Our new national sales manager Matt Kingston discusses his views

As the National Sales Manager for Nottingham Building Society for Intermediaries, the question of what makes a great sales team is at the very heart of my role.

And while there are many aspects on which we can judge success, I personally believe the most important thing we can do to help our intermediary partners is to provide a quick and efficient service.

In the modern world the one thing we all seem to be short of is time and I know how frustrating it can be when you feel like that precious resource is being wasted.

While that might sound like a simple and obvious answer, it takes a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure an organisation has slick, customer-friendly processes in place. And key to making it all work is great people.

Point of contact

Brokers need a point of contact – whether that be a BDM, a mortgage desk or even an underwriter – who is knowledgeable about their own products and criteria but also the environment in which the broker is operating.

They need to know the proposition inside out and be able to articulate it clearly and concisely to help brokers identify opportunities.

The mortgage industry is currently a challenging market to be working in, so it’s also key for sales teams to understand the challenges brokers face, including things like current and upcoming regulations, so they can offer useful insights.

Personalised tailored service

But it’s not enough to just be knowledgeable – what really helps a sales team stand out is to have the ability to help shape a case from initial enquiry, through to application and then to be there as a go-to for any queries. It’s about being able to provide a personalised, tailored service and that’s only possible when we truly understand the needs of each broker by listening to them and then responding to those needs.

Finally, a great sales team will do what they said they would, when they said they would. It’s a fundamental part of building trust and it allows brokers to confidently explain timescales and processes to their clients, without the worry of any unexpected delays.

That model of a great sales team is what I’m excited to be working towards at Nottingham Building Society. When I joined the building society in February, I was delighted to find that we already had an excellent team of knowledgeable, committed staff across our BDM, Mortgage Desk and Underwriting teams.

Solid foundation

It's great to have such a solid foundation to build on, but we’re committed to meeting as many brokers as possible face-to-face, so my first priority has been to grow the field-based BDM team across all regions in England and Wales. Whether it’s for a quick coffee, a visit to the office or attending a team meeting to provide an update on who we are and what we do, I’m a firm believer that nothing is as effective at building relationships as face-to-face engagement.

It's also clear, however, that the BDM role has evolved since the covid pandemic and we’re always exploring new ways of communicating our message to suit brokers such as online video content available on demand, webinars, socials, events and criteria masterclasses.

Recruiting

We’re also recruiting more telephony sales managers and we believe this hybrid approach is the best fit to help meet the needs of our brokers. Along with the fact that we provide direct access to our underwriters, this should mean that whether you have a general question about our criteria or a query about a specific case, you can get the answer you need in one quick phone call.

It’s been a great first month for me at Nottingham Building Society and it’s an exciting time to have joined the building society. There’s a real focus on transforming the mortgage business and maintaining and growing relationships with our valued broker network is absolutely critical to our future success.

Future

It’s going to be a busy year and in 2023 we’ll be really focusing on what mutuality means in the modern world. As part of that, we’ve got some exciting plans in place to build on our proposition and ensure we’re meeting the ever-changing needs of our borrowers and brokers. More than ever, we’ll be shaping our plans based on the insights and feedback we gather from you and your clients, so if you have got any thoughts or opinions you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them. You can drop me an email at matt.kingston@thenottingham.com.

I look forward to working with as many of you as possible over the coming months and years.

Matt Kingston
National Sales Manager