George Dodds, managing director of Homebank, said: “Two years ago our industry was going through one of its golden ages, thanks to a buoyant economy and booming housing market. However, with the abundance of opportunities available, sales people became order takers and the art of establishing need in a client and then filling that need seems to have been lost.
“Even basic sales skills took a backseat, particularly in the mortgage market. As a result, as the country comes out of recession and we are looking to expand our sales operation, many candidates brought up in the days of plenty, just do not seem to have not the skills or attitude we need to move forward in this changed environment, even though every adviser receives free fully qualified leads.”
Dodds says Homebank is investing heavily in training new recruits and will pay for new candidates to take their CeMap and other professional exams.
He added: “We have found with today’s crop of ‘experienced’ mortgage advisers, all the training in the world is of no value if there is no intention to learn or acquire even the most basic of skills to become successful in today’s market. Unless we can find advisers out there to prove me wrong, regretfully, we are going to have to look elsewhere for the right talent.”
