Which locations and how many advisers and broker firms do you cover in your role at Crystal Specialist Finance?
Crystal concentrates on bridging, buy-to-let (BTL), commercial and other specialist sectors, working with brokers across the country sourcing competitive lending solutions. I call my patch ‘Midlands PLUS’, as although predominantly covering the East and West Midlands, I can also be found in Norfolk, South Wales, Devon and Cornwall. I support around 100 advice firms varying in size from smaller players to national brokerages, but will always welcome a conversation with anyone interested in writing specialist lending business.
What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?
You have to be approachable, capable and reliable in this role. A friendly face, but with authority and knowledge. Anyone can answer a phone, but brokers need to know they can trust me to deliver the right solution and within the time frame I have promised.
What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?
I’m pretty good at time management, but I would like to be even more ruthlessly disciplined when it comes to allocating my time to those who need the support the most, given I have such a large and diverse patch.
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What’s the hardest part of your job?
Not having enough hours in the day. I’m a people pleaser who wants to support everyone – see last answer.
What do you love most about your job?
The fact that I can support such a range of brokers with such a wide variety of cases thanks to the fantastic breadth of products we can access. I also love the variety of brokers I get to work with. I can help a newly qualified broker dealing with their first bridging case one minute and an experienced commercial loans specialist the next. And I love the flexibility of service we offer, so brokers can decide whether to refer a case to us or simply ask us to package it.
I also particularly love being the bearer of good news as regards our Clear Choice Broker Reward Scheme. This month, I had the pleasure of telling a broker he had just won the top holiday prize and delivering the vouchers to him in person – a particularly happy broker meeting.
What’s the best bit of career-related advice you’ve ever been given?
Know your worth. Equally important at work and in your personal life.
What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career?
Learning to look at a situation from other people’s perspectives is hugely important and helpful in resolving issues.
How do you keep up to date with developments in the market?
A combination of daily updates from the trade press, internal briefings on market changes and industry movements and generally being ‘plugged in’ to the mortgage world via the network of people I engage with all the time in my work.
What is the most quirky/unique property deal you’ve been involved in?
As a specialist packager, we’ve seen everything from aircraft hangars to bomb shelters and from solar farms to Christmas tree nurseries, but perhaps my favourite was a dedicated stag/hen party hotel, with each room beautifully and flamboyantly decorated like individual works of art.
What was your motivation for choosing this career?
Like many people, I fell into financial services and then the BDM role eventually chose me. I came into the sector when I was very young and did many different jobs, which helped me learn where my strengths lie. The sales arena is my natural domain.
What did you want to be growing up?
Like many little girls, as an avid animal lover, I wanted to be a vet. In fact, when I was at secondary school, I did work experience at a local veterinary surgery – which might be what put me off. The only other career I have ever been seriously attracted to is midwifery, which must be hugely rewarding. In fact, I wouldn’t rule out becoming a midwife as a second career – but that is decades off.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I’m very happy concentrating on honing my skills as a BDM. I think I’m very good at it, but want to keep improving to be the very best I can be in this role.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
It has to be flying. As a child, I used to have vivid dreams about being able to fly, zipping over my school and then out into the wider world, enjoying the aerial views and the sense of freedom. And it would be a game-changer in my current job, cutting out all those traffic jams.
What is your strategy for tackling challenges?
Keep calm, take a step back, give yourself time to understand the issue at hand and, where appropriate, effectively communicate what needs to be considered or carried out to the other parties involved. It’s all about remaining rational and detached, while being clear with yourself and everyone else about what needs doing – and in a realistic time frame.
What is your greatest skill(s), either work- or non-work-related?
This has to be patience. Since having our first child in 2022, it’s a skill that has required lots of work every day.
And finally, what’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?
I’m going to stick with my belief that there is no such thing as a silly or strange question, especially when it comes to specialist lending.
