Jump Start Your Recruiting

Many of my clients are having extremely high success rates in the first quarter recruiting new and experienced agents to their companies.  Attracting and recruiting new agents is easy now as new licensee rates are always high at the beginning of the month as people change jobs and want new careers during their new year's resolutions.  While agent business is traditionally slower for experienced agents, now may be the time for you to put your recruiting plan in action. Experienced agents want to start the year on a positive, and you may be the catalyst for creating the momentum they need to have their best year.  If you communicate your value and how you will personally coach them to increase their business this year, along with the exclusive digital marketing, social media and branding tools you have to help them generate more income, you will add real value to their business and I believe have an attractive reason for them to join your team.

Success in recruiting starts with a plan and face to face appointments.  Just like we coach our real estate agents that they must focus on listings, brokers and managers must focus on recruiting appointments and converting them into new agents in their office if they want long term sustainability.  Follow these strategies to jump-start your recruiting action plan and without delay fill your calendar with recruiting appointments now. You will be so happy you did.

Six Strategies for Recruiting New Agents

1. Have a full Pipeline of new recruits

You should have no less than 25 people that you are actively talking to about getting their real estate license.  It takes time for them to get interested, make the decision, finish classes and pass the test and then actually start.  These recruits are all at varying degrees of interest and stages in the process. You want to have as many in school and testing as possible.  Having a full pipeline ensures that you are regularly recruiting 2-4 new agents per month. Not having a full pipeline or having only a few names on your list will result in poor results all year.  Fill the pipeline with interested people and make action plans to attract recruits into the business using social media, your sphere, your current agents and licensing schools and career seminars. You will be able to hit your recruiting goals and grow your office when you have 25 plus recruit leads.  Great things will happen, and you will develop your office in so many amazing ways.

 

2. Develop a targeted list of co-broke/experienced agents to recruit

Identify at least 30 experienced agents that would be an excellent addition to your team and your culture.  Set a goal and better yet commit to recruiting “x” number of them to your team this year and each month. Some of these agents could have been new or newer to the business, and you didn't interview them when they got their license, or they are top agents that you know would make more money, have fewer expenses and sell more homes per year at your brokerage.

Carry the list with you at all times and determine what the production and GCI of that agent would bring to your office revenue, not to mention the market share.  The agents in your office can help you recruit experienced agents since they are actively doing business with them and can be a great referral source for you. Ask your agents who should be on our team and ask them to make an introduction or attend the first appointment with you.  If you have a list of whom you want to heavily recruit you now know whom you should build a relationship with on social, through phone calls, emails and whom you should visit at their brokers or Sunday open houses. Create your list and upload this list into your CRM. This is your list. Commit to making it happen this year, starting right now.  The results will be a fantastic growth in every measurable area.

3. Schedule Recruiting Calls as an appointment with your phone

Making recruiting results starts with making recruiting a top priority in your daily and weekly habits.  Time block the Recruiting Power Hour into your calendar literally in outlook, so you have it scheduled, just like an appointment.  You cannot delete the session ever; you can only move it on the calendar to another time slot if absolutely necessary. Leave your office if you need to make this happen.  You can call from your home office, a quiet coffee shop, the office down the street or from your car. If you need to leave the office to make this happen, then leave the office. I often suggest that you don't make the calls in your office, but rather in one of your conference rooms.  Agents won't bother you if you are in there working and will not think negatively if you are in your office with your door closed, which can have a negative perception you don't want.

We run our day, or the day runs us, right?  You will be happy you are prioritizing recruiting onto your calendar with reminders because you will now be in control of your day and your time and you will be making your calls because you time blocked them, and they actually happened.  The start to successful recruiting is making it a priority on your calendar. This is a game-changing mindset to your recruiting success.

4. Focus on obtaining weekly appointments

Calls are the first step, but you have to secure yourself the appointment with new and co-broke experienced agents into your schedule each week.  You must make a commitment to yourself to achieve a minimum of two recruiting appointments per week. If you have two scheduled recruiting appointments on your calendar each week you will have consistently great recruiting months every month.   If you are having a difficult time converting the call into a meeting, maybe you need new material. Perhaps you need coaching or a training class with your company or manager to learn better strategies to secure appointments. Communicating your value, listening and asking better value-driven questions to recruits will help you communicate what you have to offer and why it is a better choice for them to consider and that it will be in their best financial interest to meet with you.  Always ask for an appointment by showing the value that you bring to their business. Your value along with the brokerage's agent and client services need to be differentiated and will help you secure your appointment.

5. Have an accountability partner and track your results

Anything that is tracked and measured, improves and anything that is tracked, measured and reported to another individual will exponentially improve.  So, this is why accountability partners work. You share your commitments and goals with this person and check in weekly or daily to share your efforts and actions, number of calls and how the number of secured appointments.  Success is contagious, and you will share not only your best practices of what you are doing with great results, but you will share your energy, enthusiasm, and momentum to help the other succeed as well as yourself.

6. Add surprise value to your recruiting

Any time you have an opportunity to add “Surprise Value” to a recruiting new agent opportunity, add it.  For example, send a hand-written note instead of just a text, or send a follow-up text to a conversation.  Post or like their achievements on social media. Have the regional manager or owner/broker make an extra call to help show interest to agents.  Add a special touch when the agent visits your office for your meeting. Have a special gift for them for considering your company and your office.  Welcome them into your culture by asking them to attend your upcoming sales meeting where they can experience the difference you make as a sales manager, and they can meet your current agents and see what a fantastic team you have that they should join.  Adding surprise value always makes someone feel even more special and entirely says you went the extra mile to make them feel good.

Let's make this year your best recruiting year, ever!  Jump start your recruiting right now and get your lists made and schedule the time on your calendar when and where you are going to make your recruiting calls each week.  Set appointments and add value and even surprise value to your recruiting process. Top line revenue solves everything, and amazing new agents will be joining your superstar team resulting in considerable increases in retention of your existing agents, listings, sales, company dollar, market share, affiliated services and profitability for all.  

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