Better Business
Rising Star: Jack Ford, Smoove
This week Mortgage Solutions is speaking with Jack Ford, account manager at Smoove.
What does your role entail and how long have you been doing it?
My role entails bringing on new brokers to use our services, looking after and onboarding them from registration to first instruction.
What attracted you to working in the mortgage/property/finance sector?
I wanted to challenge myself in an industry I had no experience in. I always relish a new challenge and learning new skills.
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What were you doing in the five years before starting here?
I was at university, then I worked in an admin-based role at Deliveroo. After that, I worked in care and insurance for a time.
What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?
I think communication skills are the most important in the role I do. If you can build a rapport and get on with your clients then you’re halfway there.
What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?
I’d like to be a little more resilient in terms of objection handling. If I sense disinterest then I tend to wrap up the call in fear of annoying the broker. A lot of the time there may still be a possible opportunity there that may have slipped through my fingers. The business has been running training sessions on objection handling which I have been finding very useful.
How has the pandemic changed the way you approach your job?
It has shown me that I can be just as productive at home or in an office.
What is the most interesting/memorable property deal/case you’ve been involved in?
I can’t think of a specific deal that stands out, but the cases where you manage to win a whole firm as opposed to a single broker are always quite satisfying.
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
In all honesty I’m not sure, but I would like to work in the field at some point; I think I’m better at face-to-face communication than over the phone.
If present-day you could go back in time and tell yourself something five years ago, what would it be?
I would tell myself that I’m not going to have it all straight away: things take time and require patience (in a professional sense). I’d also tell myself to invest in Ethereum and Bitcoin.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve tackled so far in your career?
My biggest challenge was when I was at Deliveroo and I was promoted to a senior in my team. Managing friends was quite difficult.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Easy: teleportation.
And finally, what’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?
I was once asked if I was French by an American who struggled to understand my accent.