What locations and how many advisers and broker firms do you cover in your role?
In my role as senior relationship manager, I cover Scotland, Northern Ireland and some of the North East of England for Paradigm. That covers over 200 directly authorised (DA) firms who use us for mortgage, protection and general insurance (GI), compliance and/or technology support.
What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?
I think being a ‘people person’ allows me to build meaningful relationships with intermediary firms. This, combined with an understanding that every business is different, means I’m able to listen to what a firm requires, understand their bespoke requirements and then tailor our support accordingly. I love getting the opportunity to meet new people and get to know more about them and their business.
What’s the hardest part of your job?
I cover a large patch, so I need to be really organised as there can be quite a bit of travelling. That also means leaving my lovely puppy, Watson, from time to time – you may have seen him regularly featured on my LinkedIn posts.
What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?
Patience. I like to have things done straight away and sometimes I need to appreciate that not everyone works in the same way, or that in some cases, it can be better to take more time to deal with things.
Where would you rather be stuck, in bumper-to-bumper traffic, or back-to-back meetings that could have been an email, and why?
I would definitely rather be in back-to-back meetings, I like the personal aspect of meeting people and I think you get more out of it – even if it could have been an email. Building strong relationships is crucial in my role.
What’s the best bit of career-related advice you’ve ever been given? Who gave it to you?
Paul Adams, now at Pepper Money, told me as I started in a face-to-face business development manager (BDM) role to build my framework and work on the marginal gains, and everything will start to get to where you need to be. This piece of advice has held up so far.
How do you keep up to date with developments in the market?
I regularly speak to a lot of other people within the industry, whether that’s advisers, owners of companies, work colleagues, lender and provider account managers and read the trade press, etc.
In such a busy market, it can be hard to keep up to date with so many developments, but one thing Paradigm prides itself on is keeping members up to date with important industry changes and developments, and how these will impact firms.
What is the most quirky/unique property deal you’ve been involved in?
I did have a property deal not go through as the client had someone living in their garden shed.
Tell us about your trickiest case – what happened and how did you resolve the problem(s)?
At Paradigm, as a senior relationship manager we don’t tend to get cases as such but we can always approach lenders on emergency situations for our firms to see if they can get additional help. All of the complex cases are directed to our excellent mortgage helpdesk team who deal with hundreds of enquiries each week and offer a wide range of support to firms who are struggling to place difficult mortgage scenarios. I’m not sure even they could help with the garden shed situation though.
What was your motivation for choosing this career?
I worked in the bank while I was at university and they offered me a job once I got my degree (a well-used nutrition and physiology degree), then never looked back. It is a lovely industry to work in where I have met people that I can now genuinely call my friends. I moved to Paradigm last year as I could see they were genuinely adding value to intermediary firms, particularly during a challenging few years for our market, and I was inspired by Richard Goppy, our director of membership, and his vision for how we can support our members.
If you could do any other job in the property sector, what would it be and why?
I quite like furnishing and looking for items for the home, so perhaps a stager for a property before it’s viewed. I think it would be quite satisfying when you make the most out of a space and this would be completely different to what I do now.
What did you want to be growing up?
I wanted to be my dad’s accountant for our family butcher shop, as I loved counting the money and balancing the books.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Mind reading so you can know what people were really thinking.
What, or who, inspires you?
My mum inspires me every day with her strength, determination and kindness. She is always on hand to help me whenever I need it and has always pushed me to do well in whatever I am trying to do.
What has been your greatest non-work-related achievement?
I have a Scottish silver medal in synchronised swimming and also obtaining my degree from Glasgow University, as not many people in my family have ever got a degree.
What makes a great colleague?
A great colleague supports you, wants to see you succeed, makes time for you and can help with ideas and suggestions to improve on what you are doing.
Name your favourite restaurant and why you love it?
There is a fairly local Indian that my family and I go to called the Torranyard. The curries are amazing and they can cater to what strength you would like (had to be careful with that one, there is hot and then there is HOT) and the staff are always lovely and attentive.
And finally, what’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?
Do you know it doesn’t hurt if I bite your elbow?
