[quote=joedabrkr]Can you imagine what a great place it would be to work if they took that money and instead invested it in support staff and other infrastructure? [/quote]

Aw, come on Joe. They just gave the support staff a long overdue raise and they're spending billions on new infrastructure, all since Mac came to town. Spending money to recruit large producers isn't news and it pays for itself.

BTW, here's your smile to show we're still pals 

do you guys cuddle and spoon at night too???

[quote=blarmston]do you guys cuddle and spoon at night too????????[/quote]

No, he snores 

I'm pretty offended.  MS does very little to retain the talent that they do have.  I'm love seeing the list of 100 people that we've recruited year to date (or whatever the number is).  I'd like to see the same list of people who have left year to date.... I count 17 in my area alone.

The lack of support isn't very comforting.

[quote=iconsult100]

I'm pretty offended.  MS does very little to retain the talent that they do have.  I'm love seeing the list of 100 people that we've recruited year to date (or whatever the number is).  I'd like to see the same list of people who have left year to date.... I count 17 in my area alone.

The lack of support isn't very comforting.

[/quote]

Lack of support? You mean you want money to stay?

[quote=mikebutler222]Lack of support? You mean you want money to stay?[/quote]

Not neccessarily.  I mean support in general.  My office does absolutley no local marketing or sponsorships.  We get squeezed on our budget.  We're losing FAs, so our profitability is in question.  Our support staff ratio is 5:1.  I just think we should spend more money helping our FAs grow their business instead of throwing rediculous amounts at recruits.

I Couldn’t agree with you more iconsult.  I’m a little sick of the “talent” we’re paying big bucks for.  That money should be invested in successful reps already with the firm.  Where’s the reward for loyalty? (I know, stupid question given our industry)

[quote=iconsult100]

[quote=mikebutler222]Lack of support? You mean you want money to stay?[/quote]

Not neccessarily.  I mean support in general.  My office does absolutley no local marketing or sponsorships.  We get squeezed on our budget.  We're losing FAs, so our profitability is in question.  Our support staff ratio is 5:1.  I just think we should spend more money helping our FAs grow their business instead of throwing rediculous amounts at recruits.

[/quote]

You might want to talk to your local management, we're pretty flush right now on marketing funds. 5 to 1 is out of wack, though. Is that a result of firings of support staff or due to support people leaving? How do you lose FAs AND end up with a bad FA to support ratio?

[quote=mikebutler222]

You might want to talk to your local management, we're pretty flush right now on marketing funds. 5 to 1 is out of wack, though. Is that a result of firings of support staff or due to support people leaving? How do you lose FAs AND end up with a bad FA to support ratio?

[/quote]

Several of us have spoken with Branch & Area management.  Even met with the regional director before the shake up.  Our problem is the current profitability, or lack thereof, due to the attrition of brokers.  They did fire one support person a couple of months ago.     

[quote=iconsult100][quote=mikebutler222]

You might want to talk to your local management, we're pretty flush right now on marketing funds. 5 to 1 is out of wack, though. Is that a result of firings of support staff or due to support people leaving? How do you lose FAs AND end up with a bad FA to support ratio?

[/quote]

Several of us have spoken with Branch & Area management.  Even met with the regional director before the shake up.  Our problem is the current profitability, or lack thereof, due to the attrition of brokers.  They did fire one support person a couple of months ago.     

[/quote]

Ouch, that does sound tough. If you're in a market that you think MS could afford to leave, I'd say prepare to find a lifeboat. If you're not, and your office is fairly close to another MS office, I'd be thinking about what I'd do if they combined the two at the other location and it left we with a commute I didn't want.

I will tell you, though, that "we don't get enough marketing funds to grow our business" and "we need more support staff" are two comments people in management (all over the brokerage world) hear often and can often mistake for "I can't make it in the biz and need an excuse". Make sure they don't confuse you for one of those types.

[quote=iconsult100]

[quote=mikebutler222]Lack of support? You mean you want money to stay?[/quote]

Not neccessarily. 

[/quote]

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be offended if they did that 

A management type would tell you that's what the new bonus program is all about.

The bonus program is okay, but that doesn't keep people here. 

Believe me, my team is doing fine, so we aren't making any excuses.  In fact, my team is entirely self sufficient, so the firm changes do not really affect us, unless they were to close the office.  I just think that spending $100,000 on support staff & local marketing would produce a lot more revenue than a new recruit that got $500,000 to jump.