LVR Podcast
The LVR Podcast is a podcast designed for Australian Mortgage Brokers, presented by brokers.
Learning. - The more we learn, the better we deliver. We know what we know, we don’t know what we don’t know. Forever learning.
Validation. - This is an industry of numbers and percentages. As a Third Party we have not only proved our worth, but also our capacity to provide and our innate purpose.
Respect. Respect your clients, your peers, and your distribution channels. And, yourself. We have an industry that we should be proud of, however, it is up to us as individuals to influence better behaviours, better outcomes, and better solutions.
Join Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze for the LVR Podcast as they present their views on a variety of issues that affect us all as Mortgage Brokers in Australia. Their different and shared perspectives will no doubt inspire, entertain and prove to be of huge value to how you approach your day, and your life.
LVR Podcast
Two Ears, One Mouth
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In this episode of The LVR Podcast, Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze dive into Week 7 of the Broker Journal: Two Ears, One Mouth. The premise is simple — we were built to listen twice as much as we speak, and most of us have it the wrong way around.
Ruan opens by reframing what listening actually means in a broking context. It's not just about being polite in client meetings — it's about understanding what someone actually needs before you try to solve their problem. Assumptions are expensive in this industry, and the brokers who ask better questions consistently get better outcomes.
Marissa extends the conversation to team leadership, making the point that the same principle applies internally. If you're not genuinely listening to your team — understanding what they need, what's going on for them, and how they're feeling — you'll struggle to retain good people and build a culture worth working in. She also shares her approach to difficult conversations: ask open questions first, understand the full picture, then respond.
Ruan wraps with a story from his early days in a Rotary Club — turning up to give rather than get — and how that shift in mindset unlocked referral relationships that had been stalled for over a year. The lesson translates directly to every client and referral partner conversation a broker has.
The challenge this week: what's your ratio of listening to speaking, and what one question could you start asking more?
Ready to sharpen your communication skills? Explore the Broker Journal at successandbroker.com.au/the-broker-journal
Thank You To Our Hosts: Ruan Burger and Marissa Schulze
More From Marissa and her company, Rise High Financial Solutions:
More From Ruan and his company, Success and Broker: