When sat down with our broker, Trisha Isaac, for our third episode of Around the Cooler, we had no idea would learn so much about her.
In case you’re new, Around the Cooler is the show where we sit down with one of our brokers or industry friends, have some laughs, maybe a few drinks, and play a game.
In this episode, Trisha joins Quantus co-owner, Paul Bojakli at the gorgeous Malcolm Hotel in Canmore, Alberta.
Were there drinks? Absolutely.
Was there laughing? Of course.
Did Paul not understand the premise of the game, Two Truths and a Lie, even though he had days to prepare?
We wouldn’t expect anything else.
Interview
How Did You Land in Canmore?
I actually grew up in Creston, B.C. But, Creston was a pretty small town so you had to leave in order to do much with your life at the time. I moved to Vancouver for a while. Calgary for a while, ended up in Prince George, where I met my husband, Glenn.
We moved a lot because I was with the Bank of Montreal at the time. Glenn was really flexible and we moved around for me to get promotions. I ended up in downtown Calgary as the branch manager at Gulf Canada Square, and they transferred me out to Canmore.
How Did You Get Into Mortgages?
I wasn't a great sales manager. I had to coach sales and I hated that because I hated doing it myself.
I hated making those cold calls. You know, I hated having those targets of how many calls I had to make every week and coaching to that. If you don't believe in it yourself, it's really hard to coach others.
After being branch manager of BMO in Canmore for four years, I moved into mortgages.
I was able to develop really good relationships being the branch manager and Canmore was a really small town at that point. It was really easy to get to know a lot of people really quickly.
I took a really big chance when I first started as well because the local Remax broker here in town approached me to be in their office. And this was well before I knew if that would be beneficial. I took a chance and paid the desk fees—which at the time this would have been in 2009—I was paying well over $1,500 dollars a month in desk fees.
It paid off right off the bat. It was a great office to be in and it was one of the biggest offices. That helped me get started. So, just the relationships I've built over the years, that's how I prefer to get my business versus going out and cold calling because I won't do it.
You’re Well-Established in Your Community, Do You Think of Expanding?
We spend a lot of time in Penticton, and so I do have my B.C. license as well. And so that's slowly starting to take on a little bit of strength.
We have a lot of people here that move to B.C. While Canmore is very much a retirement community, a lot of people leave here and go to somewhere warmer because the winters are long here!
And you have to love outdoor activities. You have to love skiing and cross-country skiing and mountain biking and all of those things that bring people here.
Here's another dirty little thing people don't know about me. I don't love the outdoors!
But Wait…Don’t You Bike and Do Triathlons?
I road bike…there are bears up in those mountains so no mountain biking for me!
And yes, I have done a few triathlons and an Iron Man.
That's probably one of the hardest things mentally I've ever done in terms of having to push myself completely outside my comfort level because I had panic attacks in the water.
I worked with a coach because what I've learned over the years is if you struggle with something, then if you get some coaching and some help, it makes all the difference in the world. At least it did for me.
That coach got me through that swim. And once you're through that swim and you're well-trained for the rest of it, it's just a great day. I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment.
When You Come Up Against a Roadblock in the Mortgage World, How Do You Move Past It?
We have a ton of resources at our disposal. We have a lot of good people that we work with that you can just pick up the phone and ask questions and brainstorm. If I find there's something I can't figure out the answer to, someone on our team will know the answer.
It's like having 100 minds for one. And, you know, that's probably the biggest thing I've taken away from our Quantus group.
You’re a Huge Part of the Rotary Club of Canmore, Tell Us About That.
I remember Rotary from when I was a child. To me, it felt like an honour to be a part of Rotary. It seemed to be the movers and shakers in the community.
When I moved here, it was one of the first things I did to get involved and get out there and meet people. I joined the club and, you know, it was, quite frankly, just a way to get out there and get involved.
And you don't join Rotary to get business because it's not the primary focus. And if it is your primary focus, you're likely not going to stick around very long because you might be sadly disappointed that the business doesn't roll through.
But it's all the other connections that you make that just help develop your reputation in the community.
You Have an Awesome Referral Base, Tell Us Why People Keep Coming Back to You?
I'm not one of those people that gives out a lot of gifts and things like that. But I think I just don't lie to people. And like I always say that if it's better for you to stay with your bank, I will tell you. I'm not going to find a reason to make you come and do a mortgage with me when I know darn well that you're better off staying with your existing back.
I know we're all honest as brokers, but I think just really putting that out there is probably been my biggest contribution.
And if I make a mistake, I own it. I think that goes a long way as well. And I've made mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. If it costs you some money, it costs you some money. And it's hard to swallow that sometimes.
Ok, Final Most Important Question. You Love Wine. Do You Have Any Recommendations?
Okay, well, there are the ‘Steadies’ and then there are the lovely ones that you bring out for special occasions. So I'll go with those.
I'm a big B.C. wine drinker and there are some fabulous reds and whites in the Okanagan Valley. So probably one of my favourite wineries is Checkmate, which is down between Oliver and Osoyoos. Painted Rock is really good too.
There were so many other ‘dirty secrets’ we learned during our time with Trisha, but we think we’ll keep those out of the spotlight for right now.
We highly recommend visiting the Malcolm Hotel for the Rotary Club of Canmore’s Festival of Trees event. Not only can you see our and Trisha’s award-winning trees, but you can view the 65+ other awesome trees and wreaths in the hotel.
Thank you, Trisha, for hanging out with us and sharing the love you have for your community!