Preparedness and Urgency Are the Keys to Success
Recruiting is one of the most important and rewarding activities for most brokers and managers, and especially impactful when attracting co-brokes to your company. It is a huge win for you and a pivotal moment in the agent’s career, so it is important to be ready whenever the opportunity is at hand.
Two of the keys to closing the deal when recruiting experienced agents are preparedness and urgency. Keep the following instructions in mind when recruiting experienced agents to achieve better results both in reaching agreement and in successfully finalizing their transition.
Be prepared. Preparedness relates to both your pitch and your close. When making the case for an agent to join your company, you should know as much information as possible about their past production, plans, current situation and future plans, and you should anticipate what questions, concerns and rebuttals they may have to your value proposition. Run the numbers and have supporting information on hand. Also, have a Transition Agreement and any other necessary paperwork on hand to move forward if they are immediately ready.
Seal the deal. It’s been said a million different ways: Time kills a deal. Strike when the iron’s hot. Just do it. However it is specifically expressed, the advice is clear, and you need to close the deal with a recruit as soon as they agree. If you are with them when they verbally agree, start the paperwork then. If you are talking to them on the phone, say that you will go meet with them. If you get their agreement by text or email, call them immediately and tell them you are coming over. No matter what the situation, wrap it up as quickly as possible before something unexpected happens.
No loose ends. Once commitment has been received and papers are signed, managers and brokers should immediately concentrate on two things: giving guidance and protecting against interference. First, you need to talk through exactly when paperwork will be officially filed, when and in what order pivotal contacts will be told—including team members, their previous broker and clients—and how any other important issues will be handled. Additionally, you must prepare the agent against efforts to reverse their decision; their previous broker, and likely some other agents, will try to talk them out of making this important change. Be sure to talk them through that situation ahead of time and reinforce all the positive reasons for why they have made the beneficial decision to join your company.
Planning, urgency and execution are the keys successfully recruiting experienced agents. Know everything you can about the agents that you want in your company, know how they will benefit from joining your team, and then make it happen when the opening is there. The agents that you want will be more likely to join you when you have a deliberate plan and focused execution, so follow these steps and your agent roster, volume and profit will be stronger as a result.
For a FREE copy of Sherri’s exclusive “Recruiting Skills Assessment” to review your recruiting activities and inspire new efforts, click here.
Sherri Johnson is CEO and founder of Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting. With 20 years of experience in real estate, Johnson offers coaching, consulting and keynotes, and is a national speaker for the Homes.com Secrets of Top Selling Agents tour and the Official Real Estate Coach for McKissock Learning and Real Estate Express. She is also an RISMedia 2020 Real Estate Newsmaker as an industry Influencer. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching strategy session or visit www.sherrijohnson.com for more information.
