By Dennis McCloskey
There are many ways to define success and no shortage of people willing to divulge the secret to attain it. Benjamin Disraeli said, “The secret of success is consistency of purpose,” and John D. Rockefeller suggested, “The secret of success is to do the common thing uncommonly well.”
Both definitions could be applied to Ken McLachlan and Debra Bain, but these successful Realtors say the secret is that there is no secret. McLachlan is broker of record and broker/owner of Re/Max Hallmark Realty in Toronto, and Bain is broker/owner. If pressed, the partners – who run one of the largest brokerages in the Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic franchise network – might agree with Henry David Thoreau’s version, that “success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”
McLachlan started selling real estate 32 years ago and joined Re/Max Hallmark in 1986 at an office on Pape Avenue in Toronto’s Riverdale district. There were 55 agents working in two offices at the time and McLachlan was one of four partners. Bain, who got her real estate license in 1980, joined the firm as an agent in 1993. Six years later she was managing the Queen Street East office in the Beach. By then, there were three offices, 150 agents and two owners. Five years ago, Bain bought out one of the owners, Kent Sheppard, who is now a shareholder. Today, Bain and McLachlan oversee 525 agents in seven offices in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and two in Muskoka’s cottage country, where an office opened in Port Carling in March 2010. A smaller satellite office is in Dorset. There is also a training centre on York Mills Road and an administrative office in the North Central office on Fairview Drive.
“We are always on the lookout for new opportunities to strengthen our franchise and add value to what we already have,” says McLachlan. “Sure, we’d love to have 1,000 agents one day but our vision is not about numbers, it’s about the quality of people we hire.” Bain agrees, adding that they are focused on their agents: their training, production, performance and the overall quality that drives the business.
The partners are quick to explain they are not the “end all and be all” of the company. There are 70 on staff, including people responsible for front desk reception, office administration, a head of human resources (Joy Robertson); a managing director, North Division (Steve Tabrizi); managing director Central Division (Adrienne Lake); and many more important cogs in the wheel that drive the organization.
“We encourage everyone to continually raise the bar,” says McLachlan. “As coaches, Debra and I tell everyone who works for us that our business is building their business.” The co-owners do not regard their sales associates as employees, but rather as independent businesspeople. And as this myriad of entrepreneurs grows and improves their business, Hallmark Realty grows and becomes a better company.
To help their Realtors build their businesses, Hallmark has instituted mentor and coaching programs for three levels of sales associates. Helga Teitsson is the new agent coach/mentor who works with new Realtors entering the profession. She guides them along the first six months of their career paths. For Realtors earning $100,000 to $249,000 a year, Bain has developed a group program that provides critical insights into how to run and fine-tune their current business and systems. The third level is for Realtors producing $250,000 and up, and it’s handled by McLachlan, who provides a one-on-one coaching and mentoring program that is geared to the specific and special needs and requirements of a top-producing agent.
When asked what they look for when hiring a real estate salesperson, both agreed that commitment and a passion for the business is essential. “If a person is passionate about this business and has the discipline to make a successful business of it, sales skill will follow,” says McLachlan. Bain agrees that having a passion for what you do will make everything you do significant. And it will give you energy. “You need passion, discipline and commitment because this is not an easy job,” she says. “There is a lot of competition out there; the changing landscape of technology can sometimes be daunting; and the consumer is more educated than ever. It can sometimes be an uphill battle if you are not well prepared for the challenges that face you.”
During their meeting with REM in the company’s office, it becomes clear that each demands no more out of their partner than what they are willing to give themselves. As co-owners, the two have roles that overlap but they also have created distinctive functions for themselves. While both say they are “highly connected” to agents and are accessible to all of them, McLachlan says his primary duties are on the “macro level” of coaching top agents, dealing with Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) issues, licensing of the company, ensuring its financial health and other “big picture” functions. He even coaches other broker/owners throughout North America. Bain oversees the day-to-day operations, is responsible for recruitment, deals with the agents and coaches them, problem solves, and makes sure – on a micro level – that the company is running as smoothly as possible. Both partners have spoken at industry functions around the world, including Bahamas, Israel and Scotland.
McLachlan says both he and Bain are “incredibly optimistic” about the future of the industry. He has no concerns about the Competition Bureau’s interest in the industry nor does he see any impact on his business from listing websites. “Ours is a value-added business and it’s a knowledge business,” he says. “People are willing to pay for value and knowledge and that’s what they get when they hire a professional real estate agent.”
Among their many successes and the pride of ownership that they feel for their company (which last year had sales volume of $3.1 billion and was the largest multi-office Re/Max franchise in Canada) the co-owners are proud of the firm’s contributions to the community. Among their many charitable activities is a Feed the Kids Breakfast Program; a scholarship program for a child of a past or present client of a Re/Max Hallmark sales rep or broker; support for a Canadian Olympic athlete; and last year Re/Max Hallmark Realty was recognized for exceeding the $1 million mark in donations to Toronto Sick Kids Hospital through its contributions to the Children’s Miracle Network. McLachlan says that this kind of community involvement and charitable giving “is in the DNA of the company.”
At this year’s Annual General Meeting, broker Harvey Malinsky received the annual Award of Excellence that goes to someone who “contributes to the betterment of peers in the company and industry,” among other criteria.
The broker/owners constantly deflect praise and acclaim from themselves and onto their staff and agents. “We take pride in their success,” says Bain. “It is only through them that we can make a difference.”
