, to get that support when and where they choose.”
For Brown, that layered support is what separates a single BDM relationship from something closer to a full team behind the broker.
“It’s more than just the BDM,” he says. “What I think is really important is making sure that we’re bringing the very best of NAB to our broker network, whether that’s credit expertise, business banking, fraud and scam prevention, the safe use of AI, or expertise around valuations in the property sector. Bringing all those elements together means we can provide a comprehensive service for our brokers.”
Just as no premiership has ever been won by one player alone, no broker builds a business without a top team standing behind them.
Proportion of new residential lending settled by brokers