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A good BDM will beat any innovation in the technology race

by: Phil Whitehouse, managing director of MCI Mortgage Club
  • 22/08/2017
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A good BDM will beat any innovation in the technology race
For those who remember it there was a time when a broker’s only option for contacting a lender was by phone.

This may sound like a perfectly reasonable method of contact but until you’ve been sat on hold for hours listening to horrendous elevator music on loop you cannot understand how perfectly unreasonable it was.

Back in the day accessibility was not one of the lending community’s strong points and brokers found themselves spending (or wasting) most of the day trying to contact an underwriter or make an enquiry about criteria.

Enter the lender BDM. Business Development Managers were introduced in part to help lenders increase their market share by getting their products out to and understood by as many mortgage advisers as possible.

But while their primary purpose may have been to serve the lender, the broker community was certainly thankful for them.

 

Sounding board

BDMs gave mortgage brokers the opportunity to air their grievances, ask their questions and have their concerns addressed. It was a win-win situation.

However, in recent years lenders have capitalised on technology like never before. Accessibility is becoming a key focus.

Some lenders such as Nationwide offer instant message services to brokers. Nationwide’s Broker Chat allows intermediaries to talk online to the lender and get an instant response – a much easier method than hanging on the telephone.

Broker portals and greater access to information via lender systems means brokers have fewer queries that need resolving by BDMs. Websites are more accessible and broker friendly.

 

Technology investment

In short, lenders have invested heavily in technology in order to make sure brokers aren’t left in the dark whether in terms of waiting on a decision or gaining information on a product range.

So what does that mean for BDMs? Perhaps the same argument surrounding robo-advice applies here.

Technology can do fantastic things but it cannot replicate human contact.

If you’re a good BDM who provides value to your brokers and goes above and beyond what’s expected, you’re unlikely to ever be replaced by a machine.

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