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Hey Guys,

I have listened to all the podcasts about using a recruiter to get a job, and listened to most of them about interviewing, and read interviewing forum guides 'ad nauseaum'

I NEED HELP!!

My job has turned into basically being a recruiter for a real estate company. I need to poach successful agents from other companies and get them to join my team.

I have tried emailing them, calling them, sending them letters, putting ads on craigslists, etc. Getting the top notch agents hasnt happened for me yet. I have gotten a few C or B players to join the team, but no A players just yet.

My main problem is that the good agents are successful and happy where they are.

I have asked people:

"From my experience most successful agents are always looking for ways to be more successful, and make more money, is that true of you?"

I almost always get a response from the person I am trying to recruit at least once in the conversation, "I'm not interested" or "I am happy where I am"
- My response is usually, "I know you are happy and successful where you are, that is precisely why I am interested in speaking with you, you are the type of agent I want on my team"

My goal in the conversations on the phone is to get them to stop by my office so I can meet them, and show them our program. Once I realize they wont do that, my next goal is to give me permission to email them. Most of them oblige to this to get me off the phone. Then I set them up on an email "drip" campaign, where I email them once a week or so about what our company would provide to them. I have done this with about 30 agents and not gotten a single reply.

If I dont start getting some decent recruits in the door, I will likely lose my position. Any ideas? Can you tell I am starting to get frustrated?

The deal I am offering them couldn't get any sweeter. It is certainly the best opportunity in town and I STRONGLY believe that, but I cant get them to listen long enough to find that out. (and sometimes they think its too good to be true)

stewartlogan's picture

Just an idea, and one that probably won't pan out quickly - look for self-starting salespeople in other lines of work who can't make as much as they could in real estate.

They may enjoy a fresh start and thrive in the independent nature of the real estate game, and you don't need to bite a future hand that can feed you by "poaching."

FlatFeeKing's picture

Not a bad idea. I think a simple change I can make is to post jobs in sales section of craigslist instead of real estate jobs section. Do you know of any other good resources of places to find top salespersons in other industries?

jhack's picture

Look for firms that are struggling and see if you can't locate good people within those firms.

Real Estate's in tough times right now, and it reminds me of the dotcom bust. Not every firm's going to to make it, and there are good people in failing firms.

John

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

Sorry, but recruiting "good people" is always about relationships. There will always be the anecdotal recruiting of a superstar whom you cold call right after his boss treats him poorly, but while those stories get ink, they do so precisely because they are so rare.

Stop talking about your opportunity and start getting to know the folks you're talking to.

And why would ANY realtor want to leave the world of fees that they get for flat fees? Surely the best offer a service that a flat fee broker would not.

Mark

FlatFeeKing's picture

Mark,

Thank you for your response. I value your words highly. I guess I am trying to little on too many people. If I would choose a few target agents, and go after them with more efforts, instead of a ton of agents with little efforts, I may actually obtain higher numbers.

WillDuke's picture
Training Badge

FlatFeet - I read your post and it felt like you were focusing entirely on what you needed. You need great agents.

Stop that.

What does a great agent need? Why are they happy where they are? What is it going to cost them to change their agency? Can you alleviate that pain? More importantly, can you alleviate the pain they have right now, happy as they are?

I just deleted a bunch of specific ideas for attracting agents. I think you probably know pain points better than I do. Identify them, find ways to address them. Squeeze lemons into lemonade. Then offer lemonade! Make it so obvious that they're better off with you that you'll be beating them away with sticks!

bflynn's picture

Well said Will. You'll never entice a fish to bite your hook by telling him how delicious dinner will be.

The thought that also ran through my mind is that you might also think about building the people you need rather than hiring them. I grant that this is a harder path, but one that can be incredibly successful if you can get it working. Basically, figure out what kind of person you need to hire, refine interview techniques to identify those people, then constantly train them once they get on board. One of the advantages of doing this is that it is frequently less expensive to give training with a lower salary than it is to hire expensive and expect them to perform.

Brian

WillDuke's picture
Training Badge

This topic has been floating around in my head since yesterday.

Has anyone noticed that a lot of people donate their time in MT forums? Has anyone thought about the value of the time of the people posting here? Most posters are employed. Most posters are pulling down a pretty good salary. Why do they do this for free?

Is this a similar question to "How do I get new employees?" Or "How do I get my employees to perform?"

I think the answer is VISION. M&M have shared their vision. They are generous beyond belief with their time and knowledge and tools. Other people want to be part of that, so here we are being part of it.

So FlatFeet - What vision are you sharing with your desired agents?

wendii's picture
Admin Role Badge

FFK

At the moment you're trying to recruit passive candidates (ie candidates who arn't looking for a job change), who are the hardest candidates to recruit and you're calling them cold. That's like climbing Everest! This article:

http://www.ere.net/ARTICLES/DEFAULT.ASP?CID={EB9B472C-A561-45A5-B3FE-8E49A5B1A3E5}

has a good insight into why this is so difficult and what the alternatives are. ERE is a great source for recruiters who don't work to a corporate model ... I read it every day when I worked in an agency just to give me the pick me up to make one more call.

Wendii

FlatFeeKing's picture

Thank you everyone for all of your replies, i am still plugging away at this great mountain of a task. I am basically doing 3 things. 1. trying to strengthen the agents I have to make them better 2. advertising and searching for the easy to get agents (who are never as good) and 3. slowly building relationships with my target highly productive agents.

I think some of you will criticize me for doing #2 above, but I do it for 2 reasons. 1. My bosses are breathing down my neck painfully wanting Immediate results, and 2. I am still strengthening my recruiting and interviewing skills, and these B and C level players are good practice.

WillDuke's picture
Training Badge

Sounds like a reasonable and practical approach to me.