My alarm goes off at…
…6.30am every weekday. The hard negotiations start soon afterwards — persuading my three-and-a-half-year-old that we need to get ready for the day.
I’m exhausted by the time we get to the nursery, but re-energised by the challenges of the work ahead — honest!
I wanted to work in the mortgage industry because…
…I didn’t really plan it. Like many of us, I fell into it after college and quickly discovered that you can learn a lot, very quickly, in this industry.
I feel I am adding value to my broker partners, which gives me a lot of job satisfaction
Becoming a business development manager (BDM) appealed because I like people, variety, change and working under pressure. Now that I am a ‘dual branded’ BDM, with the ability to place cases across both Precise Mortgages and Kent Reliance for Intermediaries [both in the OSB Group], there is even more variety, which is very motivating for me.
I have now been a BDM long enough to have recently been called a veteran. I took it as a compliment. I was very young when I became a BDM, so I’m hoping they were not referring to personal appearance but rather to time served.
Something that surprised me about my job was…
…how much more the role of a BDM can help and support brokers with harder-to-place, complex and high-net-worth cases, when I moved from high-street lender to specialist.
This became particularly evident when we made the move to become dual-branded BDMs in April 2022.
The community within our industry is pretty awesome and I really value the variety and flexibility within my role
Having extensive Precise Mortgages and Kent Reliance for Intermediaries knowledge and internal contacts, I can have really impactful conversations with brokers about where best to place the complex case they are seeking help on across our group; from complex residential solutions to more specialist buy-to-let (BTL) portfolio queries across the two brands, and even at times referring business to my colleagues at InterBay.
Occasionally a case needs to be moved from one brand to another due to its complexity. I can facilitate that to minimise the impact on the client. I feel I am adding value to my broker partners, which gives me a lot of job satisfaction.
A misconception about my role is…
…that BDMs can’t, and don’t, have any influence. At OSB Group, BDMs really help to shape cases and negotiate approval for more unusual applications.
Nothing switches you off from an intense work day of mortgages quite like having to pretend to be the giant blue genie from Disney’s Aladdin
The open forum that OSB Group maintains for encouraging and sharing feedback is so refreshing. I hope it continues indefinitely.
My typical working day entails…
…logging on to the laptop before 8am to see what emails have come in; pre-school drop-off; then heading out to broker appointments to catch up on their work and life, learn about the business they have in hand and hear what their plans are.
Becoming a BDM appealed because I like people, variety, change and working under pressure
I then work out how I can best support them by sharing our complex residential and specialist BTL solutions.
A perk of the job is…
…working with so many wonderful industry colleagues, both internal and external.
The community within our industry is pretty awesome and I really value the variety and flexibility within my role.
My favourite work memory is…
…our first face-to-face sales-team meeting after lockdown, and realising what a difference it makes to be able to spend quality time with the team in person.
At OSB Group, BDMs really help to shape cases and negotiate approval for more unusual applications
I remember we generated some really good business ideas that day and I really felt proud to be part of such a great team.
To unwind after work, I…
…usually get pulled into an imaginary play world or game by my beautiful daughter.
Nothing switches you off from an intense work day of mortgages quite like having to pretend to be the giant blue genie from Disney’s Aladdin, having a water-pistol fight around the garden or playing hide and seek.
This article featured in the July/August 2023 edition of MS.
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