Interaction
Along with having knowledge, sharing it in a clear and memorable way is the foundation of mentoring. Graham says the first activity she asks of new brokers is to act out the process of getting a mortgage application from a client. She also asks them to come up with a 30-second "commercial" to sell themselves (and their services) to a new client.
"We get them to practice their pitch so when they're talking to someone about what they're doing, they can explain it quickly and in a way that feels natural to them," she says. "Then we get them to contact what we call their 'wedding list' - their family and friends and anybody they would invite to their wedding - and let those people know what they're doing."
After the introductory activities, Graham starts coaching brokers on how to generate sales, including how to sell to a realtor, a financial planner and a new home builder.
"Our focus at the beginning is to get them to the point where they're out there selling mortgages," she says. "We feel we can tell them a lot in advance about underwriting deals and so on, but they don't learn it until they're actually doing it."
Dreyer takes a similar approach to new recruits, saying the first thing they should focus on is their "unique proposition" to clients - in other words, how they should build trust and rapport with a client in less than two minutes. He also favours role-playing activities. "For our team, we've found role-playing very successful. For example, if a client says this, what's a good response, because you want to make sure you're listening to your clients and finding out their specific needs," he says.
Dreyer also holds discussion groups with his new team members covering topics like referral sources and also comes up with deal scenarios, asking brokers how they would tackle them. "Once a new broker brings in a deal, the key things they need to know is, where does the deal go?" says Dreyer. "You need a mentorship experience to make sure the broker can give the client the best advice."
Passion
While being a mentor or trainer for other brokers can be part of a strategic business plan, it's also - as clich‚ as it might sound - giving back to the industry. In other words, not only self-serving.
"You definitely can't be in it for the money - you have to have the frame of mind that you want to make a contribution to the industry," says Krause. "When I started teaching and training, I thought, 'this is what I was meant to do.'"
She adds that when new brokers come out of school with a licence, they aren't yet prepared with the hands-on experience to do the job - and the best way to get that experience is to train under another broker who wants to share their time and skills. Dreyer agrees.
"I think the best training program for any broker is a mentorship program, especially if they don't have any financial background," he says. "So as a mentor, you want to be someone who is passionate about the industry and someone who wants to teach a person and see them be successful."
In fact, Dreyer adds, even after several years in the industry, he still has people he goes to for advice, including broker Greg Williamson.
"I still have mentors to this day and I think what you learn are the qualities that make someone successful, which are largely intangible," he says. "If you can learn what those qualities are and apply them, you in turn will be a success yourself."
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