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Vincent Spoto Doug Patterson has it mostly right. But we do need to improve the level of Professionalism in this business. All this change that is going on...one would think that this Bangladesh and not the greatest country in the history of mankind. We should always strive for improvements but lets not throw aout the baby with the bath water.
Vincent Spoto Perhaps the solution is to insure that new people entering the industry are better trained before becoming a "qualified agent". This could be done by hiring potential new agents giving them a salary while “in training”. After training is complete and certain goals accomplished then the agent could transition to a full time commissioned agent. The upfront investment would insure that the broker seriously screens the candidates. The training insures that the agent meets certain standards. In cases where the broker might not be well suited to train individuals, conceivably the local associations can be engaged. Setting a higher standard for people entering the business, over time, our profession will improve.
Vincent Spoto Wellesley, MA Consumer demand and not technology will drive the bus. If consumers demand technology focused agents then the less technical agents will suffer. Unfortunately there remains many consumers who still feel that the agent of choice is "who you know" not "what they know". Perhaps, it will be the echo boomers appearance into the market (86 million in the next 4 years) that will drive the change to technology proficient agent.