For anyone looking to build their own brand, the idea behind joining a national network and becoming part of a "chain" just like Tim Hortons or Subway must seem like the least likely of all options. For the three brokers below, not only did joining a national network help them realize their goals, but they've been able to maintain their identities, and in turn, their own brands.
The obvious advantages are access to things like volume bonuses, back-end support and technology, but all these pale in comparison to finding a brokerage that is willing to allow you to pursue your dream of building a brand and watching it grow beyond the confines of a single office.
My way or the information superhighway
Anthony De Almeida recognized the power of the Internet long before mortgage brokers were setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts. In fact, it was long before such sophisticated social networking sites even existed, back in 1999.
"I was always online," he says. "When mortgage websites were just in their infancy, I threw everything into mine."
For De Almeida, president and CEO of Axiom CanEquity, the strategy worked, and in the time since his website has generated 40,000 applications nationwide. His initial Calgary office has also grown to include Abbotsford, B.C., Regina, Toronto, Montreal and just this past April, Dartmouth, N.S.
"We're actually continuing to grow in Ontario and the Maritimes," he says. "People just want to use our banner."
But things weren't always that way, as De Almeida talks of the growing pains in finding the right people, and the importance of focusing on quality, rather than just "exploding and growing and having anyone represent my company."
One year ago CanEquity joined with Axiom, but De Almeida wanted to keep the brand he had worked hard to establish. The fit was natural though, because not only is he an owner at Axiom, but "a lot of the synergies at Axiom were running parallel to mine," he says, adding "there is a lot of work involved in creating a national network. Why reinvent the wheel when you don't have to?"
When De Almeida first started the Internet was truly seen as a borderless world, but today things are changing and provinces are cracking down on brokers who try to practice out of province without the proper credentials.
"Unless you're a business major then this is a major undertaking," he says. "You still have to be the broker, then the accountant and the business owner. That's a lot of hats to wear."
Not to mention the time and cost it takes to set up in each province, which in some cases can take up to six months and anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000. It took De Almeida years to be "in tune with every provincial mortgage act," he says, and he recommends for any broker wishing to do the same today to set up an arrangement with a national network that shares your vision.
"You don't need to lose your identity or change your name. I run my company one way and don't need to be told how to do it."
Living the brand
When Alyson Theisen joined Mortgage Intelligence five years ago her goal was to do 10 mortgages a month in her slippers from home, but after some coaxing at head office, today she finds
herself with eight locations (five in Alberta, three
in B.C.) and 16 staff.
"It looks like it grew fast, but it's been slow and steady," she says. "I grow, get used to it, and then grow again. There is a lot to be learned in the plateaus."
The most peculiar thing about Theisen's growth is that, according to her, it all sort of just happened. But after one chat with her on the phone it's obvious that her enthusiasm and devotion to the team brand, which she calls the "get 'er done girls" (and one guy), and natural energy is really what has allowed her business to expand as much as it has.
"I don't believe in recruiting," she says. "People are called to my team. I go very much on gut."
Theisen also prefers "newbies" because her major focus is on training and team cohesion, which allows her brand to stay consistent.
"You can have a great brand but if your agents are crap then what good is it?" she asks.
To emphasize this even more she points to the fact that of all their ads, no matter what agents are in it, they are in the same pose. "We all look the same," she says, and it might have something to do with the fact that the get 'er done girls also have their own clothing line.
But Theisen's enthusiasm also finds its way out into the public, through contests that reward deserving women with a trip for two to Banff, and what she calls their "random acts of kindness."
"We decided when we were going to start doing it that it wasn't going to be about us, but instead all about the community," she says, adding that they did get a substantial amount of press on it.
And while for her giving back to the community and simply "living the brand" is all in a day's work, you can't help but wonder if all that positive energy is behind the enormous success she's had so far.
Brand within a brand
When Peter Kinch, this year's CMP Top 50 broker, gives you his business card the first thing he points out is the map of Canada on the back. To the left of it is a blue box that says "PK approved", to the right is the Dominion Lending Centres' logo. It sums up his aspirations to launch his brand, the Peter Kinch mortgage team, Canada-wide, but using the help of DLC to do it. And with two onboard in Ontario and two in Alberta, he's setting his sites on Saskatchewan and the Maritimes next.
"DLC allowed me the ability to create a vision and build a brand within a brand," he says. "I needed to figure out the best way to balance leads coming in from every province, and when I sat down with DLC we came up with the PK-approved system."
The idea behind the system stems from the fact that Kinch has established himself in a very lucrative and demanding niche - real estate investors - through various speaking engagements with the Real Estate Investor's Network (REIN), one book, "97 Tips for Real Estate Investors", with one more on the way, plus an ubiquitous presence on TV and radio. Now any real estate investor can go to a PK-approved DLC broker and expect to get the same treatment as they would going directly to Kinch.
"I analysed the issue around provincial regulations and found out it was a logistical nightmare," he says. "Partnering with a brokerage was most like a referral network, but it would only be with high quality franchises in each province that I could be sure could provide the same service to investors, and all they have to do is put a little PK-approved symbol on their card."
He also realized that it's less expensive to brand a name as it is a company, as the likelihood of confusing his old name, the Canadian Mortgage Team, on Google was more likely than the Peter Kinch Mortgage Team. It also doesn't cost money to be interviewed in the media, so before long, without spending money on traditional ads, people will start to recognize you.
"I haven't spent a dime on advertising at all. There is much more power in providing editorial comment," he says.
Now Kinch, by simply providing other "approved" brokers in the DLC network with access to his proprietary tools and training methods, as well as his very loyal network of clients, is able to realize his dreams and expand his name across the country, as well as enjoy the referral fees, the behind the scenes support of a national network, and last but not least, the volume bonuses.