Can You Recruit In This Tough Market?
Monday, September 24, 2007 - By: Jon Cheplak
Can your agents sell houses in this tough market? I think we know the answer. Let’s first take a look at the agent. What does it take for an agent to be successful when listings are experiencing longer days on market, listings are expiring, and buyers are leery of making a decision because they feel the market is on a downward trajectory?
Skills and a shift in the way the agent approaches the business are the answer. Sitting back and waiting for the business is not going to get it done these days; today’s agent must go out and get the business like never before. What does this mean? Back to the basics of For Sale by Owner’s and Expired Listings. In addition, the agent must be knowledgeable (know the market), have strong marketing skills, and great negotiating skills.
So let’s take a look at the Broker side of this equation. What does it take to be a successful recruiter in today’s market? The first thing you have to do is not rely on email and postcards!! These are passive, branding exercises that keep you in front of your prospects. Do not get me wrong, they are important in the recruiting process, but simply a part of your system. The most critical activity is making the phone calls and doing them consistently. Not rocket science, but the number one challenge that I see for brokers.
Let’s analyze the current situation vs. the incredible markets we have experienced in recent history. When things are clipping along for the agent, is it a little bit tougher to pull them away from their current broker? Of course it is. Sure, you can recruit agents in any market, but you better be good and have a strong follow-up system to recruit experienced agents. They will do one of two things. Either they will see your skills and ability to transfer those to them, or their broker will do something that will cause them to make a change to your organization. The key is to stay in front of the agent and be their “destination broker.” When things are good, agents are rarely looking for a reason to leave their broker. You better have a compelling reason. By the way, that compelling reason is none other than you, not your company and all the things the company has to offer.
Now the focus of our article: Recruiting Agents in a Tough Market.
Ladies and Gentlemen, THIS IS THE MOST FERTILE TIME FOR EXPERIENCED AGENT RECRUITING. Why do I say this? It is tough for human beings to change behavior. The market has changed doesn’t behavior have to change? Of course, but I do not see it happening at the level it needs to. Many of yesterday’s $10,000,000 producers are now struggling to do $3,000,000 or $4,000,000. Here’s another observation looking at it from a “human experience” perspective.
When things are good, many times we look within ourselves and take the credit, but the natural progression when things are not so good is to look outside and find what is wrong with surroundings and other external issues. What might one of those external factors be? Their Broker.
Today’s agent is struggling if they are not changing their behavior and gaining the skills they need to not only compete, but thrive in this market. They are looking for a solution.
Make the calls, measure the temperature of the agent’s psychy, and be the solution that can inspire them to productivity in today’s market.
Jon Cheplak is the Founder of The Real Estate Recruiters, a Recruiting and Management Solutions Company that supports brokers, owners and managers in the management and recruiting solutions arena. Copyright© 2007, Jon Cheplak. All rights reserved. For more information, contact the FrogPond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email ; http://www.FrogPond.com
