Despite a busy schedule and a heavy workload, Spotcap Australia account manager John Clifford is a BDM brokers can count on for a pleasant chat and a laugh. They rely on his dedication and focus when their SME client’s application is in progress
BDM in the spotlight asks a different BDM the same questions – giving you weekly insight into the lives of some of the top BDMs in the country.
Name: John Clifford
Years in the industry: 10+ years in finance
Company: Spotcap Australia
Location: Sydney
1. What was your work before entering the industry?
I worked for seven years at a company specialising in stock market derivatives and FX trading in an account management role. I started there at the onset of the GFC where there was extraordinary volatility in the markets, so it was a real baptism of fire.
My wife took a role in Port Macquarie so we decamped there for what we thought would be 12 months of lawn bowls and five-minute commutes, but ended up staying there for three years. In the absence of a well-developed stockbroking scene in Port Macquarie, I worked in account management for a large orthopaedic devices firm. At the end of 2016, we returned to Sydney to take on my role with Spotcap.
2. How often do you see brokers in a week?
At least one day per week I'm on the road meeting brokers for coffee. We're headquartered in Sydney but we service brokers nationally. As a result, I'm in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and all points in between regularly.
3. What do brokers want most from you?
The phone to be answered and calls to be returned promptly. With the amount of demands brokers’ need to fulfil, it’s immensely important that when they're thinking of unsecured lending for their client, I'm available to workshop the deal. After that, transparency with regard to our pricing, our timeline for processing and the chances of a deal being approved.
4. What is your favourite part of the job?
To use an Irish term, the "craic". I aspire to be the kind of BDM a broker can enjoy having a chat and a laugh with, but on whose absolute dedication and focus they can rely when their client's application is in progress. Most of the aggregator conferences I've attended in the past years have been really enjoyable on a personal level and valuable on a professional level.
5. What distinguishes the best brokers you deal with?
Sometimes you get off a call with a broker and you immediately know that he or she will be a success. There's something about how they listen and ask questions. Aside from that, I'd say that having discipline in one’s work is a good sign. I've seen some of my referring partners let their hair down at awards nights, but when you see them at work they're the dictionary definition of professionalism.
6. Describe your ideal weekend:
Spending a few hours reading the papers over breakfast with my wife, and trying to shoehorn about three rugby games in the afternoon and evening, either live at Manly Oval or on television.
7. What’s the strangest lending scenario you’ve ever encountered?
A butcher applied recently. He did all his banking on his smartphone despite not being technically savvy. I dropped by his shop one evening to help him reactivate his internet banking and to lodge his application. The next morning we got a $50,000 approval for him.
8. What's your top time-saving tip and how much time does it save you?
I try to spend the first hour of the day on the phone before tucking into my inbox. I used to get aggravated by the daily reporting of [US President] Donald Trump's administration. Now I get to save a lot of time each morning by ignoring his latest outrage.
9. What’s your favourite meal?
I'm a sucker for a burrito, but any time I get to sit down for a home-cooked meal with my wife is my favourite.
Contact John Clifford:
Mobile: 0415 427 695
Support: 1800 107 010
