Know your BDM: Andrew Medlycott, Together

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

I cover the whole of Scotland so I am ultimately responsible for about 400 firms, but have a core group of around 100 broker firms I regularly see that support Together.

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

It’s about striking the balance between forward planning and also being flexible in your approach. No matter how well you plan a day or week, things can always crop up out of the blue that you need to be able to address, so the ability to juggle all these is key. And always make time for phone calls.

What issues come up time and time again?

I couldn’t say the same issues come up time and time again. We have such a broad product range and deal with such a wide range of brokers and packagers that there is always something different cropping up.

If I had to pick something, I would say it was packaging of cases. As we continue to grow and meet new brokers that may not use us as regularly as they use a high street lender, it’s important that they understand and are confident in packaging a case for us. It not only makes their lives easier, it really helps our processing and underwriting teams do what they do so well.

What do you wish brokers understood about your job?

It’s not all golf and corporate days……which is handy as I don’t play golf!

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

There are the usual things like communication and product knowledge, but I also feel being able to see things from both the broker’s and lender’s perspective. As I was previously a mortgage adviser, prior to being a BDM, I feel I can strike a fair balance between both, and manage expectations on both sides.

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

I have amazing support from our internal new business team in the office who will always do all they can to help with any question a broker may have. I am always available on email 24/7 too.

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

I’d probably make more specific rules, rather than guidelines that can be interpreted differently by different people.

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

Having worked in the mortgage sector for over 15 years, it’s an area I have a lot of passion for. It can be a hard job with long hours and lots of travel, so you need to have that passion to keep going. And you can get a lot of satisfaction from helping provide brokers with solutions to their problems.

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

People buy from people, and I like to think that I am a people person.Being open and honest, and having a good sense of humour are the foundation of any strong relationship.

And how do you establish and maintain good relationships internally?

Just the same as with external customers. Also, it’s important to make sure that they know you’re on their side. We have an amazing team of underwriters and case processors at Together, who have to make and relay difficult decisions everyday, so it’s critical that I know when to support them and when to challenge a decision.

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

A shop assistant in a cosmetic department asked if I would like a free sample of shampoo?….I have no hair!

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

An Olympian. I was a competitive swimmer from a very early age. I got pretty close to going, but never quite made it!