Brokers always say that good business development managers (BDM) are worth their weight in gold.
Even in an age where lenders’ systems and technology are being used to make the submission process quicker, smarter and easier, BDMs provide a human face to which intermediaries can turn when they are in need of a solution for their client.
So at a time when the market is undergoing fundamental changes and credit issues are forcing many lenders to take drastic action, the role of the BDM must also be re-evaluated.
After months of good times, with BDMs being at the coalface of lenders’ hunt for every potential business opportunity, many providers have stepped off the accelerator. Even those who are still lending, especially in the non-conforming sector, have scaled back their expectations of business levels.
Gus Park, director of intermediary sales at Mortgage Express, comments: “We are still very much in the market so for all intents and purposes, it is very much business as usual. But it is fair to say there has been a slight change in the balance of the business. We are not going after every piece of business, so we are focusing more on relations and service.”
So, if BDMs are not chasing business any more, what are they doing?
A different focus
Keith Dearling, managing director of Advantage, says its BDMs are adopting a focus and helping brokers look at other income streams.
“Clearly we have scaled back our lending, so for our BDMs, part of the job is the same but other areas have changed. They are no longer driven by large numbers. Instead we want them to maintain the relationships which they have built up over the last three, six or nine months. We want to be making sure brokers know we are still there and even if we don’t have some products out there, we still have other areas in which we can help them.”
But for Park, those non-securitising lenders who have not pulled away from the market have been involved in a spot of firefighting.
He explains: “A lot of BDMs have been very busy taking calls from advisers who are trying to place cases. A lot of lenders who have been pulling out of the market were the ones who have been pushing criteria and this has meant a lot of brokers looking to us to try and place these cases.”
A new emphasis
This different market has made the BDM’s job more than just about selling products and places emphasis on other areas of the job which they are expected by brokers to do. The whole point, as Mike Fry, director of Halton Investment Services, explains, is that the BDM is the human face – the person who can make the difference to advisers’ business.
“BDMs have a very important role to play. I’d much rather look at someone in the face than talk to someone on the phone. There has always been a big hoo-ha about call centres but they just don’t understand local factors. BDMs have local knowledge. However, it’s not just about selling. We need honesty and it’s not just flogging the products of the lender who employs you.”
Better than all the rest
This should be the case whatever condition the market is in, and this is where great BDMs separate themselves from the ordinary ones. David Mead, managing director of Flexible-mortgage.net, insists he will judge BDMs on the same criteria as before.
“There are more on the phone wanting to come and see our advisers and there is one noticeable BDM who was very good but we’ve not heard of for three or four months as their lender has scaled back. But it is the usual suspects who are still working pretty hard. Then you have BDMs from lenders who say they support brokers who are either very quiet or who call and don’t follow it up.”
Much has been made of the importance of the BDM. This fact has been highlighted as the newer entrants in the non-conforming market have pushed up wages to attract the best salesforce. However, as the market contracts, the pressure will be on, and those BDMs who have provided an inadequate service will be looking nervously over their shoulders.
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