DLC launches training initiative with vaunted new hire

A complaint nearly as old as the mortgage brokering industry itself is the dearth of training, but Dominion Lending Centres has committed to changing that.

In hiring Doreen Walsh, formerly of First National, as its Vice President of Network Development, DLC is embarking on an educational initiative for brokers throughout its vast network—and for agents new to the industry, the prospect must be alluring.

“We’re going out into the world and finding opportunities for new brokers coming into the channel, whether they’re coming out of school or simply entering the field,” Walsh told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “It’s going to be very technology-driven, from how brokers originate mortgages to closing. We’ll be changing how things work and how people are trained so that we can make them the most successful brokers they can be.

“We’re going to have some intensive workshops. Historically, you’d get licensed, join a team, and only when you got deals did you start asking questions. What we’re doing isn’t like that—we’ll provide brokers with as many answers before they start and get their websites up so that their business is organized even before clients start coming in. They’re going to have everything down cold before they even see a deal so that they have greater success.”

At a time when lenders are placing greater emphasis on efficiencies, brokers submitting deals to underwriters will have fewer margins for error. In fact, while underwriters will never openly admit it, brokers who consistently submit files with incomplete documentation end up on blacklists.

All of that conspires to make DLC’s initiative timely.

“For lenders dealing with new agents, the latter will have more training for what lenders are looking for,” continued Walsh. “It will help efficiencies and free up time for BDMs, who often have to explain these things to agents. That’s not a BDM’s job. We want to take coaching to the next level.”

As the industry’s two largest networks, DLC and M3 Group, vie for supremacy, initiatives like this could help tip the balance. According to Eddy Cocciollo, president of DLC, a new generation of brokers is about to enter the industry and he wants them to hit the ground running.

“We’re taking responsibility for making sure these people have what they need to be successful,” he said. “We’re going out and bringing in fresh new faces, and with that comes training and education. In installing Doreen in this position, we’re confident that the next generation of mortgage brokers will get the training and education they need.”