Let’s start with a quick pop trivia question for all you brokers who stop everyday at 10.30 to listen to PopMaster on Radio 2.
Actually, if you listen to PopMaster you’ll know the answer because it was a question just last week.
So here it goes…
Q: What song title links Chris Montez, Blondie and Go West?
I’ll put five seconds on the clock to give you some time to consider your answer.
5
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1
The answer is, of course, ‘Call Me’.
If you’re not singing one of those versions of ‘Call Me’ by the time you finish reading this article then I’ll be surprised.
In fact the version you sing will probably tell me a great deal about your age and what your era is – mid-sixties, early-eighties, or mid-eighties. Take your pick (hang on, that’s a completely different quiz? – ed).
I sometimes think that a good BDM should have one of the versions of ‘Call Me’ as their ring-tone.
It is, after all, what the best practitioners of the ‘art’ of being a BDM are all about – a constantly open communication channel with which anyone can liaise with whatever the issue and whatever the time.
Talking to many industry practitioners however I know that not all BDMs are seen in such a favourable light – too often I’m told the BDM is readily available at, shall we say, the front-end in terms of developing new introductions and securing new business, however during the nitty-gritty of helping support the adviser through the actual case itself, too often that commitment to open communication and ongoing support goes AWOL.
It’s not just advisers who feel this way.
I was recently talking to Roger Morris at Precise Mortgages – we had stopped taking selfies for a few minutes! – and when it comes to their relationships with solicitors and conveyancers, they are seeking exactly the same attributes.
Roger was, quite rightly, complimentary of those solicitors/conveyancers who make themselves available not just when cases are progressing smoothly but also on those occasions when things are going wrong.
And let’s be frank, the propensity for things to go wrong with a transaction are always there and, with some cases in particular, there can be multiple issues to work through.
It’s at this point that lenders like Precise want to know they can pick up a phone and speak to a real live human who is able to firstly, understand the case, and then is able to deal with those issues in a timely manner.
The level of confidence this can provide to everyone involved in the transaction is often immeasurable and, as we have seen many times over the years, can often be the difference between a case completing or withering on the vine.
So, across all stakeholders – be they lender, distributor, conveyancer, whoever – it is vitally important you deal with BDMs who are true communication and business supporting experts. With those who give a stuff right through the process not just when you place the initial business and who can be relied upon to right a wrong, or find a solution.
We certainly put great value on accessibility and a commitment to support all our partner firms, but I suspect some other businesses do not see this as such a major priority.
If they don’t and you want to work with a firm that does, then the easiest thing to do is ‘Call Me’.
