3. Client solicitation
Broadly speaking, regulations provide that licensees must use fair solicitation practices.1 Explanations follow in the sections below.
3.1 Respecting the exclusive brokerage contract
3.2 Telephone solicitation
3.3 Solicitation by email
3.4 Mass solicitation
1 Section 91 of the Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising
3.1 Respecting the exclusive brokerage contract
The exclusivity of a brokerage contract must be respected by other agencies and brokers throughout the term of a contract, even when its end date approaches.
Respecting the exclusive nature of a brokerage contract means that before soliciting the owner of a property, it is important to ensure that he did not sign an exclusive brokerage contract with another agency or broker. The regulations provide that “a broker or agency executive officer must not perform any act that is incompatible with an exclusive brokerage contract made with another licence holder.[1] ”
Sometimes the exclusive brokerage contract is renewed by the seller and his broker only shortly before its end date. It is therefore important not to make any premature solicitation efforts. This could be sanctioned by the Discipline Committee.
3.2 Telephone solicitation
Telephone solicitation is a method that enables licensees to find clients. However, licensees must not solicit a person whose telephone number is listed on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL). A person who is bound by a brokerage contract or who has directly requested not to be solicited or to cease to be solicited, by telephone or otherwise, shall be excluded.
It is important to keep an up-to-date list of people who should be excluded from solicitation and to remove their phone numbers.
For this purpose, licensees may register and subscribe to the National Do Not Call List prior to making telephone solicitations.
It is advisable to keep accurate records of scripts and call logs, as well as a copy of the National DNCL registration and subscription.
Note that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is responsible for ensuring compliance with the unsolicited telecommunications rules.
3.3 Solicitation by email
Email solicitation has become increasingly popular in recent years. Canada’s Anti-Spam Law governs this practice. The main requirements are:
- The obtaining of the recipient’s express or implied consent to receiving the commercial electronic message. This includes messages sent to email addresses, social network accounts and as text messages;
- Clear and simple identification of the sender of the message;
- The inclusion of an unsubscribe mechanism.
It is advisable to keep accurate records of valid consent and training materials of licensees making the solicitation.
3.4 Mass solicitation
Licensees may engage in mass solicitation provided that they do not directly or specifically target companies or persons who are already bound by an exclusive brokerage contract with another licensee or who have requested not to be solicited.
Such solicitation may, for example, target all partnerships or persons who own property in a particular geographic area or who are members of a particular profession, club or organization.3
3 Section 99, paragraph 2, of the Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising
