What locations and how many advisers and broker firms do you cover in your role?
I cover the North West including Greater Manchester, Liverpool and West Lancashire. My patch stretches up to the Fylde Coast, covering seven postcodes and over 1,100 brokers.
What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?
I think it’s really important to be both relatable and knowledgeable. Having good relationships with intermediaries relies on those two things.
What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?
Using Linkedin. It is such an amazing tool in an industry like ours and there’s some really informative and interesting content on there. I wish I could be more creative with my own social media platforms, but I continue to try.
What’s the hardest part of your job?
Traffic and driving in bad weather.
What do you love most about your job?
I love meeting and speaking with new brokers. I also love exploring new areas. One day I could go from a city centre, to a rural village and then onto a beautiful coastal town.
What’s the best bit of career-related advice you’ve ever been given? Who gave it to you?
My mum has always been an inspiration to me and I admire her work ethic. She also worked in financial services. She brought my sister and me up alone and worked hard to provide for us. I think it really made me realise how important it is to have a good career that you enjoy.
How do you keep up to date with developments in the market?
I love to read industry publications to keep up to date on what is happening. I keep in close contact with the other BDMs at Leeds Building Society, and we make time to catch up on market developments and industry news.
What was your motivation for choosing this career?
I fell into a career in financial services. I started out working in insurance and then moved onto mortgages. When I first started working with brokers years ago in one of my previous jobs as a telephone account manager, I knew a field-based BDM was what I wanted to do.
If you could do any other job in the property sector, what would it be and why?
I could imagine myself as an estate agent. I love looking at properties and I am interested in interior design. I once bumped into TV presenter George Clarke in Leeds, and to say I was excited was an understatement. I really love his shows.
What did you want to be growing up?
A firefighter – so a bit of a different career path.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
To change people’s mindsets (including my own at times). My son has ADHD and really struggles with his confidence with learning. It would be nice to be able to help people see themselves how others do.
What is your strategy for tackling challenges?
Just do it – we can all procrastinate and put things off, but it is better to tackle things head on. Just pick up the phone and have that challenging conversation. Usually, the outcome isn’t as bad as you expected anyway.
And finally, what’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?
I was once asked if we’d consider lending to someone currently in prison to pay the loan off on his Spanish villa.
