Hub Heroes…Hazel Nolan

With Mastermind worthy level of mortgage knowledge and real life lending genius all that’s missing from our team of hub heroes is the capes. Today we talk to Hazel Nolan a telephone business development manager and reveal how 30 years in financial services has armed her with plenty of experience to deal with even the most complex of calls…

When did you join TML?

18-months ago after working with Barclay’s and JP Morgan in investments for 15 years.   

Who is your BDM buddy? 

Malcolm Etchells, he’s our BDM for the North East and West Yorkshire – I call him my work husband. 

Average no. of calls taken a day?

No two days are ever the same at The Mortgage Lender – which is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much – it can be anywhere from 60 to 90 calls a day. But my role isn’t just about taking calls, we also respond to all the emails from brokers, we’re problem solvers, we reach out to brokers who have registered, and recently we’ve also been supporting the underwriting team too.

Sum up your role at The Mortgage Lender?

Together with Malcolm I help support brokers. Malcolm is the face-to-face support for brokers, either in person (although not for most of this year) or virtually, and I’m available on the phone and on email. Each pairing of BDM and Telephone BDM is called a ‘dedicated duo’ because we work as a team to give the brokers all the support they need.

What’s your background – how did you get to be so experienced and knowledgeable about financial services?

Spending 30 years in financial services.

What do you enjoy most about working at The Mortgage Lender?

The variety the work offers and the fast pace. I was attracted to TML because it’s a young business that isn’t afraid to evolve. There is no ‘this is that way it’s always been done’ mentality here.

The team is also a huge part of why I enjoy the job. It’s a welcoming team, something I felt the minute I came to the office in Glasgow over 18 months ago for my job interview. I miss not being with them every day as we’re all working remotely, but we keep in touch daily on WhatsApp and we have regular video calls.

What are the most important skills for your role and why?

Being a good communicator and a problem solver. Knowledge and experience is so important too – often brokers want to pick up the phone, talk to a human and get answers to their questions quickly. They want good customer service.

Just this week in fact I had a call from a broker that hadn’t used TML before and who I hadn’t spoken to before. When I picked up the phone he sounded surprised and said: “I’m not ready for you…I expected to be on hold…it didn’t ring once!”

He was even more surprised when I told him we’re picking up applications in 48-hours when he had just been told by a high street lender that they’re working to 18-days.

Being honest with brokers is also important, it doesn’t help them or me if I tell them just what they want to hear. And being able to understand the challenges they face.

What’s the biggest compliment you’ve ever received from a broker and why was it given?

Thank yous are nice, but actions are more important – if you build trust and a relationship with a broker and they come to rely on you that’s the biggest compliment you can get.

Who would you love to receive a phone call from and why?

My idol is Jeffrey Archer. I picked up a book of his, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, when I was 10 years old and read it from cover to cover in one night. I’ve read everything he’s ever done since. I’m not sure what I would ask him if I spoke to him on the phone – I might be a bit star struck – but I would just like to thank him as his books peaked my interest in the arts, in history and politics.

Tell us something surprising about you?

Something a lot of people don’t know is that I’m a trained actress and in 1989 me and two friends wrote a play together that won an award and I was named most promising actress. Aside from missing a good night out and a bit of a boogie this year, I’ve really missed not being able to go to the theatre.