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Real Estate News |
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REAL ESTATE AGENT NEWS
Recruiting for Results in a Shifting Market
Industry expert Carol Johnson shares valuable recruiting and retention insights for today's management professionals.
by Julia Escobar
Our current economy and market shifts present challenges, as well as opportunities to brokers and managers across North America. As part of our Prospects PLUS! series of conversations with industry experts, I sat down with recruiting expert Carol Johnson of RecruitingPipeline.com to discuss how top managers can develop the right mindset, systems and strategies to build better businesses.
I have long admired Carol's clearheaded, straightforward approach to recruiting innovation and always look forward to learning from her. Here are some excerpts from our conversation:
Q: You always have a good measure of what the market "temperature" is telling us at any given time. What do you feel about all of the tough-market talk that appears to be rocking some of our management friends more than others?
A: You know, I truly believe much of what we are seeing is fear of the unknown. This really can be an exceptional time for people who have the right strategies for success. It is an opportunity to clean house, make necessary budget cuts, fully understand where your business is (and where it isn't), and effectively capture the market share lost by companies unable to survive a "change in the economic weather."
I recommend managers be proactive in their decision-making, hiring and retention policies. There's truly never been a better time to make the changes you need to streamline your business, nor a better reason to grasp the inner workings of your organization.
Q: What do you see as a disturbing trend among top brass in companies across our nation?
A: Well, I think you see a lot of companies having a knee-jerk reaction to what their people believe is a bad market, and they, brokers, quit providing the services that both their customer base and their agents need and want. They become the virtual "deer in the headlights" waiting for change to happen and will do anything to avoid making a tough decision. What many don't realize is that the decision to do nothing is, in itself, a decision. No decision can be a very poor one when action is urgently needed. Forward momentum is a must for anyone who wants to thrive in today's marketplace.
Q: What would you tell brokers and owners who find themselves locked in that very trap?
A: I would tell them that I would tell them that NOW is the time to get a hold of your numbers, your systems and your business. Explore what is and isn't working for your organization. Some good questions to ask yourself are:
You would be surprised at how many managers do not have a grasp on the answers to these questions that are truly a foundation for building a smart business and recruiting plan for the coming year.
Q: Can you explain what you mean by recruited volume?
A: Sure. What I'm really asking is, how many dollars you recruited, not how many bodies you plunked into chairs. For example, in many companies, managers have a monthly recruiting goal of, say, two agents per month. Now, say their manager from the North office may be the rock star of recruiting, consistently bringing in four or more agents per month. Yet their manager from, on the other hand, the South office only brings in one, is that all of the equation? Of course not, an agent a month. Who is the best recruiter? If you count bodies, the North office wins. But the results that go to the bottom line change when recruited sales production is tabulated.
What if all of the North office recruits are brand-new, freshly licensed agents who have a long learning curve ahead of them, and the South office recruit is a high history of fallout? Who is the winner if the South office recruits fewer bodies, but they are all high-profile, heavily experienced superstars with a huge client base, consistent production and market stick-ability, longevity? What is more important to your body count or recruited dollar volume? Savvy, successful business owners or managers understand that the keys to the kingdom lie in per-agent productivity. I don't think the theory that the biggest army wins can be supported in today's economy or litigious environment.
Q: Makes sense! It's always a good idea to know what your bottom-line goal is, so you can measure results! Let's talk a little about prospecting. How do you think that has changed, or what do you think brokers can do differently in a changing market?
A: Again, I go back to the need to ask yourself the right questions and really be committed to finding the meaningful answers. How many agents are on your hot list? How hot are they, really? How many agents need to be called or contacted this week? What is your follow-up system? What is your sign-up ratio from prospect to recruit? Where are your most successful recruits coming from? What is the difference between web-based leads and targeted geographic leads?
I believe that in the shifting economy, you have required brokers to be very targeted and systematic in their business efforts; it's simply not cost effective not to be. Cost - effective contact management and career event coordination is essential. I've always been a big fan of doing your homework. If you know the answers to the questions above, you can develop a plan to realize your goals. If you don't, you can be wasting time and money and never really be able to put your finger on the pulse of your results.
Q: We've talked in the past about online strategies gone awry. Can you share some of that with our readers?
A: Yes, I really do recommend that companies as a whole and certainly individual agents and recruiters rethink their online strategies. We've discussed this at length in our monthly teleclasses and during our think tank sessions at my annual conference, the Recruiting Network Conference. You would be amazed at how many corporate websites I have visited where contact info lists agents and managers who are long gone. That's like handing leads to your competitors. But more common are large sites that don't have their photo, their bio management or agent photos, bios or contact information. Sometimes you will even see captions like "camera shy," "out showing property" or some other excuse for being unprepared. This tells recruiters that the company is fair game, because it simply doesn't comprehend what it takes to recruit and sell in this market. If you have a site like that, change it today!
Everyone in the business should know that 90% of consumers today start looking and deciding on who they will work with online. I liken it to this - forget the fact that your competitors may be making the same mistakes you are. Take a look at the realities of the market from a fresh perspective. Let's pretend that--instead of a real estate company--you are managing a grocery store. Imagine rows of empty shelves where you once had an aisle for bread, one for canned goods, dairy, and another for produce. Would you allow your vendors' stock people to leave your shelves empty? Would people come back if they didn't find what they were looking for the first time?
Your website is your "store" where people can shop 24/7. Now imagine in those aisles there was little to no information on what kind of bread, dairy or produce you had available. Imagine what both agents and consumers expect to find when they visit your store. Make it interesting, ad links, and sell both your company and the community. Give your agents and managers a personality. If some agents aren't prepared to do business online, list them as "off-line agents," and link them to the relocation department to handle the referrals. Don't have or tolerate a single empty space in your store. Set standards for your associates and let them know what you expect from the professionals working at your organization:
If your store is empty, not only will you put off a host of consumers looking to buy or sell a house in your market, but you also run the risk of turning away mega-agents who are looking to move to an organization that embodies standards, professionalism and results.
Q: How do you know which agents are serious about staying in the business and which ones need to move on?
A: Well, I would say now is the time to say to your agents, "You must have a marketing and business plan!" Let's set some standards within your office and raise the bar for criteria and expectations. If you don't, the poison of bad-market speak; office politics and apathy are quick to set in.
Make sure both your company and your associates are truthful, consistent and thorough. Don't try to "sell yourselves" to be something you are not. In other words, don't be like the office I see advertised as the #1 Real Estate Office in Texas with two agents. Consumers are smart, savvy and can spot your flaws from a million miles. Instead, task your agents to market themselves as the best at what THEY do. Maybe they are #1 at selling A: Now is the time to make attitude adjustments and weed out your nonproductive agents. It's a crime to watch people starve in your successful office. Tell everyone in your office that they must have a budget and a marketing and business plan, not only for survival, but also to take existing market share from those who entered the industry for all the wrong reasons.
Set measurable standards within your firm or office. Concentrate on business--generating activities that get results--and be fair and consistent when holding people accountable. Raise the bar for criteria and expectations. Don't allow the poison of bad-market speak, office politics and/or apathy to drag your productive agents down. Good agents succeed in every market.
Q: What do you advise brokers, agents and recruiters to include in their budgets and marketing and business plans?
A: Everyone needs to know what they are selling and who is buying it. Sometimes that gets lost as both agents and management make their own way through the market maze. Every company should set graphic and editorial standards. Make sure your associates are truthful, consistent and well within professional boundaries. Don't try to "sell yourselves" to be something you're not. In other words, don't advertise your office as the #1 Real Estate Company in Texas if you have one office, two agents and zero market share.
Dig in and task your associates to market themselves as the best at what THEY do. Maybe they aren't #1 in the State, but they are in a certain subdivision, market segment or property type. They might specialize in helping new buyers, seniors or people who speak another language or have expertise in selling homes with spas. Tell them to find their niche, and claim it!
While searching the Internet in the hopes of adopting a dog, I found an agent in Tucson, AZ who markets to dog lovers and artists. She advertises to dog lovers by appearing on pet websites and visiting dog parks, pet supermarkets, and groomers. Another agent accidentally sold three of the same style houses for a specific builder, so he dubbed himself the Westport expert. She also attends art shows in her farm area.
Trey Zipper, a RE/MAX agent in Ft. Myers, Florida, has a master's degree from Harvard. He only sells waterfront properties in his defined market area and takes people on listing appointments in his point (should this be boat?) and shows multi-m illion-dollar mansions from his yacht! If someone wants to see a mega-mansion across the street from the water, he refers them to another agent.
Just as your team shares with offices in your Master Marketing Meeting & Trade, take a page from the book Good to Great, and just simply be the best in the world at one thing . Recruit people with passion and purpose and you will succeed beyond measure.
Q: What should brokers do to compete in the future? How can they identify new trends and methods?
A: Agents are always ahead of the market. Study what successful agents are doing in your market and at retreats and conferences. Get your agents and managers involved in your own problem-solving think tanks. Determine what the public needs now or what they will need in the next five years. How can you help people save their homes from foreclosure, remain in them until they can no longer care for themselves or afford their first home? What can agents and brokers do to make a difference in today's market? What are we missing that will help us get ahead faster when things turn around?
In the early 90s, Peter Hunt from Hunt Realty paid a young computer whiz to create a voice mail system from scratch. Such systems were not available off the shelf at that time. Peter presented his ideas on how to use it for recruiting at one of my first conferences. I loved how it would save agents time and eliminate the bad handwritten messages that the low producers took during floor time. The naysayers said that agents wouldn't want "voice mail jail." There were a lot of agents who took a while to come around, but now there are many who would never think about joining an office without this option. The same thing happened when MLS books went out of print, smoking was banned from offices, and computers and agent websites became commonplace. Some saw opportunity, others fought unwanted change.
Today's innovators are buying domain names in the names of top agents. Others are buying names of towns (if any are left), subdivisions and property addresses. As an agent, I sold several properties in my farm four to six times each. What if I owned all of those domain names now? Would it be worth the investment in the future? It would if I was selling high-end waterfront properties or upscale dog friendly condos. Agents will come and go, so find the ones who plan to stay for the duration, and brainstorm what real estate will look like when we show homes by boat and computer. Take the challenge, capture valuable information and put yourself in the real estate company of the future.
Baby boomers are reaching 50 at lightning speed. Yet few real estate professionals have created a viable exit strategy for their book of business. W hat happens when they retire? How much valuable data will be lost forever in the transition? Capture, at the very least, the transaction information for every listing and sale that comes through your office. Encourage your agents to systematically grow their businesses and keep close tabs on their Business Base and Trade or sphere of influence. With smart recordkeeping, consistent marketing and savvy skills, those agents will have true saleable assets, as opposed to those who spend 30 plus years in the business and walk away with nothing to sell.
Q: Thanks for your great insight! Do you have any parting words to share with our mutual clients across the nation?
A: I would say that our market has changed, is going through tremendous changes, and we need to do the same. To stay on top of your game, you need to:
Look outside yourself to find ways to constantly improve your systems, your solutions and yourself. Can I share a personal experience? As an agent, I sold the same property address over the course of my career four times. My broker had no idea. This seems so easy, but it takes innovative people to recognize innovative ideas. What if the fabled emperor was wearing clothes, but his ancient advisors failed to recognize the technology used to create invisible microfibers that could ward off cannonballs? Worse, what if the salesman failed to relate the strategic benefits of the new concept? History would have been changed. The moral of this story is:: You can create new results when I left, that information left with me. Don't let that happen to you. Agents come and go and some stay make it a habit to look for the duration, but are solutions any place you capturing that valuable information? You can find them. Improve yourself, your company, your market and the industry. Find ways to constantly improve your methods and your product.
So many agents still don't have an exit strategy for their careers. So what happens to their book of business? Is it lost forever? How much data is lost in the transition? Capture, at the very least, the transaction information for every listing and sale that comes through your office. Encourage your agents to systematically grow their business and keep close tabs on their Business Base and Trade, or sphere of influence. With smart record keeping, consistent marketing and savvy skills, those agents will have true saleable assets, as opposed to those who spend 30 plus years in the industry only to just walk away.
Now go be brave! Check and double-check your systems. Hold your company and your agents to a higher standard. Boldly seek the market share lost by competition that has succumbed to industry changes. And use smart, forward thinking in your approach to building the best possible team and organization.
About the Author: Julie Escobar, Director of Corporate Marketing, for ProspectsPLUS! has been in the real estate industry for over 20 years. For more ideas on how you can continuously impact your market area, visit www.prospectsplus.com.
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