Brace yourselves: Our panel of broker network heads is anticipating a "whack of agents" will leave the business this year. That may not be a bad thing.
Video transcript below:
Reporter: A slow market and onerous relicensing standards chopped a block of agents from the broker channel in 2012, but that couldn’t happen again, could it? The CMP Round Table takes up the issue. A 21% agent cull Ontario took the industry by surprise in 2012. That kind of loss may not be a one off. Our panel of network heads weight the possibilities.
Mark Kerzner, President & COO, The Mortgage Group, Canada
Mark Kerzner: I think this year we are going to see 20 – 25% people in Ontario not renew their licenses. That’s a good thing and we are going to constantly lose some people when the re-licensing comes round and there is a check that they have to cut for it. But you now, I from my perspective and I can only speak from my perspective, I am very proud of the people that we bring in to our company. We have a very, very, very diligent hiring practice. We say no to a lot of people. We say yes to a lot of people too, which is great because that allows us to grow our business.
Ron De Silva, COO, RMAI Financial Group
Ron De Silva: If the real estate industry across the border, okay has a 90% churn on re-licensing situations. Why are we any different, we are not. We are basically going after the same consumer again and the brand rests with the individual in our business just like their business, right. So will we ever change that. I mean a lot of things have to change before that metric is going to change significantly. Right that includes consumer perceptions, you know even with Mark’s model and doing a whole lot of work with the individuals, you are still going to lose 25% of those individuals from the re-licensing churn, just like everybody else here in Ontario. So you know, that’s those are the challenges that we face.
Paul Therien, VP, Operations, Centum Financial Group Inc.
Paul Therien: If I am not successful, is it my fault because I am new to the industry and I haven’t received the support. So whose fault is it when the sales people aren’t successful? There has to be joint accountability I believe. In sales we have Sales Managers and an effective Sales Manager coaches and teaches their agents and walks them through regardless of industry in how to be successful and that’s what a good sales manager does. You have a lot of people that own brokerages and they do deals. If I am busy doing deals all day long, when do I have time to be an effective sales manager.
Albert Collu, President, Mortgage Architects
Albert Collu: I don’t think those individuals take their roles responsibly. I think you have individuals that have built teams because their business has gone down and they haven’t the foggiest idea as to why, so what’s the best way to increase income is only just recruit anyone with a pulse, that’s number one. Number two I think there is some behaviour as it relates to lending and / brokering that has put all the pressure in other areas where people need to see volume and number three let’s call a spade a spade, it starts with leadership all of us. If we are going to tolerate [them or] within our organisations, shame on us. I am appalled, shocked at the number of people that enter our industry and they don’t even know what they are plan of attack is.
