What is the secret behind banks keeping brokers happy? For Terry Shoesmith, director of East coast Finance, it is all about the BDM.
Shoesmith told Australian Broker that the most important thing a lender can do to support brokers and sustain relationships with brokers is have a proactive BDM.
“If there are two banks that have identical or very similar products and terms, but one bank had a BDM which I knew face-to-face because they had bothered to come and meet with me, I would be more likely to want to refer business to that bank. What banks need to remember is that their BDM is the face of their company for brokers.”
There is definitely room for improvement in the quality of BDMs in the industry as a whole, according to Shoesmith.
“I do believe that BDMs are stretched too thin. It is too difficult a job for many of them to sustain relationships with all their brokers because they have too many they have to look after. I would like to see banks investing more in their BDMs and getting more BDMs on board. I know people who used to work as BDMs for banks but have quit because it just got too hard.”
Shoesmith says he would ideally like to see BDMs meet face-to-face with brokers about once a month.
“An active BDM is someone who makes the time to come and meet with me face-to-face to keep me up to date and to discuss policy, products and changes. I don’t want a BDM who comes to my office just to tick off a box that they have visited a broker, but someone who wants to actively be a part of my business,” he told Australian Broker.
What do you think is the most important thing a lender should be doing for brokers?
