Great companies recruit great people. To recruit your ideal agent, you must first be their ideal brokerage or team.
This can be achieved through a strong value proposition and a solid recruiting model.
Establishing rapport is the foundation of recruiting. This will allow you to lower the candidate’s guard regarding “being recruited.” Your success in recruiting depends on the candidate liking and trusting you.
The four points to recruiting
The 4 Points of Recruitment is a powerful recruiting model that highlights a candidate’s achievements and identifies gaps that your brokerage or team can fill.
The four elements of recruiting are income availability, activities, and environment. Each point can be included in your recruiting conversations to allow you to assess the current situation of a candidate and offer solutions through your value-proposition.
Begin by asking the candidate to share their career story with you. Find out about their past roles, progress into real estate, and future goals. Ask questions about each point below.
Income:
What amount of money would you prefer to make in the next year, ideally?
Explain to the candidate that income is not a desired amount. Instead, you see it through four levels. As you go through the four levels of income, ask the candidate to think of the number that comes to their mind.
Survival: How much do you need to make it in the real estate industry?
Comfortable: How much income do you need to live comfortably? This allows you to live a more luxurious lifestyle and check your bank account less often.
Fun: How much money are you willing to spend to have fun? You could buy extras, take vacations, or increase your investments.
Holy Cow: How much money would you be able to say, “Holy Cow, this is more than I ever thought possible in real estate!”
Availability:
How many hours per week would it be ideal for you to work in order to achieve your personal view of work/life balance What would you need to do to achieve more balance?
To reinforce your value proposition, you can use your understanding of the candidate’s ideal balance work/life to enhance your understanding. It’s important that they mention their desire balance if it is possible.
Activities:
What activities would you prefer to do when you’re not working? What activities are the most satisfying?
Let your brokerage or team know what services they offer that will allow them the freedom to concentrate on the things they love.
Environment:
Ask the candidate to describe their ideal workplace. This could include the need for office space, interaction and support from the brokerage.
It’s important to explain the benefits of a brokerage or team that matches their ideal environment.
Why should you choose you? Your ideal candidate is available for recruitment
Do you have a clear vision for your ideal candidate? Is your value proposition a match for their future success?
When considering a career change, a candidate will assess your value proposition and what’s in it to them. Two main reasons agents typically leave teams or brokerages are why they choose to transition.
They didn’t feel a link between your team/brokerage offer and their level of success. (Availability, Activities, Environment)
They found a better model of compensation for their production (Income).
It is important to evaluate the talent level of your potential candidates in order to recruit and retain agents.
Talent levels
Agent recruits can be classified into three levels of talent
Potential Talent
Emerging Talent
Proven Talent
Potential talent are newly licensed agents who have closed fewer than 8-12 deals in the past year. These agents will require additional training and mentoring to learn the basics of the business. If so, you will likely need an agent with proven or emerging talent.
Emerging talent refers to an agent or emerging team who has closed more than 30 units, and is looking to expand the business.
Your offerings should offer opportunities for leverage, additional lead generation tools, and larger-picture collaboration to appeal to this group. Your brokerage might also offer listing management, vendor management, vendors, systems to hire, and a candidate pool with resumes of administrators and agents for sharing with agents who are building a team.
Proven Talent agents are always in the top 15-20% market and at higher production levels.
Your value proposition must address their business problems in order to attract top-producing agents. Agents who have demonstrated talent will seek to increase efficiency, surround themselves with talented people and possibly an exit strategy from their day-to-day business.
Systems and value-added services for success in recruiting
If your company offers the tools and systems that enable them to excel, candidates will find your recruitment attractive.
Systems are like a well-oiled realty business. They are the foundation of recruiting success.
These are examples of systems and value-added services:
A CRM that provides campaigns and production reports
Workflows that increase the visibility of your brokerage brand
Marketing plans that are strategic or ‘done for you’
Mastermind and training events
Promotions and involvement in the community
A strong onboarding guarantee
A compensation plan that is proportional to their level of talent or production
Lead sources
Assist them in their transition from their current brokerage or team to yours
Your onboarding guarantee is one of the most important systems. Your onboarding guarantee is essential for smooth transition. It should outline what the agent can expect within the first ten days. This process can have a significant impact on their initial commitment to join your brokerage or team.
Agents can have a conversation with their current broker to help them navigate this process
Agents must feel supported when they make a commitment to join you. Agent recruits can benefit from your guidance and support. You can coach them through any objections to help them navigate the conversation confidently.
Final Thought
If you listen well, they will like you. If you pay attention, they will trust you. If you deliver your value proposition, they’ll believe that you can help them reach the next level in their business.
This is how you recruit great people.
Debbie Lariviere, partner and head coach at Middleton Elite Coaching, is Debbie.