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Know Your BDM: Dave Matthews, The Bridge Crowd

by: Specialist Solutions
  • 09/03/2017
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Know Your BDM: Dave Matthews, The Bridge Crowd
This week Specialist Solutions is talking to Dave Matthews, business development manager for The Bridge Crowd.

How many brokers and broker firms do you cover in your role?

I cover all of the North West of England and North Wales and deal with various master brokers, mortgage brokers, insolvency practitioners and accountants. The variance in introducer keeps things interesting.

How do you successfully organise and deal with business on a daily basis?

It’s rare that two days are the same as a BDM, but I try to maintain some structure by planning meetings well in advance and setting time slots to respond to calls and emails daily. Every day starts with a to do list and ends with a done list, which leaves no carried-over tasks and eases up workflow.

What do you wish brokers understood about your job?

I feel that brokers understand my job for the most part, but sometimes they can be surprised by just how flexible bridging finance can be and how tailored a deal structure can get. It’s the brokers who understand where bridging finance could be an option, rather than throwing out a complex case, who impress me the most.

What do you think is the most important attribute in a good BDM?

I think ensuring you get back to people in any circumstance is essential. Being that go-to person really helps brokers who might be new to bridging or haven’t completed many bridging deals before. There’s no such thing as a stupid question.

Second to being contactable, is integrity. You need to be able to deliver what you promise, never over promise and under deliver.

When you’re unavailable to contact via telephone, what’s the second-best way for brokers to get in touch?

I’m really lucky to have a very knowledgeable back office behind me at the Bridge Crowd HQ so should I be unavailable, they can answer anything you throw at them.

My brokers also have dedicated underwriters to contact on their cases, so if I can’t give them an update, their loan underwriter can.

If you were head of the FCA for the day, what would you change about regulation in the mortgage industry?

I think the FCA are on the ball regarding regulation but if I had my day, I’d try and find ways to make broker’s lives easier without adding any additional risk to the regulated market in general.

What was your motivation for choosing business development as a career?

I was an underwriter before beginning life out on the road, and that gave me a solid foundation to go out and be able to find solutions to my introducer’s problems. I enjoy learning about people’s businesses and their client’s needs so spending my day visiting different people and helping to achieve positive results keeps my role interesting and enjoyable.

How do you establish and maintain a good relationship with brokers?

Flexibility has helped me establish healthy relationships with some key accounts, which may mean having meetings outside the normal working hours or scheduling calls on a weekend or after hours. Going the extra mile is part of the deal.

And how do you establish and maintain good relationships internally?

I have the luxury of living close to our head office, which means I can drop in as and when to work on deals, resolve issues or for internal meetings. This and krispy kremes help keep my internal relationships robust.

What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?

I was once asked whether I could lend on a property overrun with Japanese Knotweed. The valuation report suggested it was more weed than actual property!

And finally, what did you want to be growing up?

Like many others, I wanted to be a professional football player. I support Hull City and with their current standings I may have to get my boots polished!

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