The dicotomy of between O’Leary Mortgages and mortgage brokers?

There has been much uproar in the Canadian mortgage community about Kevin O’Leary and the creation of O’Leary Mortgages.  Many mortgage brokers are upset that his mortgage product bypasses mortgage brokers and "trivializes" our role. Personally, I welcome O’Leary Mortgages into the mortgage mix. Hopefully his mortgage product can make its way into Quebec. Kevin's profile will bring more attention to the mortgage industry.

I love my job as a mortgage broker but for the average person mortgages and debt is still a mystery. Here is where a mortgage broker should be instrumental. Our role is to find the right mortgage for our clients' needs but also guide our clients to pay down their mortgage, help our clients' manage their debt, how to fix/maintain one's credit, among other things within the box of our mortgage license.

Whether you love him or not, Kevin O’Leary is successful and appears to be an advocate for the broker model. Kevin is correct in the broker model is not the sole model of delivering mortgages to the consumer. Let's face it if a client wants an ING mortgage they can apply directly online to ING. I think that Kevin is challenging our profession to do better. As a profession we must provide value of our client today, on an ongoing basis and in the future. "#Being awesome," Scott Stratten shares in his book The Book of Awesomeness is critical.

Scott Stratten's presentation about Awesomeness at the Mortgage Forum 2012 in Vacouver

Scott is an advocate for quality of product but more importantly that we are in an age demanding excellent customer service. As broker we must provide exceptional customer service and value as this is what will keep customer's returning to you rather than just rate. Clients get it and need that advice! But it's up to us to keep stepping up and evolving with the times whether it delivering on service, banking developments or technology. Hence why I say I support O’Leary Mortgages. As mortgage brokers we need to continue evolving and provide value to customers. O’Leary Mortgages will also bring more attention to the mortgage brokerage channel. After all, approximately 44% of overall Canadians actually use our services.

CAAMP Mortgage Conference Review

I just returned from spending a few days at the Mortgage Forum 2012 in Vancouver. The event is organized by the Canadian Association of Mortgage Professionals or CAAMP. Before I left for the conference I told all my clients and friends that my mom let's me go to CAAMP. Gotta love bad mortgage humor...

CAAMP stage for the marketing & customer service panel

This Forum is held annually and herds mortgage brokers, banks and other service providers all in the same conference center from across Canada. This year several panels were created that discussed the direction of the mortgage industry, the direction of the Canadian economy, mortgage client customer service and marketing. First and foremost the economist panel pretty much all agreed that they do not foresee rates going up anytime soon and if they do it would be a small increase. So everyone out there don't worry about rates going up especially if you are looking to buy for next summer or refinance.

In previous blog entries I raised concern about Canadian household debt. After his panel, I informally chatted with Carlos Leitao from Laurentian Bank, more about debt and income levels. Carlos mentioned that unsecured debt was not a problem in Canada yet he did not mention about secured debt. I also asked Carlos about Canadian wages which he agreed wages have not increased accordingly.

 

Bank economists discussing state of Canadian Economy (hosted by Amanda Land; economists: Warren Jestin from Scotiabank, Carlos Leitao from Laurentian Bank, & Stephane Marion from National Bank)

What was most remarkable about the conference was the panel on public perception and customer service quality. Based on stats presented by Rob Daniel from Maritz Canada, only about 44% of Canadians use a mortgage broker. This tells us that we as an industry are still not getting the word out about our role and the value we provide. Clients that do use a mortgage broker statistically appear to be pleased with our work but we need to continue to communicate with our clients after they have received their mortgage.

Host Amanda Land asking a question to Rob Daniel

The last part of the Forum focused on marketing, customer service and role of technology in business. David Usher launched the discussion speaking about creativity, virtually everything is learn-able and that in every business fear is what drives our personal limits.   

David Usher speaking and later singing

Randi Zuckerberg speaking about her experience building Facebook with her brother

Biz Stone sharing his experience building Twitter and role of philanthropy in marketing

The discussion was quarterbacked by Scott Stratten who spoke about social media being a conversation and communication vehicle.

Overall, the event was well worth attending but also eye opening. The experiences shared by Biz Stone, Randi Zuckerberg, David Usher, Mitch Joel and Scott Stratten have helped me realize a few things in terms how to cultivate better customer service and relationships.