The brokerage's new director of business development highlights Citadel’s strides towards becoming an industry leader
Joining Citadel Mortgages earlier this year, Corey Bahadur (pictured) is currently the director of business development for the brokerage, as well as for Citadel Network and the Citadel Lending Hub.
Bahadur’s appointment came “as Citadel Mortgages continues to grow its presence and inserts the brand across Canada as a trending leader in the industry,” the brokerage said.
“In this new role I will be working with fellow mortgage agents, brokers, and brokerage owners looking to join the Citadel Network to help enhance their business with our first-to-market Al La Cart model that allows brokerage owners to empower and grow their business,” Bahadur told Canadian Mortgage Professional.
“I will also help many industry agents and brokers in our channel with one to four years of experience with the Citadel difference, on how we can help grow and scale your business in a way that outpaces any current model in the market from any other brand.”
Prior to Citadel, Bahadur cut his teeth on the media side of the mortgage space with CMP.
“It allowed me to meet so many lenders and brokers and develop long-lasting partnerships that will no doubt help me in my new role,” Bahadur said.
“CMP introduced me to the mortgage industry. I was then debating on if joining a lender or brokerage would be the better path. Because I love helping people any way I can, I decided to join Citadel as their director of business development.”
This choice came about due to the versatility that Citadel offers its professionals.
“I have not seen another brokerage and network provide as much flexibility to agents as Citadel does,” Bahadur said. “With our white label products, we can also assist other brokerages and brokers on their journey. This allows me to keep the relationships I have built and still provide beneficial solutions to all.”
Citadel allowed Bahadur to fully exercise what he called “the lost art of listening to understand, not to respond.”
“There are many times where someone will hear a point in a statement and tune out the rest of the statement as they have already deduced the answer,” Bahadur said. “It is a disservice to do so as you are not listening to understand. Actual listening benefits everyone in the discussions. Many brokers over the last year have expressed how they feel their brand isn’t always listening to their needs and rather focused on their own business goals. By joining Citadel Mortgages in my new role, I feel I am best equipped now to help many of my partner brokers find the perfect balance.”
Another factor that contributed to Bahadur’s choice was that Citadel offers “something different”.
“As a fully independent brokerage that is truly putting agents and brokers first, it was an easy decision,” Bahadur said.
Citadel’s tools are front and centre when it comes to its broker-centric strategy.
“By providing so much technology and support on the base level, we are assisting our existing Citadel family,” Bahadur said. “However, our white label training technology is something that a lot of brokerages could benefit from. Our lending hub gives access to rates that are not available to all brokers. Instead of simply recruiting, we are accepting members to the Citadel family while still supporting the broker channel.”
Bahadur said that this allows Citadel to give brokers what they need to achieve the common industry goals of support and transparency.
“Citadel Mortgages started to fill some of these gaps four years ago, and in that time, we have seen others try and mirror some items as well,” Bahadur said. “The biggest difference is that we are not doing this to increase our bottom line. Instead, we have always been, and will continue to be, the ones that are doing this to empower the broker themselves.”
Citadel’s “Al La cart model” is emblematic of this strategy, allowing agents, brokers, and brokerage owners alike to customize their solutions as their situations require – while paying a smaller fee compared to other service providers.
“See, most brokers and brokerages today do not need an all-in-one model like the old days,” Bahadur said. “Today, each brokerage or broker has their own unique needs that stems from their business, so this approach generally allows them to achieve the desired results. As the years go on, we feel this model will grow as the up-and-coming brokers are more laser focused on a certain goal or model.”
This is buttressed by the organization’s culture of constant communication, “not just through reminder emails, but through our group chat where we go over live scenarios.”
“We have daily training in our virtual office that covers a number of different obstacles,” Bahadur said. “We discuss ways to build your business, how to use your social media for marketing, on-boarding client scripts for those who may need some help on their first few meetings and more. We celebrate as a team for all our wins. This allows brokers to know that they are truly part of the Citadel family.”
Bahadur encouraged industry newcomers to seek out organizations “that see value in you – organizations that are looking to actually train and provide constant support.”
“For new agents, look at the entire package,” he said. “Do not listen to industry gossip. Stay true to who you are.”
