Elfie Hayes: Making Her Mark Online
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06/12/2010 12:44:00 AM
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When you come across Elfie Hayes’s office in downtown Oshawa, Ont., you may be surprised to encounter a red brick home with a front porch painted white. The warm, welcoming feeling continues upon entering, as Wade Ferguson discovered when he dropped in on Hayes unannounced one day. “When I first met Elfie, it was amazing,” says Ferguson, account manager of Durham region at Genworth Financial. “She treats you like family right away. She offered me homemade pie, and I think she treats everyone like that.”
The homemade food comes from the kitchen Hayes left intact when she bought the residence in
2009, and converted the space into offices for her and five full-time staff members of Mortgage Intelligence Oshawa. She cooks lunch each day for everyone, understanding the importance of how much time is spent there and keeping healthy.
Hayes, 57, is a natural people person and is as comfortable networking in real life as she is on YouTube. In 2009, when most mortgage brokers were reeling from the economic recession and many were leaving the industry, Hayes increased her business by 33 per cent. She also hired on a number of new staff to serve her growing clientele. She attributes much of this growth to the investment she made in social media and establishing her online presence while other brokers were cutting back on marketing efforts.
A visit to Hayes’s website is what originally spurred Ferguson’s decision to spontaneously drop in. “Elfie understands that the future is technology, so she’s invested a huge amount keeping up with Twitter and blogging, and making sure her website is everywhere,” says Ferguson. “And it looks the best and is the most interactive, which is huge in today’s age because everyone, not just younger generations, is all over the Internet.”
Hayes has been a mortgage professional for nine years and branched out to start her own mortgage firm in November 2007. But prior to that, she spent more than 20 years as a real estate agent. Her years of experience have undoubtedly contributed to her understanding of people and growing her business along with how the world develops. She was enthused to have taken on a new career at age 48.
“I’m renewed by the sheer challenges that are out there,” she says. “It’s exciting, and we always embrace change at our office. Someone was saying the other day, ‘If you change you grow, if you don’t you rot,’ and we’re not ready to rot here.”
She first jumped into the industry because of her husband, Harry Hayes, who owned a real estate agency and needed a new in-house mortgage broker. It was initially a difficult transition because she was at the top of her game in her real estate career. Though the two fields are linked professionally, it was embarking on a completely different path. “I was the new kid on the block,” she says, “but I had support of great people around me, and my biggest fan was always my husband. He believed in me at the start even when I didn’t.”
After working seven years in various mortgage roles, Hayes finally felt comfortable to start her own business. Two months after she launched, she met Kelly Kozar, who had been in the industry for 11 years at that time. They soon realized they would make excellent business partners. “When I first met Elfie, I knew her and I would work so well together because we both have the same work ethic that the client is first,” says Kozar. “That is our primary concern always—that we do the best job that we can, and her professionalism is beyond anything I’ve ever seen before.”
From there, they started making a name for themselves among Durham residents and in the three years, the company grew to a total of six people. Hayes, Kozar and Carmela Knight are licensed agents, based at Hayes’s Mortgage Intelligence office in Oshawa. Jacalyn Cook also works on-site as the receptionist, maintains the office’s Twitter accounts and blogs and is now a licensed mortgage agent as well. Corinna McKnight works remotely from Whitby as a mortgage specialist dealing with private lenders, while Kozar’s husband Michael is off-site as the manager of leasing for the Durham Mortgage Solutions team.
Hayes accredits her expansion in tumultuous economic times to an industry magazine article that she still has on file. “The article said that during a recession, if a person were to stay focused and committed, and throw more money on marketing that the business should grow,” she says. “A comment was made about the recession in 1981-1982: ‘The study noted that despite concerns about the recession, over 70 per cent of marketers indicated that they would either maintain or increase their marketing budget.’” So in late 2008 when the recession started showing its effects, Hayes and Kozar decided that was the time to engage in social media and invest as much money as possible in strengthening their online presence.
Around that time she also met Ann Harwood at a networking event hosted by the Durham Chamber of Commerce, one of many local groups Hayes is involved with. Then Harwood was still thinking about how to develop her consulting business, which creates online opportunities for small businesses. Hayes recognized Harwood’s potential over three months of meeting her for a coffee and having phone chats. “She kept pursuing me, only as Elfie can do,” laughs Harwood. “But she does it in the best way. She brings out the best in everybody and really wants the best for them.” Finally, Hayes told her, “I need to hire you.”
Now, they’ve been working together for a year and a half. Hardwood calls Hayes her “lab.” “Every time I want to test something for another client or something new on the Internet to see what really works for people, Elfie and Jacalyn are the first ones to try it,” says Harwood. “Elfie is really organized and will ask questions if she doesn’t understand something. She keeps going until we get it to the point.”
Aside from keeping up with Twitter and blogging, Hayes also records two-minute mortgage news and advice videos for YouTube, which can be found on the team’s site www.lowrate.ca and on YouTube under the username, mylowrates. When Harwood first mentioned the idea, Hayes was uncertain video was for her. But she soon heeded her own advice that when you embrace change, you grow. She stepped into the spotlight and now has her newsletters on video. “Some people think they can spend a couple of hundred dollars and that will keep them up on the search engines,” adds Harwood. “Elfie understands that you have to be involved in social media, respond to other people and engage in conversations.”
Since the team started tracking their client sources from March 2010 to September 30, 2010, 13 per cent of business has come through the Internet. The company has four websites. Lowrate.ca is the main site. Then there are three companion niche sites: Durham Region Mortgage Doctor serves people who need credit repair; Low Rate Leasing for equipment leasing; and the most recent is geared toward debt settlement.
None of this happened on a whim though. Hayes is a strong believer in business plans, and creates one every August to prepare for the lenders’ fiscal year, beginning in November. She designs the plan with discussion and input from her team, and ensures everyone signs it in agreement. “I practice inclusive management, which means everyone has a say in their destiny,” says Hayes. “Without team members who are fully engaged, there’s no way to achieve this kind of growth. Without them, it’s just me sitting here with an idea.” To keep on track, they review the plan every month to see what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to be changed.
One part of Hayes’s business plan that is unlikely to change is how much she loves to work. “Kelly and I have joked regardless of what the rest of them do, she and I will become old ladies, and we’ll still be in the industry and be here forever,” she says. “Retirement for me just means doing what you love.” Her view on embracing change has helped steer her through what many would see as a late time in life to switch careers.
Though work is essential, it isn’t the only thing that matters. Hayes also makes time to travel with her husband and they have visited five continents over the years. “We just try to enjoy some time together when we’re not working because of our business demands,” she says. She also loves to garden, design, study art and cook. From preparing daily lunch for her team to connecting with clients through YouTube, Hayes embodies how growing with life leads to growing a successful mortgage business.