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Yes there will be plenty of real estate agents looking for work. Indeed one person I spoke to was saying that a third of agents will be out of work by the end of the year. It will be a long, cold winter for many people in all sectors of financial services.
Will real estate agents sell life insurance? I don't think so.
One thing which we see plenty of, and it's happened for years, is one group of people calling other groups names. Look there are plenty of people who do a good job providing advice in real estate, life insurance, mortgages and investments. Equally in each of these areas there are people driven solely by commissions and brokerage.
For financial planners and investment advisers to be calling risk advisers and mortgage brokers is a bit rich - especially at the moment.
Let's work to raise the standards across all these areas and earn some credibility with the public.
I personally am very annoyed with Sovereign and AIG for encouraging mortgage brokers to sell Life. On the one hand they encourage us to give quality advice and attend compliance training and on the other they develop short form applications designed to get quick business, clearly without any needs analysis. What about those of us who genuinely do a good job and take the time with our clients? I won't write for these two companies while they show no loyalty to me.
As a mortgage broker who sells risk insurance (and worked for over 20 years in the insurance industry), I think it is sad that the old-fashioned risk advisers are up in arms about someone else entering their patch. I doubt it has much to do with quality and compliance and everything to do with fear of the competition. Sorry, you don't have it all your own way anymore. I think it is quite precious of risk brokers to say they spend three hours with their clients and they are specialists, etc and mortgage brokers are really just hit and run, who shouldn't be involved.
I think those same people might be surprised at just how deep we do delve. We have an instant advantage, for example, of seeing every transaction on their bank statements for the last three months, and we know what their future plans are. I would be surprised if Leonie sees that in detail and whether her clients are quite as open as maybe a mortgage customer is to their broker (who has 100% access to everything anyway). I suggest people just get on with it and embrace the competition. Those that can do mortgages and insurances successfully are to be embraced and likewise, good risk brokers can keep doing their thing.
Well Majella, it seems that everyone is cross-selling. Are you scared of the competition? As i said, if there is something to be sold, a salesman (or woman) will sell it. Only a fool will not diversify - a basic business practice is to seek new sources of revenue/product. By the sounds of it, your attitude will leave you behind. And in terms of consumer protection - isn't that what the RFPP is about? What I stated was of course a crude example, but I am sure many RE's will look to move into the finance sector - they can't all sell Kirby vacuums in a recession. Broaden those shoulders and accept you will have competition - even from those selling snake-oil.
Sharon T - You seem to believe you have a deep psychic insight into me & AMP. My business based on my simple comment that, to be SUCCESSFUL in risk sales, a new entrant will have to develop new skills, and that I responded to your "snake-oil" remark as crude and ignorant.
Did I mention consumer protection? Did I mention competition? No.
I would however observe that someone not cracking it in real estate is likely to be equally unsuccessful in risk sales. I'm not sure which industry you're currently foundering in, but to disguise the scrambling desperation implicit in your remarks as "diversifying" doesn't wash.
In response to Leonie's comment regarding AIG and Sovereign encouraging mortgage brokers to sell some kind of "short form" of personal risk cover; Her comments could not be further from the truth - I have attended many training sessions with both of these insurance companies - one I attended only yesterday - and certainly the Rep from AIG couldn't be more clear about us completing a full "needs analysis", taking information and properly preparing quotes and options ALL for client sign off for decline or acceptance.
Further as Paul says above, we have already met with the client on a number of occasions by the time we reach the point of completing a needs analysis for personal risk cover, and we have by then completed their mortgage requirements and studied at length their account conduct, their statement of position, the way they earn their income/s etc.
Often we have visited their home and met their families, and work with their other associates i.e. solicitor, accountant etc. We even fax to the solicitor completion of needs analysis with the client sign off at every point - so that the solicitor or anyone else cannot come back and accuse us of NOT offering all the options and combinations.
I personally have spent, hours, days, weeks and even months establishing the clients' needs and wants regarding mortgage and risk requirements, and would suggest as Paul does above that we as mortgage brokers know our clients much better than Leonie would suggest. Further we disclose to the client at the very initial interview our skills, background, accreditations, PI cover and so on, so as to give the client every assurance that we have the skills and the back-up to attend to their needs.
Much care and time has been taken with developing a clear process for the client to understand everything that is presented to them for sign-off within our franchise group. I would then thank Leonie for making sure that she understands the mortgage broker process before publicly criticising and defaming it. Thanks Lee
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<p>Where there is snake-oil, there is a salesman. And what of the 10,000 real estate agents that are looking to exit the industry? What will they sell? Insurance - the ideal market to now sell Income Protection etc on the incomes of those they sold over-priced houses too!!!</p>