Dear colleagues and friends:
I am writing to update you on my personal situation, i.e., what I am doing and how it can help you. In the end, I would kindly ask you for your help with two simple things.
1. What I am doing
As some of you know, after more than a year working on the Profira project I am starting a new venture. Together with a venture capital fund and an Irish company Simply Mortgages, we are building a mortgage brokerage company in the Czech Republic. The company will advise its clients - individuals and legal entities purchasing, building, reconstructing or refinancing a residential real estate in the Czech Republic - on structuring the financing and, especially, it will help them arrange such financing with financial institutions. Our product range will cover mortgages, building savings, consumer and other available loans, and the relevant types of insurance. We will operate through a captive group of well trained financial advisors supported by a call center and internet.
Our vision is to become the gateway to financing personal housing needs in the Czech and Slovak Republics by the year 2004, and to launch the mortgage brokerage business in Poland and Hungary by then. We strive to build a strictly client oriented organization with clearly defined values. We will be independent of financial institutions; rather than serving as a captive sales channel to one of them, we will be on the side of clients and offer them a broader product portfolio to choose from. We will assist our clients with the whole process of real estate financing, short only of 'building' the real estate and underwriting the debt. We will be positive and professional in handling relationships with, and the matters of, our clients and business partners. Last but not least, we will be innovative in terms of products, services and shaping the Czech real estate market and financing in general.
We plan to launch the service between August and October this year, depending on how fast we will build a quality team of financial advisors.
2. How we can help you
When you plan to, say, buy a real estate and you choose our service, we will step in as an intermediary on your side between you and the financial institutions. We will provide you with an independent advice. We will give you comprehensive overview of available financing opportunities, so that you will be able to compare those opportunities and make an informed decision. You will (almost) outsource the process to us as a specialized and knowledgeable partner.
Our mission may seem ambitious, at least for those of you who are familiar with the infamous client service of most Czech financial institutions. It is to get the best deal for our clients given their personal situation and to hunt the deal down for the clients in the shortest possible time and with the least hassle for them. As with every personal service, our best and most important publicity is the word-of-mouth. If we do not get you a good deal and/or you are not satisfied with our service, you will not recommend us to your friends or colleagues. This business is not about short-term wins, but about long-term relationships with a satisfied client. It's that simple. That is why we will live up to our mission.
3. How you can help us
Apart from you becoming our client after our launch, I ask you to help us now with two simple things. Your help will be greatly appreciated and even rewarded (see below)!!!
a. Name
We are in the process of selecting the name for our business. We have the opportunity to use the name and the logo of our Irish partner, Simply Mortgages, that would look as follows (for a logo of Simply Mortgages, please visit the website www.simplymortgages.ie
What do you think of this name? Will clients accept this name? Will they accept an English expression? Would you have a completely different name for the business that would better express our values and what we do in a way understandable to our clients? Please write me your views and ideas. We offer to the author of the winning name a prize of Kc 10,000.
b. Recruiting
As described above, the service will be predominantly offered through a group of captive financial advisors. We are currently seeking a person that would build and manage the group. If you happen to know a person that would meet the following criteria and, you think, could be interested in the job, please let me now. We will again reward a contact that will lead to employing the person with Kc 10,000.
Job description:
- participation on defining the strategy and sales plans
- hiring, training, managing, motivating and controlling financial advisors
- identification and acquisition of potential clients
- managing client feedback
We require:
- honesty and professional attitude
- common business sense and sales mentality
- very good communication and people management skills
- experience in selling housing finance products (mortgages, building savings, insurance) or, at least, other personal finance products
- experience in managing people selling housing finance products
We offer:
- young, dynamic and flexible environment
- management position
- potential for personal growth
- competitive performance based salary
Now you know what we are up to. Feel free to contact me if you contemplate entering the real estate market and seek financing. We do not pretend to be experts in all complexities of the real estate financing at this very moment but we have our contacts and we will do our best to help you.
Thank you in advance for any comments regarding my questions or the business in general, words of support etc.
Have a good day.
Best regards,
Jan Urban