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When migration agent competition turns toxic
The vast majority of agents get along well, and co-exist in the profession without problems.
Part 4 of the Code of Conduct has always interested me. Why is it there? Why do we need it? We are all professional and we all compete in this space without incident. We know all know what to do, and we all know how to behave. Why do we need to have a section of our Code of Conduct called “Relations Between Agents”? We are all peaceful. Right? WRONG.
Based on stories told and emails sent to me from RMAs, plus my own experiences over the last 15 years, I think Part 4 of the Code has its place. This part of the Code of Conduct attempts to deal with agent-to-agent relationships which can become unhealthy, and unprofessional. It does happen. When do agent-to-agent relationships become unhealthy?
Here are signs of unhealthy competition:
An agent overtly copies you and basically tries to be you
There is a difference between an agent who is healthy competition, and an agent who competes with you on an unhealthy level.
Healthy competition involves role models. People will naturally imitate those who they respect. There’s nothing wrong with that. There is a difference between imitation and trying to steal another agent’s identity and ideas. Healthy people do not gossip about, spread rumours and lies to others, or attempt to sabotage the business and /or personal life of the role model agent.
Unhealthy competition really wants to be “equal to” or “better” than you. You may notice an agent dying their hair the same colour, asking for a job at your office so they can learn how you do things, talking, and even dressing the same as you do. You may also discover an agent trying to steal your intellectual property, your clients, your documents and then setting up businesses to compete with you, using your stolen IP.
An agent lays false praise on too thickly, and too quickly
Of course everyone likes to get a timely compliment. Nothing is more unnerving than continuous, false praise. When a colleague is competing with you out of hostility; instead of owning their unhappiness, they will contact you, most of the time out of the blue, and/or annoy you with disingenuous compliments. This will help them wedge themselves back into your life so that they can once again begin their rounds of friendly banter, so that they can extract information from you, which they can use to their own advantage, and so on and so forth.
An agent engages in sabotage
Healthy competition is where there is a level playing field and products and services can compete head-to-head on price, products, places and promotions in similar spaces. In a worst-case scenario, a person can become so jealous of your apparent successes that they will scheme ways of shutting you down, or stopping you from doing certain things that you have always done. For example, a person you considered your ‘friend’ may start sending you emails asking you not to use certain marketing tactics, claiming that these are ‘theirs’. They may demand access to your IP, products, services and information and ‘guilt trip’ you if you don’t provide it to them. Guilt tripping can be in the form of numerous emails and / or phone calls putting their case as to why you should provide them (your new competition) with your stuff. Colleagues who sabotage you will discredit your hard work, and smearing your name to all and sundry. Obviously this type of behaviour is not ok. The sooner that you confront the situation, and the other agent, the better.
An agent exaggerates their success
A fierce RMA competitor will often exaggerate their achievements, capabilities, sales numbers and talents however they can. Sometimes it is via email, sometimes it is directly. Unhealthy competitors are most likely to boast the loudest when you are earning recognition for your hard-won successes. These exaggerations occur for one reason: their own insecurities. For example, a competitor might engage in trumpeting high sales and high demand, when in fact, demand is very low, and they simply want other agents to believe that their product is ‘running out the door’ so that you buy their product with the false belief it is popular. Don’t let their insecurities affect you. Don’t believe an agent just because they tell you what they sell is ‘in demand’. If it is not in demand anywhere else it is unlikely to be the case, especially if what they are selling is not that special.
An agent celebrates your company's failures
An agent who is enviously competing with you gets pleasure out of your fails. First there is the agent who deviously celebrates your setbacks. Second, that same someone talks about you, and your setbacks behind your back. They will probably then deny having done this.
An agent downplays your success
Nobody likes a sore loser. Agents who denigrate, disregard or downplay the successes of other agents are toxic. They are also annoying. Agents who envy you the most are the ones who most want what you have. It is in your best interest to avoid such agents. Stop answering their calls. Stop responding to their emails. Don’t answer the door. Don’t be available for meetings.
An agent gossips to others
I will use myself as an example here to avoid naming names. “Liana’s really not that great a salesperson,” “Legal Training Australia really isn’t that great” and similar statements. These types of negative statements are expressed by those who are engaged in unhealthy competition with someone else or their business. Engaging in gossip is an act of immaturity. “Baiting” people in online migration agent forums to try to get them to respond, so that they can be further belittled, picked on and undermined is online bullying and trolling and should not be tolerated. This is where the term 'keyboard warrior' comes from.
An agent makes a point of wanting to know what you are doing
These are your colleagues who really don’t care about your migration agent successes. These are the people who greet you with a smile, and engage in a bit of fake, playful banter. They are the ones who put on a false front (false face) to extract one thing: to get you vulnerable enough to divulge what you are up to, so that they can compare how they are doing. Watch their expression quickly fade, or their interest dissipate once you tell them about your successes…or you may receive more false banter so that you tell them more about what you are doing, which they can later use to their own benefit, or against yours.
Again, these agents are few and far between and the vast majority of the profession do not engage in such behaviours.
If you find yourself in this situation please don't hesitate to contact me and I will try and help. Email me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . I can at least be a listening ear and then point you in the right direction (services that actually work).
Comments
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Saturday, 04 May 2019I daresay, if you make a facebook page and post the names of agents you think fail in some way, you will be sued so hard that by the end of it you have lost so much that even your kids are calling the aggrieved person dad.
You are much safer to advise MARA so that they can act on it. -
Sunday, 05 May 2019
What about if it isn't a facebook page but a page hosted in Liberia, Jordan or Lybia or something, where all comments are annonymous and the agent has what they did named and shamed on a secret website?
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Monday, 06 May 2019
Perhaps a warning to the agent who will remain unnamed that if they continue harassing their fellow agent/s, that they will be reported in full to MARA. As we know MARA is very slow in dealing with unethical agents, this deterrent may be enough.
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Monday, 06 May 2019
You would be surprised about how many agents post their clients problems on facebook asking for help.
They use facebook to get migration advice on how to run their own firm, its a complete joke! these forums are used as a mask saying that they are "forums for migration pros" or "forums to assist other migration agents".
Clients have caught wind of their agents asking for help in these internet forums and are completely surprised when they see someone who can actually help them straight away.
time to cull the profession like Thanos did in Avengers! -
Monday, 06 May 2019
What is even worse is that some new CPD providers in the profession (the ones who are supposed to be teaching us!!!!) are asking questions on how to do visa applications in these Facebook groups. There is one new CPD company where the people running it are lawyers, and yet they are in there asking how to do things from other agents (most of the time the agents are not lawyers but know more than lawyers because migration is all they do all day long). I am concerned that I am going to be taught CPD by these people who don't seem to know what they are doing themselves. Also by the way there is one CPD provider who has a speaker who was registered in 2017. That is a complete and utter joke.
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Tuesday, 07 May 2019
I agree, CPDs should only be run by accredited lawyers OR migration agents who pass a special exam first that would test their actual knowledge!! It seems that anyone can become a CPD trainer nowdays.
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Monday, 06 May 2019
Hi Merrick i saw your comment and agree i am subscription to these facebook forums and say that at least 98% of the questions being asked are ones you can google or look up the legislation for and people are being lazy i find that at least the forum is the blind leading the blind
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Monday, 06 May 2019
Yes, actually Liana. I know this happens as I heard one of your competitors say "you don't go to LTA CPD do you?'. When I challenged them on their comment they acknowledged that Christopher Levingston was the best in the profession and that they were just jealous of LTA. Its sad, but how many people have they said that to if they were so liberal with me, and I barely know them. Just jealous I think.
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Monday, 06 May 2019
There is rotten ex-PMO who copied everything that was our IP to pass of as my firm. This crook copied my logo, imitated our id and domain by just adding a slight change, he attempted to trade mark and registered our logo as his but failed. he did everything but one thing he could not copy is is our 29 years of experience and the high reputation that proceeded my name. .We just ignored his attempts , and even did not bad mouth him when his dissatisfied and abused clients contacted us which revealed gross breach and incompetence.
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Tuesday, 07 May 2019
Robert, how are you? I sully question considering what you wrote in your email.
Anyway, I hope you are well and can get over this stupid person who tried to copy you.
Cheers
Christopher McGrath -
Tuesday, 07 May 2019Ok...Here is what I think (after nearly 30 years in the profession)
I think that there will always be someone who wants to copy what you do, what your system of work is and how you interact with clients. However, no matter how hard they may try they cannot be YOU...as Dr Seuss ( an Accredited Specialist) said...“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” -
Tuesday, 07 May 2019
Yes, a lot like the ridiculous claims some people make to be 'probably Australia's best known migration agent.'
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Tuesday, 07 May 2019
Well, some migration agents can make these sorts of claims in a legitimate way. The following migration agents could say they are probably Australia's best known migration agent:
Christopher Levingston
David Prince
Liana Allan
Nigel Dobbie
Peter Bollard
Angela Chan -
Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Anka Sahin's name should be on top of any BEST lists for me
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Tuesday, 07 May 2019
Thank you Christopher (L). Absolutely true. I am what I am and no and can pass off s me. .I am doing well with 188 and 132 HNW clients from Cambodia.
Stay blessed.
Christopher (McGrath) I am well. I will PM you as I have major business project in Queensland for one of my HNW Cambodian client. It is is commercial Agri Business. -
Tuesday, 07 May 2019
At the end of the day it is not what the agent claims is the truth, it is what the consumers opine that counts and the agency sustainability in the competitive environment that counts. Any agency that has withstood the cyclic ups and downs of 3 decades such as ours is not to be discounted.
In my experience a good agent doe not decry the success of competitors or the bad episode of other agents but just keep developing our own professionalism . Clients will come from referrals of ones past satisfied clients and over 30 years of practice one will have more referals than one can cope with. -
Tuesday, 21 May 2019
COMMENT REMOVED
Immigration blog
Yes,
We loathe to admit it but there is the odd bad apple who won’t spend time to build their own reputation and instead put down their peers.
While I know it is unsportsmanlike to call these offenders out, it is also equally irresponsible to ignore them as they can affect clients who use them and find out later that they are unethical and may cause issues for the client.
What we need is a Facebook page to name these unscrupulous practitioners with a “three strikes your on” warning system.
Or maybe there is another way. Let’s get comments and feedback on this from members.