What You Offer Agents

Contactually’s second pillar is the value proposition, which involves framing what a brokerage has to offer to its agents. What kind of performance incentives are available? Does the brokerage employ marketing or administrative staff to assist its agents? Will agents benefit from resources like website assistance, lead generation tools and branding? Is the brokerage’s culture one of collaboration, or are agents largely left to work on their own?

In addition to clearly answering those questions, it’s important to discuss the brokerage’s clientele and how the office operates. Agents – especially experienced agents – know what they want in an office, and they will not come on board if they do not see it. Brokers have to be able to convey their office’s culture and benefits in a way that makes them attractive to prospective recruits.

Kreider says the RE/MAX website carries part of the recruiting burden by providing franchisees resources that support their recruiting efforts: tools that let them not only pinpoint agents in their marketplace, but also review details such as the level of those agents’ business and how long they’ve been in the industry.

“We then tell them to get their elevator speech ready,” Kreider says. “In 30 seconds, they need to be able to explain why the company is great, why their office is great and what they have to offer as an owner and managing broker.”

Technology and the Value Proposition

Technology can be a big driver in recruiting efforts, considering the many apps and digital applications that are now available to help generate leads, increase productivity and keep agents organized. Many brokerages offer their own apps to keep tabs on clients’ home search and develop leads.

Solid technology offerings could be very attractive to potential recruits. Most agents should know by now that technology plays a big role in consumers’ home search. About 66 percent of Millennial homebuyers used a mobile device during their home search, according to the NAR’s “Real Estate in a Digital Age” report from Sept. 2015. Among buyers from the Baby Boomer generation, about 30 percent used mobile devices, showing that the use of apps spans generations. About 94 percent of Millennials and 84 percent of Baby Boomers used online resources during their home search.

Not surprisingly, agents are quite dependent on technology to run their business. According to the NAR report, about 93 percent communicate with clients through email, 85 percent through text messages and 31 percent via instant messaging. Approximately 80 percent of agents have established a social media presence on Facebook, and 71 percent have a LinkedIn account. The reason? They want to take advantage of the online opportunities to advertise, network and promote their listings.

Offering agents technology, helping them generate leads, and providing superior service to their clients are all no-brainers. Doing those things signals a willingness on the brokerage’s part to stay on top of technological trends and invest in their agents.

“We try to make their lives simpler by having a lot of plug and play things for them, especially in the marketing department,” Kasper says. “Many of companies do that, but we try to do it with no fees.”

Fred agrees with the “make their lives simpler” sentiment. “If there’s anything that you can offer to a recruit that can help them work smarter and not harder, that’s the key,” she says. “It’s not just what tools do you have that they don’t. It’s based on what their needs are.”

Those needs may align not just with technology, but also with market share and brand equity, which older, widely established brokerages can offer. Recruiters at these firms can emphasize the opportunity their company offers to capitalize on a trusted, well-known real estate brand with a strong digital presence.

That strategy has worked well for Joe Siciliano, the managing broker at Coldwell Banker’s Halsted office. “I point out the differential between our firm and other firms in terms of Internet exposure,” he says. “I point out that our website has significantly more visitors than other firms, because it’s factually true.”

The Right Agents

Finally, Contactually’s last pillar is choosing the right agents. Every recruiter, naturally, has their own priorities when it comes to the specific combination of skills, experience and performance they seek in recruits. But there are certain things every recruiter should do when evaluating potential recruits. The broker needs to be able to ask the right questions and properly source referrals for the agent in question to get a feel for how they would fit in with the rest of the brokerage.

The trick is to not only successfully paint one’s brokerage in a positive light, but also to make it seem more attractive than their current brokerage. Therefore, brokers have to offer top-tier support, marketing products, office support and more to attract top talent.

Convincing an agent that one’s brokerage is a good fit for them depends on selling the brokerage’s strong suits, whether it’s the ever-increasing business, the stellar location or the experienced support team. It may be tempting to also cast one’s competition in a negative light, though doing so can have a dampening effect on prospective recruits.

“I do not focus on what’s bad about another company an agent might work for,” Siciliano says. “I don’t try to bash any company or anybody individually, but instead speak to positives – what we can do for them.”

Several factors play into whether an agent is going to be a good fit. Does the agent have a proven track record of success? Does he or she have an outgoing personality and the self-motivation to seek out opportunities and make connections?

“We’ve interviewed agents and known within the first 10 minutes that this would not be a good fit for either one of us,” Kasper said. “Maybe they’re more of an aggressive personality than we want in the company at a certain time. That salesman who rubs people the wrong way? That’s not who we’re looking for.”