The recruiter's 5-point checklist
Jan. 3, 2008
 Like most brokers, branch managers and supervisors, it's probable that your new agent recruitment drive has kicked into high gear with the New Year. Lots of potential real estate sales licensees make their career change decisions in January and February, so it's sensible to capitalize on the trend.
If you're pulling out all the stops to reel in prime prospects, it surely means:
1) You've set specific recruitment goals for 2008, and know how you're going to reach
them. Why? Because it's profitable: Dr. Cliff Baird, a real estate recruiting expert writing for RIS Media on Dec. 11, estimates that a new agent "will contribute anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 each and every year to your bottom line." Don't fudge; don't hem and haw. You should commit, on paper, to the number of agents you'll add to the fold this year.
2) You're holding recruitment seminars every
month. Plenty of competitors out there are vying for the same people you want to attract. Prospects won't consider your brokerage for their real estate careers unless they know you're interested in meeting them. You must invite them to explore becoming part of your team.
3) You've met personally with each prospect at least once. Better if twice; better still if three
times. You've checked their backgrounds and resumes. You know their dreams and aspirations. You can feel they'll fit into your business, and fit in with other team members. Yes, it's a time-consuming effort, but by investing significant interview time now you avoid greater personnel problems and lost productivity in the future.
4) You've selected current agents to talk with specific
recruits. The benefits: prospects get valuable answers to questions about you, the firm, and its business from someone with experience in your operation. The agents -- people who have already invested their faith in you and are succeeding because of it -- get to describe how and why their business is growing, and how the prospect can grow as well by joining you.
5) You're appealing to top prospects' co-decision-makers as
well. In recruiting, who you sell on joining your real estate brokerage can be as important as how you sell them. A prospect's decision to join your firm, instead of a competitor's, won't be made in a vacuum. Baird notes that prospects will weigh their options with spouses, significant others, immediate family members, colleagues or friends. Creating a positive impression of your brokerage in them -- maybe simply by meeting and talking with them -- can be what separates you from the rest of the pack.
Remember, too, that signing up new agents is only the first step in the recruitment process.
They must be properly trained, properly encouraged, and properly
managed to reach their peak potential. Done right, recruiting is a continual process ... but one that yields continual rewards.
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