"If I could handle this, I could do anything!"

Starting a career can be tough at the best of times, but becoming a broker in one of the most tumultuous periods in recent mortgage history was certainly testing for The Mortgage Mum’s Joanna Connolly.

Beginning work in the same month that Liz Truss swept to power as Prime Minister, with the now infamous mini-budget which followed, Connolly experienced a true baptism of fire.

But she survived those eventful first few months in the job (which is more than can be said for Truss) and the resilience she showed set her up for her burgeoning career.

Sure enough, just over two years later, Connolly (pictured left, with The Mortgage Mum CEO Sarah Tucker) recently picked up the title of Rising Star (Broker or Distributor) at The Mortgage Introducer Awards.

Previously a business development manager within the gaming and workwear industries, she found that becoming a mother wasn’t a good fit with travelling regularly.

“It's not why I became a mum,” Connolly explained. “I didn't want someone else to bring up my children because I'd gone back to work, it wasn’t fair on them.”

Mortgages came into the frame when she took the time during her maternity leave to research her own product – and found that the broker role might suit her and her lifestyle. She duly attained her CeMAP qualification.

“I would be breastfeeding at two o’clock in the morning, with my baby under one arm and the book that I was studying in another,” Connolly recalled. “I found The Mortgage Mum, and I knew that I would be working with them. It just ticked every box for me, and I could work from home.”

Showing resilience in the face of adversity

In September 2022, Connolly joined the female-focused network, eager to start work. “And then the Liz Truss crash happened,” she said, with a knowing laugh. “I was like, oh…oh, God! What is this all about?!”

That period of market turmoil in the aftermath of the mini-budget was Connolly’s eventful introduction to the industry.

“I didn't write any business until February 2023,” she shared. “People just stopped buying. People stopped doing anything. For me, to get those leads in was so difficult.”

To Connolly’s credit, she kept her cool.

“I just rode the storm a little bit,” she said. “The Mortgage Mum had prepped me that it was going to be a two-year journey. Sometimes you're going to earn really well, sometimes you might not earn anything but just keep that consistency and eventually all those leads will come back and it will happen - and it did.”

Smiling, she continued: “If I could handle this, I could do anything, definitely! It was really difficult. The rates were changing with a few hours’ notice. I never panic – that’s the worst thing you can do. In this industry, things do change quite quickly, but as long as you're organised and on top of things, and stay calm, your clients will stay calm. You're the expert.”

Read more: Revealed: The Mortgage Introducer Awards 2024 winners

The qualities of a Rising Star

So, what then, does Connolly think marked her out for an honour at this year’s Mortgage Introducer Awards?

“The clients are my focus,” she explained. “I’d like to think that the judges could see that I put myself in every client’s shoes and I understand. I relate to their worries – I was a single, first-time buyer. But I'm also able to say I will help you. It's not a short-term relationship.

“All the clients that I've built up for the last two years, in my eyes, they're my clients for life. There's always a long term plan. I'd like them to think that they could see me as someone that's really forward focused. Hopefully they can see that.”

She added: “You have to create an environment and a space for clients to feel at ease and feel comfortable talking to you. I do evening appointments and they are booked up well in advance When they're at home, clients are relaxed, they're not thinking about work. I'm not trying to do a fact find in the middle of their lunch break.

“Some are in their pyjamas, some have got a cup of tea in their hand, and there's no time limit. It’s 100% about listening to them. There might be just one sentence that they'll say that you can pick up that could completely change your advice.”

Knowledge is key to being a good broker, believes Connolly, and building a rapport with a client, too.

“They get to know me as much as I know them,” she said. “They get to understand who I am. Especially if I have a couple, I create a WhatsApp group for us and leave voice notes. So, if there are updates, there are updates to both of them, not just In an email. When I get an offer through, I want them to feel excited because its’s something special, and being part of that journey, it’s something they’ll never forget as well.

“So when it comes to the remortgage, they’re not looking to use anyone else, it’s a case of ‘we need to get in touch with Joanna’, if I have not got in touch with them first.  By doing that, you’re building your reputation and by building your reputation, obviously brings recommendations. So, it only grows.”