Name: Darren Deacon
Age: 52
Location: Home based, Leicestershire. Head office, Epsom
Qualification Year: Started in banking in August 1989
Firm: Family Building Society
Specialty: Mortgages (later life; buy-to-let; family assisted mortgages; self-employed; first-time buyer and specialist lending)
Education: GCSE’s and CeMAP
Interests: Football, golf, travel and socialising
Training and Career Beginnings
- What inspired you to pursue a career in mortgage sales?
In August 1989 I started out as a fresh faced 16-year-old with Barclays Bank in Leicester. This gave me a fantastic grounding in all aspects of banking. Since then, I have worked for several financial institutions and along the way developed a keen interest in mortgages.
I have been involved in all aspects – as a mortgage adviser, regulated mortgage complaint handler, mortgage underwriter and BDM.
- What did you learn from that?
The experience I gained of not only giving advice on mortgages but also selling on a B2B basis has given me a thorough understanding of the risks involved and what it takes to be successful.
I joined Family Building Society over eight years ago as a BDM and I was excited by the challenge of growing my own patch at a little-known lender, yet one of the fastest growing building societies.
The journey has been incredible, and I strive to bring my experience and enthusiasm to the sales team every day.
FAMILY BUILDING SOCIETY
- Family Building Society recently launched a a refreshed range of mortgage products. What drove the decision to expand these offerings?
We recently increased our max LTV to 90% for our Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) mortgage. We have been in this space for some time and recognise the importance of inter-generational lending.
Our team of nine BDMs are talking to brokers daily and give the senior management team regular feedback. One such piece of feedback is that we know there are still pressures on FTBs to meet affordability checks and struggling to save enough deposit.
We have introduced this change to overcome these hurdles and the fact that we can lend up to age 95 means that parents or other family members can financially help younger relatives on to the property ladder.
We recently increased our LTV on BTL mortgages and consider applications for BNO passport holders. Our BDMs are hugely experienced in the wider mortgage market and will always look to add value to the service brokers provide to their customers.
- Why is a client-focused philosophy important to you in your role as head of sales?
We deal with complex lending situations daily. This is growing as borrower needs and wants are getting ever more complicated.
The Family is a manual underwriter which means that we can take a human approach to lending decisions many of which require us to think outside of the box.
A broker will often give us a basic outline of the customer’s scenario, and we will provide solutions that fit our lending criteria and also that of the customer.
I speak with my sales team collectively and individually on a regular basis. We talk to brokers about almost every case they bring to us and focus on helping them support their customers.
Many of these customers are underserved by the major lenders, many of which are just not interested in lending to older, retired borrowers, for example.
- What lessons from your previous roles in the mortgage industry have shaped how you lead the sales strategy at Family Building Society today?
Honesty and integrity have always been a key takeaway from the best leaders I have worked for. I see each BDMs area as a franchise where in our case we, the lender, provides the products and branding, the BDM is given the tools and support to grow this franchise.
I promote autonomy throughout the team and give honest feedback. Being able to share best practice among the BDMs is also crucial to building a successful team.
Leadership and Vision
- As Family Building Society grows, what’s your long-term vision for the sales team and are there new markets or product areas you’re eager to explore?
As mentioned previously the team is already very experienced and we have nine BDMs covering the whole of the UK.
The Society has ambitious growth plans over the next five years. 2024 was a record year of lending and my vision is that we continue to work together as a tight knit team with one common purpose to build on our successes. T
here are several of our key lending areas I am keen to refine further such as Later Life, FTB, JBSP, BTL, Ex-pat, Self-employed plus other new products for HNW clients and Bridging Finance.
