Bridging Finance Needs Experts - Your 3 Stage Guide To Expert Status

• Don’t be fooled; experience and expertise are not the same.
• Knowledge alone will not make you an expert.
• Gaining expert status will win you customers, respect amongst peers and increase your personal value.
• Becoming an expert is in your control – follow a simple 3 step formula

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of expertise or the ‘expert’. That lofty moniker bestowed on us by others that says we are at the top of our game, one of the best, part of the establishment, and masters of the complex. Many claim to be one but few are, and all too often experience or competence are mistaken or promoted as expertise. Unlike academic awards the ‘bar’ to attain expert status is often entirely subjective, self-awarded and difficult to challenge. It seems everyone either wants to be an expert or claims they are, and not for good reason; the stakes are high: If you really are an expert, you should enjoy charging premium prices, repeat custom and respect amongst customers and peers.

Opportunity Beckons

But before we move on, some context and a reminder of why the short term and bridging sector exists as I believe it’s relevant when discussing the merits of expertise. This sector exists because large banks with infinitely greater resource than we could collectively muster have decided this market is too complex, too difficult and too risky to compete in. It’s also probably a little too small also, but the net result is that we exist to serve customers whose needs are typically viewed as too complex and too idiosyncratic, leaving customers underserved by mainstream lenders who continue to move towards products and services that are homogenous and commoditised. For you, this is a great opportunity.

According to recent research from Mintel the short term and bridging market is set to expand by just under 40% over the next five years, Mintel also reports a significant number of new entrants and other firms eying the sector with a view to entering within the next year or so. Add to this the increasing sophistication of product offerings, customer needs and funding models the talent pool is likely to struggle to keep pace with demand. For bridging and short-term lending professionals this is good news as firms are forced to compete harder for the best talent, but for firms it poses a threat as in an ever more complex market, a shortage of expert talent could dampen growth. For individuals, the opportunity to move ahead in this market is significant, and making that leap from knowledgeable and competent to expert status is likely to bring significant financial rewards, status and recognition from customers and peers, and provide endurance and longevity to careers through the business cycle.

This article is unashamedly in favour and supportive of the notion of experts, expertise and experience in the bridging market. Whilst that may sound like a classic case of stating the obvious the idea of expertise in itself is no longer a concept beyond reproach in a way that it may have once been. For example, during the lead up to EU referendum Michael Gove famously said that Britain has had enough of so called experts, the thinking being that experts in recent history had repeatedly got it wrong – from Michael Fish’s Hurricane to the Financial Crash and Brexit, a litany of career shredding moments have beset many of the world’s greatest and most respected experts.

However, overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that experts’ judgments can be highly accurate and reliable. Further, that experts deploy more effective strategies, identify patterns in complex situations, have a heightened sense-making and anticipatory thinking capacity, and are intrinsically motivated to work and solve problems that stretch their capabilities. All of these attributes look and feel like the kind qualities you may wish of yourself and your bridging industry partners.

Finding your place

Here’s the problem; whether a broker, lender, lawyer or surveyor, engaged in the Bridging or shorter term lending market you will probably recognise that not all lending is the same and that there is a very broad spectrum of deals and scenarios in which bridging and short term products are used. From a simple vanilla bridge to fund a Mrs & Mrs Smith property chain break, right through to a complex structured finance deal on ‘ground up’ development, it will be one or more of the numerous and varied flavours of the same lending are likely to be part or all of the solution. Yet, and at the risk of stating the obvious again, these deals are often chalk and cheese when it comes to capabilities, resources, and expertise required to successfully execute, so much so that in other areas of finance this level of variation would have probably spawned a new sector or business. So it stands to reason that within the range of simple to complex a differing degree or type of expertise is required. Most experts are specialists in a narrow field, and if you concede that short term lending is a broad range of specialisms, in which area should you specialise and become expert? It’s often a tough question to answer but the simple answer is to stick with what you are good at. If you follow the three part formula you’ll quickly understand where your talents lie.

Getting started.

Once you have decided it’s time to up your game figuring out your game plan is critical. You’ll need to consider where you believe you are against where you need to be. What external considerations are likely to affect your game plan, for example family commitments, whether you need to change jobs first, or the need to make life changes. You should also consider health and fitness, and adopting the typical habits of high performers.

Plan out what your personal goals are, how long you are prepared to give it, and develop a clear mental picture of who you want to be. Study the habits and routines of your expert peers, how they dress and how they present themselves. If you know what you want to specialise in, list out the skills and talents required and gap analyse yourself.

Once you have mapped this out and you have your head in the right place you are ready to get going.

Your 3 Stage Guide To Expert Status.

#1 Knowledge

Google will tell you that facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education and the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject is the definition of knowledge. In practical terms as a Bridging professional when compared to say a Surveyor or Lawyer there is no ‘approved’ or well-trodden route to gaining the knowledge you require to acquire expert status, so you’ll have to plan this out yourself. Whilst it’s true to say that knowledge is gained through experience, experience requires time, repetition, and learning so there is a definite element of ‘chicken and egg’.

Useful Knowledge ‘Hacks’.

If you really can’t wait for the passage of time and the gaining of experience consider taking some of the many courses available relating to property matters; check out City & Guilds, Cilex Law School, London Institute of Banking and Finance to name a few who can offer you accredited, recognised qualifications in Law, Property and Regulation. And don’t forget to read and listen to podcasts, there is a vast selection of great material much of which is freely available online. Don’t forget to log what you have done.

Learning in this way provides you with structure, content, and will greatly improve your critical thinking skills, and how you articulate concepts and knowledge with authority. These are precisely the kinds of attributes and qualities that an ‘expert’ would be expected to have.

Knowledge is power and will be a major contributor to your journey to expert status and that premium position you are looking for.

#2 Process

What has process got to do with being an expert? Typically, being ‘expert’ is the deployment of knowledge unconsciously. Being proficient or competent is the deployment of knowledge consciously and to a consistent standard, therefore it stands to reason that to get to ‘expert’ you have to pass through a stage where you are ‘proficient’ or ‘competent’. Process matters as it plays a key role in the consistent deployment of knowledge into a meaningful and useful outcome. Sounds lofty, highbrow and a bit academic, but process is what saves you time and aids in the delivery of expertise. There are some useful strategies to help you navigate this.

Useful Process ‘Hacks’.

Experts can do it in their sleep. To do this they master process and don’t waste time on inefficiency. So consider ditching low-value activities like basic administrative tasks, inefficient emails, and unfocused meetings. Instead, dedicate your time to value-added activities that will enhance your knowledge and expertise. Focus only on what you are good at and don’t get hung up on the things you are not so good at. Study relevant policy, process and legal requirements to understand what applies to you and what does not. This will help you filter out background noise and distractions, and provide you with valuable knowledge, authority and subject matter expertise. Process should work for you not against you so ask yourself if your processes and how you work support your status or journey to expert.

#3 Experience

For the avoidance of doubt just because you have experience doesn’t mean you are an expert. As such, experience and expertise are not the same things. Author Malcolm Gladwell in his book ‘Outliers’ tells us that it take 10,000 hours to master a skill and whilst this is highly debateable the principle surely holds water. To master a skill requires repetition of the subject matter over and over across a passage of time – we shall call this ‘experience’. During the process you can expect to go from novice to competent and if you work hard enough and long enough you may achieve ‘expert’ status.

Useful Experience ‘Hacks’.

Knowledge, Process and repetition have pivotal roles to play in gaining experience and much of which is in your gift to influence. You can’t accelerate time, but you can accelerate repetition and knowledge – see more customers, do more hours, put your hand up for extra work, take more courses, read more journals and you will gain more experience more quickly. To be an expert you can’t cut corners on Knowledge, Process and repetition, but you can cram more into a shorter timeline. This useful hack will also help you stand out from the crowd and will help build your self-confidence in your area of expertise. Don’t forget, that half the battle of ‘expert’ status is what others think of you. Going the extra mile to gain useful experience faster will put you head and shoulders above your peers.

And lastly…

If you do make the grade and you and others can consider you an expert, it is (I would suggest) a moral and ethical duty to cascade your expertise down to others. This isn’t simply an act of altruism, there is a lot of pleasure to be gained from giving knowledge as well as taking it. If you are do become an expert you will have power and as the saying goes with power comes responsibility. Treat it with care.

This article was first published in Business Moneyfacts 'Bridging Finance Focus in October 2018

About the Author.

Chris Gardner is the Chief Operating Officer for Amicus Finance PLC, and has a special interest in team performance, talent development and organisational optimisation. Previously, Chris held senior roles in a number of financial services companies and was a founder of a leading mortgage distributor later sold to Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns International. Chris has also consulted, holds a Master’s Degree in Financial Services Management, and is a Fellow of London Institute of Banking and Finance.