"It’s clear that brokers still clearly value the role of BDMs and although they understand the need for lenders to evolve, moving too quickly to a hybrid approach is a concern and can damage that lender’s relationship with its brokers."
- Jacqueline Dewey, CEO of Smart Money People
As part of its Mortgage Lender Benchmark 2023, Smart Money People surveyed over 790 mortgage brokers, providing 3,666 individual pieces of feedback on 105 lenders. Of which, 83.7% either agreed or strongly agreed that Broker Distribution Managers (BDMs) play a vital role in the insurance industry. Less than 6% disagreed or strongly disagreed, with the rest unsure.
35% of brokers said their first interaction with a BDM is usually product sourcing, closely followed by hearing about a lender (32.2%). Meanwhile, when asked what they’d consider as their most valuable form of support service to serve clients effectively, 37.3% said BDMs were more valuable than phone lines, training programs/webinars, and live chat.
Unfortunately, over a third (36.4%) of brokers didn’t feel their lender gave enough BDM support. Smart Money People highlighted that this may have been caused by the move from in-person to telephone-based BDMs. Although some (43.3%) seemed comfortable with this change, many brokers blamed problems with availability and accessibility on the lack of in-person support.
Jacqueline Dewey, CEO of Smart Money People, felt that it’s now clear that brokers still value the role of BDMs and “although they understand the need for lenders to evolve, moving too quickly to a hybrid approach is a concern and can damage that lender’s relationship with its brokers.”
“Lenders who can excel in providing superior BDM support with BDMs who have good case knowledge, along with being readily available and accessible will stand out from the crown,” Jacqueline concluded.
