It's not acceptable to leave clients in the dark, says former bar manager who switched to mortgages

“The industry as a whole could probably do a lot better, in regards to communication with clients,” according to broker Mark Valentine. “I don't think there's enough people who try and help, especially really, first-time buyers who don't understand the market and don't understand what they need to do, they don't understand the fees involved. You really have to be on top of your communication with clients.”
Valentine (pictured), who is director of his own business, MV Mortgages, based in Shrewsbury, explained it was the most important business lesson he had learned.
“We have had clients in the past before who have said brokers have not got back to them or estate agents aren't ringing them,” he said. “If something has gone wrong, rather than even picking up the phone and saying, ‘look, we're going to have to do something else or we're you're not going to be able to do it this time,’ I have heard people just haven't got back to them at all. You wouldn’t want to be treated like that yourself. Why is that acceptable?” He added: “Obviously, for every one bad broker there's hundreds of good brokers, aren't there, that's a given, but it does happen, unfortunately.”
For 10 years, Valentine managed a bar, where he developed the customer service and communication skills which he would subsequently draw upon in his career as a mortgage broker.
Rubbing shoulders with up and coming comedians such as Jason Manford and Sarah Millican, whom the venue hosted and who would go on to become household names, Valentine enjoyed the variety of his job.
“I fell into bar management and I just loved it - I loved the socialising and being customer-facing,” he told Mortgage Introducer. “Speaking with customers and building a relationship with them - I always really enjoyed that. Staying up until 2 o’clock every morning wasn't a great a great way to live though. It wasn't really sustainable as you get older. And, obviously, when you’re wanting to settle down and start a family, it wasn't the best option.”
Valentine knew that he needed to change his career, he was good with numbers and another customer-facing role seemed a natural progression. Work followed with Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and M&S Bank, before he embarked on his CeMAP training. “I wanted a bit more for my career, something a bit more fulfilling,” he explained. “I always thought about the self-employed lifestyle, and wanted to make my own way with things.”
Read more: Mortgage industry risks losing top brokers over one issue
A reputation built on communicating well
Whereas other newly-trained brokers may have taken the option of being employed, Valentine decided to become a self-employed contractor. Today, eight years on, he is director of his own business, MV Mortgages, based in Shrewsbury, offering mortgage and protection advice.
Its good reputation is, in part based, on the good communication which Valentine values so strongly.
“I'd like to think that we're available all the time as a business, and certainly that's how I built a reputation over the years,” he explained, “You need to be available for people, they have to ask questions in the evening. You need to do meetings whenever really, if that's going out to clients’ houses in the evening or on Teams. People almost expect that service now. I love working for my clients and doing the best job possible for them.”
Valentine believes it is a great industry in which to work and although he took the self-employed route early on, his view now is that brokers coming into the profession are best placed being employed with a decent lead source, for example within an estate agency, to learn the ropes.
“I think you probably learn quicker if you're being flushed with leads,” he reasoned. “but we've got to be careful as an industry that we don't have too many brokers fighting over too many leads as well. People have to make money in the industry. If you have too many brokers, then you're going to struggle. It's about quality really rather than quantity.”