A Day in the Life of… a Senior Business Development Manager, Venture Capital

Name: Anne Slater-brooks

Company: Triple Point 

Job Title: Senior Business Development Manager 

Linked In profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneslaterbrooks/

What does your company do?

Triple Point offer a range of investment strategies that help to solve problems that society faces. Each problem creates opportunities for investors. Our funding transforms public services, gets businesses off the ground, and even kickstarts whole markets whilst providing valuable tax incentives in some cases.

How long have you worked at your company / how did you get your role? (brief career history)

I have been with Triple Point for four years and previously spent 22 years in a variety of sales roles in the intermediary market. In basic terms I’ve been promoting investments, pensions and tax planning solutions via financial advisers (rather than direct to consumer) for a long time!! 

What training/qualifications do you need to be a <insert job title>?

Entry level jobs are possible from A level but many firms will ask for graduate level entrants from any discipline. For sales roles, it is not the degree that is important but the personal attributes of a candidate – a desire to graft and the resilience to accept knockbacks are essential qualities of any prospective sales person. Once you are in a role, you will need to work towards level 4 or 6 professional qualifications from the PFS, CISI or LIBF. This will help develop your knowledge, increase your confidence and give you greater credibility with your clients.

I opted for the Personal Finance Society route and sought to achieve the highest status of Fellow as soon as possible. I joined the industry in 1996 and felt that I needed to get ahead on qualifications to be taken seriously in a very male dominated industry. Hopefully that has changed!

What does a typical day look like for you?

My role is to promote a range of investment solutions to financial advisers, some of which have tax planning benefits. One day I might be working from home delivering technical webinars on tax planning opportunities to advisers or having 121 meetings with advisers and prospective clients. The next day I may be doing the same but in face to face meetings in my region. Each meeting is always different as we discuss different clients, their needs and concerns and then tailor the conversation to that particular client. It helps to have a genuine interest in people and to really want to help them achieve their goals.

I also do business generation workshops, networking and social events and of course admin!

What do you enjoy the most in your job?

Interacting with people and helping my advisers and their clients to achieve their goals. Whether that is helping an adviser grow his business or develop relationships with accountants and solicitors or whether it is sitting with a potential investor and talking through our solutions and how they can help them and their family. It’s very rewarding to know that we can help save people money and help their families on their death.

What core skills do you need to do your job?

Interpersonal skills and genuine curiosity. Good organisational skills are essential too as I might be working on 100 plus potential client scenarios at any time. Presentation skills are definitely an asset but you don’t need to be amazing when you join the industry. As I mentioned previously, resilience is essential as not everyone will want your service and it can take time to build a client base in a given area.

What advice do you have for young women interested in getting into the investment industry?

Do not be deceived into thinking that Investment Management is the cut-throat, profit at all cost industry that you see perceived in Hollywood movies. Whilst that may be the case in some companies, there are many investment management firms who genuinely want to achieve positive returns for clients whilst delivering real impact! Working for an investment company can provide you with the opportunity to make a positive impact on peoples’ lives whilst enjoying a challenging but rewarding career. I feel immensely fortunate to work in an industry that is fascinating and fun!