Top Recruiting Strategies for 2011

Since the beginning of time in the real estate industry, there has been a focus on the need to recruit. As you begin the new decade of 2010, what are your plans for recruiting solid, producing agents into your brokerage? Are you doing the same things that you have been doing the past 30 years for recruiting? If so, is it working for you? If not, I encourage you to implement one, or more, of the following recruiting strategies.

Create a strong value proposition that you and your team can confidently tell others about. What is unique about your brokerage? How will an experienced real estate professional benefit by joining your firm? What are your key retention tools? Are you talking about them? Is it technology, market share, coaching support? Why do people join your firm and why do they stay?

This can be a painstaking process to try and put into words and yet it is worth it. Sometimes, brokers/owners don’t have the patience to put a company’s value proposition into words. Discipline yourself to make the time; ask for help from those around you. Ask your current agent population the questions above and come up with something that will get the attention of your target recruits.

Have a list of target recruits. This is not a new strategy and yet it is one that gets overlooked. It is difficult to find the time to recruit, retain and develop your agent population while also managing all the things that make your brokerage profitable. That reality is a fact and yet, it is imperative that you have a targeted list of those agents who you want on your team.

If you don’t already know, review the MLS statistics to find out who the mid-range performers are in your market area. Those agents who are doing okay in the business; the agents who are professional, ethical, positive and good people who have hit a plateau with their business. These are the best agents to target because they are people who can move their business ahead by taking advantage of what your brokerage offers.

Don’t rely on a surge in new licensees. During the heyday of the mid 2000’s there were so many licensees entering the business it was hard to keep up. Let’s face it, new agents are easier to recruit. They are pleasant, take direction, have great attitudes, show up at your sales meetings and coaching sessions, are eager to learn and they don’t cause trouble.

Brokers who are still relying on new agents to fulfill their recruiting goals have been, and will be for a while yet, disappointed. There are not enough of them coming into the market to help you increase your market share or bump you into the black with your P&L.

Partner with those who can help. Once your clear value proposition is in place and you have a targeted list of agents you want to go after, put the rest of your 2010 plan in place. Incentivize your agent population to bring in fellow professionals that they know and respect. Talk to your ancillary service partners about your target recruits. See what ideas they have and if there is a way they can help. If it makes sense for you, hire an industry expert in 3rd party recruiting. Barry Weir, Southern Premier Realty did and here is what he has to say:

“My hands are full with all the demands of today’s market. Hiring Cogent Step Recruiting (Outsourced Recruiting Company) is one of the best decisions I made. They dove right in, called my list of target recruits and within two weeks, I had four additional agents in my office; four producing agents who would not have gotten here without the work of Cogent Step Recruiting!” Barry Weir, Managing Broker, Southern Premier Realty.

Humans are creatures of habit. There is this natural ebb-and-flow that exists between your activities and gained results. There is more to recruiting than what a 3,000 word article allows. It takes collaborative effort, dedicated focus and pure determination to recruit those agents who you want on your team. The drama of dealing with your agent population as they went from making more money than ever, to figuring out how to maintain their lifestyle and pay their bills, has hopefully subsided. It is time to get back to recruiting.

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