Know Your BDM: Harleigh French, Glenhawk

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

Currently our whole database.

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

I am quite an organised, spreadsheet sort of person and also, a massive fan of notes. As someone once told me….‘If you didn’t write it down, it didn’t happen.’

What issues come up time and time again?

That usually falls on ‘KYC – Know Your Client’. It’s important to know your client inside and out. And also to be transparent with the lender from the start, as there is nothing worse than losing a deal for something that could have been resolved or discussed at the beginning.

What do you wish brokers understood about your job?

I think it’s important for brokers to understand that we all want the same result…a completion.

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

A positive attitude and the ability to be a problem solver.

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

Usually I get LinkedIn messages or emails, but I will always call back.

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

Speed. We are currently in the process of submitting our FCA regulation and cannot wait to get the ball rolling.

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

I was quite lucky to stumble across this industry and since then I have never looked back. I enjoy the vast variety of deals that come in, no two days are the same.

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

It’s about respect, common ground and being approachable. I enjoy listening to brokers talk about their backgrounds and stories, but more importantly what deals they have. And if it’s not one for us, I am more than happy to point them in the right direction.

And how do you establish and maintain good relationships internally?

Easy…wait until you meet the people at Glenhawk.

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

‘What would you say your colleagues dislike about you’… To be honest I am not sure how anyone could respond to that.

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

I wanted to be a singer. Unfortunately, I wasn’t blessed with such a talent, despite being a secret Rod Stewart fan.