Christopher Alexander

Christopher began his career as a Re/Max Sales Associate at an independently owned and operated brokerage in 2010 before joining sub-master franchise Re/Max Integra as a Franchise Sales Consultant in 2014. He then served as chief strategy officer and executive vice president of Re/Max Integra and was responsible for the day-to-day operations as well as developing and overseeing business strategies. He joined Re/Max, LLC as Senior Vice President of Re/Max Canada in July 2021 and was named president in November 2021. Christopher Alexander oversees operations for the company-owned Re/Max Canada region, which includes Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan. Additionally, he works closely with the leaders of the independent RE/MAX Quebec region to build a cohesive brand strategy across the country.

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Gary Schnarr was a special person. As a member of an industry with many remarkable leaders, Gary found a way to stand apart from the crowd.

Top producers around Gary were always looking for ways to do more business, and to do it better, but Gary’s goal was to lift those around him and raise the bar on the industry as a whole.

To put it simply, Gary cared.

To us and the ReMax family, Gary was an esteemed colleague and a very cherished, long-time friend. He joined ReMax Ontario-Atlantic Canada/ReMax Integra in the early 2000s, after working as a successful real estate broker and consultant in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and serving as president of the Canadian Real Estate Association in 1995. 

During his distinguished career, Gary took on a variety of roles with gusto, including executive vice president of business development with ReMax Ontario-Atlantic Canada, ReMax  Integra U.S.  regions and ReMax Europe. Gary developed tools, processes and systems, and provided continuous leadership that facilitated the growth of many franchises within the community. 

Gary’s valuable contributions were always appreciated and respected, but most of all, his dedication to education was inspiring. Gary thrived as a mentor, sharing his knowledge and experiences to help others grow and become their best selves.

Gary’s ethics, ambition and hard work helped the leadership team come together as one, which made the business run smoothly for us all. No project was ever too much, and no travel too far. When needs presented themselves, as they so often did, Gary was always there and we couldn’t have done our jobs without him.

Gary was not just an outstanding colleague but a loving family man first and foremost. During our discussions on a personal level, Gary spoke of his children, his dear wife Sharon, his grandchildren, parents and friends. His love for his family was always top of mind, and his work schedule revolved around them, as the centre of his universe. 

We met with Gary when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. In speaking with him at that time, he accepted the diagnosis in a manner true to his form: with positivity and with class. His strength is unforgettable, on what was undoubtedly one of our saddest days spent with this dear friend.

Knowing Gary was an honour, and we are forever grateful for the opportunity to have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with him for so many years.

In an industry where being number one matters, it’s important to remember that nobody gets there alone. Gary’s accomplishments are incredible, and his drive for a good and better life will always be an inspiration.

Gary passed away peacefully on Oct. 21, 2024 at the age of 73. 

REM Editorial Team

realestatemagazine.ca

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In many professional industries, such as financial planning or insurance sales, the consultant does not simply dash off into the fray after training. They become apprentices, practicing in real time with real clients under the mentorship of a seasoned professional.

Yet in real estate, where we walk people through legal contracts and the sale or purchase of what will likely be the largest asset of their lives, this is not always the case.

Construction, financing, legal aspects, for Pete’s sake – many industries require real-time training under a mentor. In the real estate industry, however, apprenticeship isn’t a given. Does that sound weird to anyone else?

In Manitoba, aspiring real estate agents must become trained through our provincially mandated education in order to be licensed. Then they head off to their broker’s office, pick up the phone and start on their path of working for clients.

While annual re-licensing education is required of licensees to keep them up to date on industry happenings, I feel we need to also incorporate mentorship or apprenticeship for new licensees.

The issuance of a license should not be enough to hit the ground running. It is kind of like reading a book about surviving in the woods and then thinking you know how.

There’s knowing information, and then there’s understanding how to apply that knowledge in real time in the midst of a transaction, especially when conflict, confusion, emotional upheaval and legal anomalies surface, all of which are daily fare for the real estate professional.

This is what needs to change.

I’ve had the honour of training soon-to-be real estate professionals for many years. As often happens, a new agent then would contact me with questions or invite me for coffee and we talked shop. As I listened, I heard a lot of familiar questions that plague many a new professional.

In one instance, an agent was troubleshooting a particular situation with a transaction, he was nervous and unsure about how to move forward. The responsibility that rests on an agent’s shoulders is big. He had reason for caution. He had an advantage over most new agents though, in that his broker was eager to mentor him, and he had courage and willingness to reach out to another seasoned professional and ask me for advice.

Most new agents are not so lucky to have that mentorship built into their place of work. And, because it isn’t a thing, leaving the implication that what you learned in class is enough, many don’t pursue advice from the more experienced.

This is the situation many new agents find themselves in, and it can be a catalyst for a blunder of contractual proportions.

We can do better.

We owe our industry professionals more. I feel we owe homeowners and homebuyers more. We owe excellence in knowledge and service, and it starts with thorough training. I strongly feel it starts with bringing mentoring to our industry.

But maybe I’m singing into a pail here.

What do you think? Should the real estate industry introduce an apprenticeship program?

Jeff Stern

Jeff Stern, a 27-year real estate veteran with Re/Max Performance Realty in Winnipeg, received the 2017 CMHC/MREA Distinguished Realtor Award. He is an instructor for the Provincial Real Estate Licensing program, a member of the Education Committee and sits on the Professional Standards Investigation and Hearing Committee at MREA. He gives back to the community as chair of the MREA Shelter Foundation and writes stimulating and enlightening articles on his blog. The opinions expressed are those of Jeff Stern and not the Manitoba Real Estate Association.

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Picture yourself on a rubber raft at the beach on a beautiful calm sunny day. There’s no wind and you don’t seem to be moving anywhere. Twenty minutes later you look up and you are 100 yards down the beach from where you started out. How did that happen?

It’s the same with those you associate with. They will move you in a plus or minus direction even though you don’t notice it. It’s very subtle but it’s always happening.

Here’s a great strategy to ensure that you move down the beach in the right direction. Take an inspiring person to lunch every two weeks. Interview different people and ask them a series of questions. Things like, “What inspires you? What books are you reading? What would you do differently next time around?”

These interviewees don’t have to be real estate salespeople – speak to anyone in your community you know who is interesting. In following this approach personally, here’s what I learned – inspiring and interesting people love to help others. You won’t have any trouble finding people to take to lunch. Start putting it in your calendar and be sure to have your questions ready.

Spend time with people who will lift you up. Find out how they think, how they live and how they act. Their inspiring mindset will contribute significantly to your mindset and your attitude. Don’t try to do it on your own. No one ever developed a winning mindset in isolation.

Draw from others and ask lots of questions. Find out how they think rather than telling them how you think. Here’s the fun part: follow this plan and some day someone will want to take you to lunch for the very same reason! No excuses.

Bruce Keith

Bruce Keith is a leading Real Estate Coach/Author/Speaker. Like Bruce Keith Results on Facebook or connect with Bruce on Linkedin.​ ​Email Bruce Keith.

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“The coaching academy doesn’t take time away from an agent’s busy schedule. It’s there for them while they work, providing and supporting the specific actions they need to take in order to grow their business every day,” says Martin Charlwood, vice chairman and CEO, Century 21 Canada. “It’s all about accountability and action. Ultimately, we want to do all we can to help every member in our organization succeed and this program has already had a proven impact.”

The program provides a coach-on-call, an online daily activity tracking system, weekly coaching webinars, a daily motivational message and an online training library.

“This program shifts power from local market trends and empowers agents with proven habits and skills for any situation,” says Rob Vivian, a C21 Coaching Academy presenter and sales rep. “Down market, work with buyers in this way. Up market, work with sellers in that way. We show them exactly how to apply real estate’s basics in specific, scheduled tasks so they are continuously productive.”

REM Editorial Team

realestatemagazine.ca

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Schooling is to knowledge what mentoring is to mastery of skills. Succeeding in academia is simply a precursor. You are not the next Fred Astaire just because you have aced the gold medal dance level at one of his franchises. You are not Vidal Sassoon incarnate, having graduated from the resplendent beauty school located in the ever-so-chic downtown core. Every school and every curriculum is deficient and will always be so.

What is absent in the curriculum will always be lacking. Actually, there is one exception that I will mention later. Suffice it to say that no course of studies in real estate education, whether provided to you by the “Industry-Ready School of Real Estate” all the way up to a Harvard-type program, will produce the consummate professional registrant. No institute will do.

The most effective way of understanding what you have studied – and yes, some curricula and instructional techniques are better than others – is to imitate highly respected, practising professionals. In other words, to find a mentor. For a graduate to develop their potential and create their own style, observing and emulating role models is critical.

We learned to draw by copying. We learned to play an instrument by mimicking musicians. We improved our athletic prowess by replicating the diet habits and practice routines of champions. We learned to kiss… well, you get my point.

Even innovation and creativity spring from imitation. The best doctors, the best lawyers, the best teachers, the best parents all copied leaders in their field before breaking out as experts and professionals in their own right.

To learn the fundamentals of your craft, acquire a good education from a good school.  To become a master in your craft, work with leaders in the field. Find a mentor. Develop student-sensei relationships.

Mentoring embedded in the education process is the ideal avenue for developing graduates who “hit the ground running” when entering a profession. It can be done. It has been done. To create mentoring, co-op real estate education requires a structural, legalistic overhaul not envisioned in the near future. Pity.

Ozzie Logozzo

Ozzie Logozzo is executive director of OREA Real Estate College. He has a master’s degree in education from the University of Toronto and has managed a number of commercial and residential real estate brokerage offices over the years, including his own operation. He was the 1993 recipient of OREA’s Education Merit Award and 1987 recipient of Real Estate Educators Association’s prestigious Educator of the Year Award.

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