The Internet: The Ultimate Recruitment Tool?Sort of

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To recruit younger agents, focus on their needs
By Kim Ades

Companies everywhere are struggling to recruit new and younger agents but the methods of old don?t apply anymore. To reach the younger generation of recruits, the so-called ?Me? generation, you need to focus on their needs as well as use technology and language that are meaningful to them. You can achieve this by focusing on four areas:

1) Your Web Site

Your Web site is the most important recruiting tool you have at your disposal and, if recruiting is a priority for you, then you should make it a prominent part of your Web site, starting with the home page. Your home page should make a strong statement that you are interested in recruiting.

Prominently display your recruiting message and invite interested parties to click on those links and discover what kind of career you can offer them. Place these links anywhere on your Web site where a potential recruit might be looking.

It is crucial for your Web site to have a lead capture mechanism that appears frequently and is accessed easily. This system must offer something valuable to recruits in order for them to share their personal contact information. For example, a simulation-based job preview that gives recruits a sense of what it?s like to work in real estate, an invitation to a career night or a book on what it takes to be successful in real estate.

2) Your Recruiting Message

Resist presenting the standard recruiting pitch: ?Work for us because we?re the best, we have the most recognized name brand, the best network, the best technology, and the most listings.? The ?Me? generation is not interested in why you are great; they want to know what you will do to help them be great.

3) Your Outreach Strategy

Spread the word and get your recruiting message heard by as many people as possible. Create a recruiting culture where you involve your managers and salespeople and encourage them to bring people in. Teach them your positioning statement and let them pass it on to their network of contacts.

Contact your local real estate school and establish a relationship with it. Develop advertising that reflects that a career in real estate can pay over $100,000 a year.

4) Your Responsiveness and Follow Up

A quick response shows the recruits you?re interested in them. Qualify them as soon as you have them on the phone. Find out if they?re serious about a real estate career and educate them on what to expect. The conversation should focus on them and their needs, not around you. A good salesperson listens to the needs of his or her customers; a good recruiter does the same.

If you?re interested in recruiting a younger, more energetic sales team, go to where the ?Me? generation hangs out. Build a Web site that focuses on recruiting. Promote your recruiting message. Follow through on your recruiting leads. Finally, show recruits how you will help them achieve success, and in turn, your company will also succeed.

Kim Ades is president of Upward Motion Inc., which uses simulation technology to recruit, select and develop sales agents. She can be reached at kim@upwardmotion.com.