Category Archives: Real Estate Broker Interviews

Questions Open Doors in the Interview

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
19 Oct

Hiring the Agents You Really Want

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

I was asked, “What is the most important thing that you need to do to be successful in recruiting?” My response, without hesitation, was “Asking the right questions”.  In every step of the recruiting process, asking questions, and asking the right questions is the key to success. Let’s look at each step of the process:

  • Phone Calls: When you are making your calls, remember that you should not do all the talking. Tell them why you are calling, then ask questions. Ask them what they know about your company, how their career is progressing, what they would want in a company if they were to make a change. Learn as much as possible about that agent. Remember, if they are emotional, the more they talk, the better you are doing.
  • The Interview: Before you begin to tell them what your company has to offer, you must first ask questions to determine what they are looking for, what they are unhappy about, what they would want if they were to make a move, etc. The more effective you are at asking the right questions, the more likely you are to present the right systems.
  • The Presentation: While presenting your systems, the interaction between you and the agent is critical. If you are the only one talking, chances are that they will start to tune you out. Keep them engaged in the interview by asking them questions and getting their feedback as you present your systems. Again, if the agent is emotional, the more they talk, the better you are doing. 70% of all sales agents are emotional by nature. If you keep them engaged in the conversation, you will have a much better chance of hiring them that day!
  • The Close: The close is a statement designed to have them take action and commit to joining your team. When they have concerns, they will throw out stalls and objections. This is when questions are very important. Don’t try to overcome the objection right away, but instead, follow the 5-step objection handling process. By asking questions about their concerns, you can usually discover the best solution for that objection. When you have the best solution to the problem, ask a question to tie it down. “If I can solve (the problem), is there anything else that would keep you from saying yes today?” If that is the only problem, solve it!

We all know that Einstein was a genius.  What you might not know is a famous quote that says it all when it comes to asking questions. Albert Einstein said: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, and my life depended on the right answer, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the right questions to ask!”  When a recruit is sitting in front of you, you have one hour to solve the problem of “What would it take?” When you take the time to ask the right questions, everything gets easier!

Having the right systems and strategies in place year-round takes some of the guess-work out of your success.  We are happy to be a resource to help you stay in touch month-after-month, give you the scripts and dialogues you need to close even the savviest of agents to join your team.  Want to learn more about how to become a more profitable recruiter?  Check out our Membership Benefits and enroll today.   

Take advantage of our special offer!  Make any Profitable Recruiter Pro Membership part of your business plan, and take 50% off with the promo code 50OFF — PLUS, have the ability to add up to 10 managers or admins to your account at no extra cost!  That’s 50% off everything you need to be in the right place at the right time when the agents you want are ready to make a move – including SEVEN HOURS of recruiting audio training, more than 70 webinars on demand, scripts, letters, social media tools and more!  What are you waiting for? Register today! 

The 7-Step Interview Process

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
20 Jul

by Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

The problem with most interviews is that we spend too much time trying to sell them, and not enough time trying to determine what they want. By knowing what they want, there are very effective ways to help them see the advantages of joining your company. In fact, your presentation should only address their needs and should also show them how they can dramatically increase their income by joining your company.

The 7-Step Interview Process

Step 1: The Set-Up = The Direction

  • Set up the interview by sharing your goals and agenda.
  • You should know if the agent is an emotional decision maker or a logical decision maker within the first 5-10 minutes.
  • You need to mirror your candidate for optimal results. Maintain a business-like manner for logical agents and a friendly, warm manner for emotional agents.

Step 2:  The Investigation = The Discovery Process

  • Ask questions designed to discover the agent’s concerns and needs.
  • This is your foundation and you should determine which systems to present at this phase.
  • Remember to stay relaxed and friendly for the emotional agents.
  • Remain business-like for the logical agents.

Step 3:  The Presentation = a discussion designed to deliver what they need and want

  • The presentation should be customized for each recruit.
  • It should include the systems or opportunities that the recruit is looking for or needs.
  • When you present the systems, you should build value and keep the recruit involved in the presentation.
  • Only present what the recruit wants to hear, not what you think is important!
  • For the emotional decision makers, this is where the sale must take place.

Step 4:  The Recap or ROI = to determine the Position of the Journey

  • Ask the recruit, “Can you see yourself working with
    ?” If he/she says yes, proceed forward with the recap of what was discussed and determined. Get their initial commitment at this stage.

Step 5:  The Details

  • Explain the details (i.e., your various compensation programs, costs, etc.)
  • You should explain details simply, as quickly as possible and in an assumptive format for emotional agents.
  • For logical agents, this is where the sale takes place. Give the logical agents lots of detail and answer all questions accurately.

Step 6:  The Close = The decision or arrival of the destination

  • Ask a question that causes the recruit to take action.

Step 7:  Handle Stalls and Objections = can be diversions

  • Use the same process to overcome stalls and objections that you use with buyers and sellers. Remember to close 3 times.
  • Use a value close to rediscover the value and show income potential with your company. The recruit should be able to increase his/her income by making the move.

Learn the in-depth strategies for all seven of these in the audio training available with your Profitable Recruiter Membership! 

Want to learn how to master these skills and build an extraordinary team?  Bookmark our blog, and join The Profitable Recruiter today.  We have a full spectrum of membership benefits with all the tools, strategies and solutions you need to position yourself to win this year and every year. Our goal is for you to become the “turn-to” broker in your area for every agent.  

Join today and take advantage of our special offer of 50% off with the promo code 50OFF any pro membership.  That’s 50% off everything you need to be in the right place at the right time when the agents you want are ready to make a move – including SEVEN HOURS of recruiting audio training!  What are you waiting for? When you join – you and up to 10 managers can access your account! Try it for a month and see what it can do for you.

Smart Strategy: Recruiting the Second Year Agent

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
recruiting-second-year-agents
30 Jun

Guidelines, Action Plans, & Dialogues

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeurhandshake close Judy

Did you know that agents who have been in the business for 12-24 months are the easiest to hire?  Why? Most new agents do not know what to look for in a brokerage, but if they made the wrong choice, they usually make a move in their second year.  Since they are not settled into their office yet, they are not as loyal as those who have been in the same office for years. They are searching for a better option. So, why not give them one?

Here are some guidelines for hiring this type of agent, as well as the advantages to hiring them.

Hiring Guidelines:

  • You need to interview them carefully, since some of these agents should not be in real estate.
  • You need a coaching and/or mentoring program in place.
  • They need lots of education and training.
  • You need to hold them accountable.

Advantages:

  • The majority of all agents who go on to become top producers will make their first move within their first two years in the business.
  • This is the easiest way to get in front of a lot of agents to fine-tune your interview skills to be ready for recruiting season
  • If you get them early, you can keep them for life with the right support.
  • They are very loyal to you once you get them since you rescued their real estate career.

Action Plan:

  • Determine which agents in the marketplace have been in the real estate business for 24 months or less. You should be able to get that list from the state or board. If not, you have a little research to do.
  • Call using the dialog below.
  • Implement a program to welcome all new recruits in your area. You can follow the guidelines of my “Welcome New Agent” system, which is: send a letter to all new recruits to welcome them to the business, follow up with a phone call to introduce yourself, then follow up 3-4 months later to see how they are doing, Add the ones who are up and running to your hit list and build a relationship with them.
  • Implement a mentoring program.
  • Organize weekly coaching sessions.
  • Hold new and newer agents accountable for the first 90 days.
  • Gather statistics and testimonials from agents who join and do well with your company.
  • Someone needs to be responsible for a program. If it is not you, then you need to get someone to run it for you.
  • In the interview process, these agents need/are looking for: marketing support, a strong name in the marketplace, coaching, training, mentoring, business planning, and a proven way to build their business, as well as testimonials of others who have succeeded with your firm.

Dialog to get them in for the interview:

“Our records indicate that you are fairly new to the business. Is that correct? How long have you been in real estate? How is your real estate career progressing?”

“The reason for my call is: A NAR survey of top producers indicated that approximately 87% of all agents surveyed made their first move, their first year in real estate. Have you made your first move?”

If yes: “When did you make your move? Who did you start your career with? Because you have made your first move, statistically speaking, you’re on your way to becoming a top producer, so I would like to set up a time for you, and I should get together so we can start to build a relationship. Most agents will make 2-3 moves in their real estate career, so we would like to give you some info about (your company name) now so that when that time comes, you will know enough about us to know if we are a good option for you.”

If no: “Are you making the kind of money that you thought you would make when you got into the real estate business? What type of personalized coaching, mentoring, and training have you received?

If you knew that you could take your career to the next level and make the kind of money you hoped you could make by making a move to (your company name), would you make the move?  (If yes) Let’s get together and see if you can.”

Set an appointment to come in that day or the following day if possible. The sooner they come in, the better the results.  Don’t forget that the best time to call agents is 9:00-10:00 am at their home. Have fun and enjoy your results!

By the way – once you get them into the office for an interview and you feel like they are a great fit – don’t forget to try my signature “handshake close”.  It’s getting AMAZING results for my recruiting coaching members all over the world.  If you’re a Profitable Recruiter Member — login to your audio training and learn how it works!

Ready to dial up your recruiting, and position yourself to attract the agents you want sooner rather than later? Join top brokers from around the nation who are members of www.TheProfitableRecruiter.com. You’ll get all the tools you need each month to position yourself as the broker to join when agents are ready to make a move. Fine-tuning your skills this summer? All members get access to over SEVEN hours of training via downloadable links, including interview skills, scripts, objection handlers, and more. PLUS, you’ll have access to entire libraries of recruiting letters and notes, emails, social media content, training webinars for recruiting and retention, and opportunities to network with the best of the best.

Join today and take advantage of our special offer of 50% off with the promo code 50OFF any pro membership. That’s 50% off everything you need to be in the right place at the right time when the agents you want are ready to make a move!

 

 

 

Make Those Calls!

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
11 Nov

A Recruiting Pep Talk

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

Now, more than ever, making your phone calls should be your priority if your goal is to continuously build a great team. I do know that everyone has the best of intentions, and life happens. The world is crazy right now. There is so much distraction.  However, now is the best time to get a great return on your investment of time spent on the phone and getting those appointments booked!

If you don’t make your phone calls, you could miss out on some great recruits this season.  BEFORE everyone is in full winter mode – this may be a good time for agents who have not yet ramped up their business to make a move. That’s why we are seeing so many agents doing just that. I recently talked to one of my clients with a team of 12 managers that recruited 59 experienced agents in one month!  Their combined production is $189,000,000! What would a month like that do for your results? The only way to know is to get on those phones. Of course, marketing, promoting your results, and networking also plays an important role. Marketing, promotion, and networking should enhance your results when calling.   Would it be easier to make calls if you had just hired 59 top-producing agents in the past 30 days? Of course, it would, but it all starts with the call.

This time of the year, if you are not going to make the calls to book appointments, then hire someone who will.  Someone recently told me that they thought that making calls was right up there with flying on airplanes, going to the dentist, or having a spider crawl up your leg as the greatest fears to the Broker owners of the nation.  What are you afraid of? I have literally made thousands of phone calls, and I can count on one hand how many times someone has been rude to me.   If someone even thinks of taking a tone with me, I’m quick to remind them, “I just wanted to remind you the fact that I’m calling you is a compliment to you today.”  Usually, I’ll get a change of heart “I’m sorry, I appreciate your call; I was just…” Whatever their reason, stay on task and stay positioned.

One of the best movies I have ever seen that helped me with sales calls is the movie Boiler Room.  Ben Affleck plays the role of a recruiter for new sales reps in a finance firm.  While training a group, he tells them, “There is a sale made on every phone call; either you sell them to buy something, or they sell you why they can’t, but either way, a sale will be made.”  What a powerful reminder.  Keep Ben’s line in mind as you make your calls this month.  Set yourself up for success.  Plan your calls out ahead of time.  Know who you are calling before you get to work. Many of the top recruiters still use the “old school technique: which includes a notebook with the names and numbers of those they are going to call written out.  In the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, the true success story of Chris Gardner, this is the best example of discipline in phone prospecting I have ever seen.  Chris is limited in the time he can call prospects, so he doesn’t drink water, which saves trips to the bathroom, and he never hangs up the phone, which saves him eight minutes a day.  I’m not suggesting anything that extreme; however, have a plan before you arrive at the office tomorrow of who you will call and have their numbers handy.  This organized plan will hold you accountable for your success.

Bottom line? Fire up those phone lines and make the calls. There are six specific audio-training downloads that revolve around phone scripts and strategies in your Profitable Recruiter classroom.  The tools are right there at your fingertips – let us know if you need help accessing them!

Continue to learn how to be the master recruiting skills and be the broker to join your market. If recruiting is a challenge for you, we can help. Join The Profitable Recruiter and gain access to 7+ hours of audio training via downloadable links, powerful recruiting letters and notes, emails, social media tips, and opportunities to network with the best of the best. Join today and take advantage of our special offer of 50% off with the promo code 50OFF for any pro membership.  

We’re taking the guesswork out of recruiting for brokers — and they love it.  We can do the same for you! Questions?  Email us today.  

The Three Daily Practices of Master Recruiters

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
19 Dec

Hint: Are You Staying in Touch with Your Customers?

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach and Speaker Judy LaDeur

If you are like most Brokers, you are constantly reinforcing with your agents how important it is to stay in touch with their clients and potential customers. It’s one of the most important jobs for your agents, but according to NAR, one that most agents do not do.

What about you? Are you staying in touch with the agents in your market that you want for your team? Are you building your base of potential recruits?  Are you staying in touch with them on a regular basis? Do the agents in the market know what tools/training and benefits you offer as an organization and why it might be a better option for them and their career? Do you have your names set up in a CRM?

It’s not enough to have “good stuff”. Most companies have great tools and a lot of opportunities for their agents to make money and succeed.  If that’s all it took, most companies would have agents lining up at their doors to join. They trick is to also communicate the value of what you are offering and stay positioned with those agents at all times.

Communicating your value actually starts way before the interview process. When you take the time to build people’s trust, build the relationship and “pre-sell” your company, the job is half done when you start the interview.

  • Social Media is a great way to build the relationship.
  • You can build curiosity about the value of joining your team with “Just Hired” announcements, both online, in the sidebar of your weekly emails, and postcards are a great way to spread the word that agents are joining your office. You may want to include their “why” – where they share the top reason they joined.
  • Your marketing should be about your results. Share the things that make you unique. Do you have an awesome mentoring program? Do your agents close more than those at other companies? Share your success stories.
  • Make those phone calls to discuss your value, the results your agents are getting, to thank an agent for a great co-broke experience, etc.
  • Our Profitable Recruiter Monday Morning email newsletters keep you positioned at all times. They are motivational and inspirational and a “soft” way to stay in touch without that imposing push of a hard recruiting call. You’re offering content of value, and creating the rapport that is powerful when those agents start to think about making a move.

What do top recruiters and brokers do on a daily basis to insure consistent results in recruiting?   They stay in touch with the agents that they want! We talked to many of the best recruiters and brokers that we coach and asked them what they do to stay in touch with their “book of business”, the agents that they want.

#1: Phone calls are a daily routine: They talk to at least five agents every day about a career with their company. When their pipeline is empty they spend several hours each day making calls. For a Master Recruiter, if they are not interviewing a candidate, they’re looking for one!

#2: They network for referrals daily.  Master Recruiters say the best way to get appointments with the best agents is to build relationships with their existing agents. Master Recruiters say 50%-80% of their recruits are a result of the referrals from their agents. How do they get the referrals?  They ask for referrals, they watch who the agents are co-broking with and follow up with phone calls, they hold networking/coaching sessions weekly for the agents in the office, and they understand that when agents are happy with their office, they want other agents to have that same experience.

#3: They follow up with the agents in their pipeline:  Master Recruiters hire about 50% of the agents that they interview that day, or within 60 days of the initial interview. 15% will choose another firm right away and 35% of the agents will decide to move sometime in the next 12 months. That means follow up is critical for long-term success. Follow up involves, notes, calls, sending books or gifts, invitations to special or social events, or sending them a weekly motivational email that they can read, share with their friends and family and also share with their book of business. When that agent is doing more business because they are sending your weekly motivation message to their book of business. Their business and success is tied to YOU, and they are not even there yet! Brokers who stay in touch with their potential recruits with The Profitable Recruiter say that they recruit more than of 6 agents per year with this one tool alone!

Show your agents that you practice what you preach and sign up for the Profitable Recruiter today. Your agents will love it!

What do you get?  Make any Profitable Recruiter Pro Membership part of your recruiting plan, and take 50% off with the promo code 50OFF — PLUS, have the ability to add up to 10 managers or admins to your account at no extra cost!  That’s 50% off everything you need to be in the right place at the right time when the agents you want are ready to make a move – AND includes the SEVEN HOURS of recruiting audio training, more than 30 webinars on demand, scripts, letters, social media tools and more!  What are you waiting for? Register today and be on your way to being a Master Recruiter.  

 

Are YOU Closing Three Times?

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
05 Jul

How to Get Better at Closing

By Judy LaDeur

When I ask Brokers what they need most, they almost always say that they need to become better closers. When I ask why they think they need to get better at the close, the obvious answer is that if they are better closers, they will sign up more agents.  To an extent, that’s true. Everyone needs to be a good closer to be at the top of their game, but what is a good closer?

A good closer is someone who does these five things:

  • They set it up properly. From the time the interview starts, they are closing them to join “if it’s determined that they are a good fit.”
  • They ask the right questions to know what it’s going to take.  If you know what it’s going to take, you will present the right tools and solutions.
  • When you present the right tools and solutions in a way that shows and proves value, the agent wants to join.
  • A good closer also knows HOW to close the agent. Amiable agents need assurances and security. Expressive agents need to “feel good” about the decision. Logical agents need to KNOW that it’s a good solid business decision.
  • And of course, you must ask them to join! Not just one time, but several times.

You may have heard about the Northwestern University Study that says that 78% of the time, you must close three times to get the sale, but most do not know what that really means.

Do you just keep asking them to join the same way? No! If you ask someone to join your team at the interview (that’s one), and they say “no, or sounds good BUT…”, just smile and say that’s fine, but if you were going to join today, what would it take? (That’s two).  Listen to what they say, feed it back, (so if I hear what you are saying, if you were going to join today, we would need to…” Then question it.  “Tell me why that is important. Tell me more about that, please. Why-what-how questions will help you to get more details from them.

When you have enough info, isolate the objection and offer to solve it. “Is that the only objection? If I could overcome that today, would you be willing to move forward?” (That’s three.) At this point, you need a “yes”. In the absence of a yes, you are dealing with a stall, and you can’t overcome a stall.  Start the process over again and ask, “What else is holding you back?”  However, if the person said, “Yes if you can overcome that, I would be willing to join…”, then simply overcome the objection and close again.

Remember the saying, Close often, and then close again. Just like you do with buyers and sellers if you saw the sale take place that day, work hard to put it together!

Remember there are seven and a half audio HOURS of dialogues, strategies, closes, objection handlers, etc. in your Profitable Recruiter System. Top brokers tell me they tap these resources at least twice a month to continuously fine-tune their recruiting skills. It’s no secret that’s why their recruiting numbers are so high! Be sure to listen to my signature handshake close (yes, that’s me in the picture above at a recruiting retreat).  It works like a CHARM.

Want to learn more about hiring the best agents for your team, and keeping your team happy and productive?  Join The Profitable Recruiter and gain access to 7 hours of training via downloadable links including interview skills, scripts, objection handlers, and more. PLUS, you’ll have access to entire libraries of recruiting letters and notes, emails, social media content, training webinars for recruiting and retention, and opportunities to network with the best of the best. Join today and take advantage of our special 50% off with the promo code 50OFF for any 6-month or annual membership.  

Not sure if this is the right thing for your company?  Watch this video on demand to learn why brokers of every company size are making it their turn to way to stay positioned for recruiting success in today’s market — and putting the fun back into their recruiting.  We’re taking the guesswork out of recruiting for brokers — and they are loving it.  We can do the same for you! Questions?  Email us today.  

 

The Top Five Must-Do Strategies for Brokers to Implement in Today’s Market

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
09 May

What You Do Now Will Affect the Rest of Your Year

By Real Estate Recruiting Expert and Coach Judy LaDeur

Our market continues to change at a crazy clip and smart brokers and managers are turning to serious systems and tools to keep up.  To help make the most of your recruiting efforts, energy, and marketing dollars, I’ve put together five top strategies for a successful rest of the year that are generating tremendous results for brokers.

  1. Take Out the Guesswork. Be sure to have a SPECIFIC, laid-out, retention program to keep the agents that you already have. Agents need to know that they are appreciated and wanted.  In changing and competitive times, agents who feel under-appreciated begin to look to your competition for acknowledgment. For those of you who are members, make sure those Monday Morning messages are going out to your current team, not just your recruits, and follow the weekly retention action plan that corresponds to your message.
  1. Be the Resource. Provide powerful ongoing training, coaching and mentoring to keep your agents productive, ahead of the trends, and confident in their skills and tools. Productive agents are happy agents and companies who continue to provide resources for success will grow exponentially over their competitors. Not to mention, like attracts like. If your agents are happy, productive, and knocking it out of the park in your market, they’ll catch the attention of other area agents who will be curious as to how your company can help them do the same.
  1. Support them. Provide marketing support for two very important reasons. It increases your agents’ business and more importantly ensures that the marketing ACTUALLY gets done. Many agents cut their marketing budgets, which resulted in less business for the agent – but also for the company. When agents sell homes, companies make money so whatever you can do as a broker to support their business, is always a winning strategy.
  1. Turn Up the Heat.  While many of your competitors go into holiday “sleep mode” — it’s your turn to dial things up. Implement a strong recruiting campaign that consists of marketing, calls, social media, advertising, and interviews weekly!  Now is the perfect time to keep your ears to the ground and your eyes open for trends in your market that you can leverage.  A competitor that pulls back on resources.  A change in management at another company.  A top producer who isn’t being recognized.  Use these trends to your advantage and RECRUIT, RECRUIT, RECRUIT!
  1. Know your numbers! What I mean by that is—know your value propositions.  What is the VALUE of being with your company? How many referrals do you generate per agent? What percentage of their business is generated by something you’re providing? I am always amazed how few brokers know what percentage of an agent’s business is as a result of something that the company does to support them…and that is the key to recruiting and retention!

Hope you’ve found these tips helpful.

Want to continue to learn how to be the master recruiting skills and be the broker to join in your market?  Bookmark our blog, and join The Profitable Recruiter today.  We have a full spectrum of membership benefits with all the tools, strategies, and solutions you need to position yourself to win this year and every year. Our goal is for you to become the “turn-to” broker in your area for every agent.  

Join today and take advantage of our special offer of 50% off with the promo code 50FF for any pro membership.  That’s 50% off everything you need to be in the right place at the right time when the agents you want are ready to make a move – including SEVEN HOURS of recruiting audio training which covers:

  • interview skills
  • objection handling
  • phone calls
  • recruiting strategies
  • handling stalls
  • recruiting to specific personality types
  • and so much more…

What are you waiting for? Join today and save 50% — and add up to 10 managers on your account at no additional cost.  

Recruiting Season Skill Building

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
13 Jul

Fine Tune Those Interview Skills

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

If you’re consistently staying  in touch with your recruiting process, now is the time to turn up the heat on your recruiting skills by practicing.  While it might not feel natural at first – I challenge you to stick as close to the interview process as possible.

Here is an overview of the interview process:

The set up: This is the time to tell them the goals and agenda for the meeting. Set up the interview by sharing your goals and agenda.  Let them know that your job is to give them the information that they need that day to make the best decision for their real estate career, and to better have a feel of whether your company is the right choice for them. You should know if the agent is an emotional decision maker or a logical decision maker within the first 5-10 minutes.  You need to mirror your candidate for optimal results. Maintain a businesslike manner for logical agents and a friendly, warm manner for emotional agents.

The questions: The questions are the foundation of your interview.  If a broker/recruiter cannot master this component, their presentation will be weak, or even worse, they will find themselves “buying agents through making deals” if they cannot hire on value.  Surface questions will not give you what you want to know. They just skim the surface. You must really dig deep and find out what is happening in their professional life, what they have now, how do they feel about what they have, and what do they want. Why, When and Why are how most of your questions should start. You can also say, “Tell me more about that” or “when you say (comment), what do you mean?”

The goal of asking questions for the new or struggling agent:

Do you want them? Will they make it? What are their past accomplishments? Sales experience? What is their behavior style?  What have they been doing to build their career up until now?  Number of people in their database? Number of calls they make daily? Farming? FSBO? Expireds?  What are they willing to do to have a successful career? Number of hours they plan to work to achieve goals?

The goal of asking questions for the experienced agent interview:

What do they like where they are? What do they dislike? What is the point of difference between your company and their company? What are their long term goals? Can they achieve them at their current company?  What are their expectations of you as their broker? What are they doing to generate business now? What tools would best support them to take their career to the next level?

At the end of the questions, you should know which systems you will present and what it’s going to take to hire them. If you don’t know these things, then you either need to ask more questions or better questions.

The prospect that can be most challenging at this stage is the driver. If you are interviewing the driver, keep the questions moving fast, and be very direct. Otherwise, they will start asking you questions and you will lose control of the interview.  If you lose control of the interview in the questioning process with a driver, it’s because it’s moving too slow or they are frustrated with the interview and you are not staying on task.  This can be a very tough position for any manager or recruiter, but when you find yourself in that position, first realize how you got there and next, regain control as fast as possible. You can listen to the CD’s if you need additional support with regard to asking questions.

Please remember that the purpose of asking questions is to identify the right systems to present to the agent.  They usually only need about 5 systems to meet their needs.

The Presentation:

The area that I would like for you each of you to really practice and develop is the 3-step presentation process and the ROI or value close.  Failing to present each system in a way that shows value, is the #1 reason that the agent will not join.  With regard to presentation skills, please remember that you don’t need to present everything about your company, but you should have visuals and info on everything that is unique about your company and be ready for each interview.  What sets you apart and gives you a point of difference?  Not only for experienced agents, but for new as well.  It can be on a laptop, folders, whatever, as long as it is easy for you to use and it is going to demonstrate what makes your office unique and the results that can occur when they join your team.

This is your 3-step presentation process.

  • Recap what they said in the questioning process.
  • Present the tool or system using a visual.
  • Present the results using results from agents at your office or survey results from an organization such as NAR.

Each tool gets presented the same way with the three-step process. Then after the presentation, please go back and ask them to give you their opinion as to how many more transactions they can have with each tool. Please remember that they need you to give them results, in order for them to calculate value.

You can then close on the value of joining, which means that you do not have to worry about fees.  When you follow the process above, you will see that they can give you the value as perceived and believed by them. It will definitely make recruiting easier.

The RECAP = your ROI

The ROI = your Value Proposition

If you are not using the 3-step process above, and sharing results with your recruit, you will not be able to value close them.  After presenting each of your systems, you will recap, which is when you build value.  

Dialog to start the recap:  

“Let’s review what we have discovered.  There were 5 different areas of your real estate career that YOU felt could use some improvement. You said that you definitely need:

  • More leads
  • More marketing support
  • Personalized coaching and broker support
  • Better tools to compete for listings
  • More market presence or a strong name in the community.

Is there anything that I missed?  Let’s look at each tool/ system and determine what the value is to your career.

With regard to Leads: You said… As you recall, our agents receive an average of (number of leads) per year, with most converting 25% of those leads within 6 months. If we gave you the same number of leads each year, how many could you convert?

REPEAT THIS PROCESS FOR EACH TOOL OR SYSTEM WHICH WAS DISCUSSED. 

Total all the opportunities and use this dialog:

“If we total up all the opportunities that you believe you could have with our office, the number is (number) additional sales and or listings sold. If we multiply that number by the average commission received, which is $(dollar amount), it looks like you could have an additional $(dollar amount) in income with our company. How does that sound?

More importantly, these are opportunities that do not exist at your current company, so currently, you do not have the opportunity to earn this money at your current firm. You will need to join our team to have these opportunities.  When you came in today, I told you that my goal was to give you the information that you needed to make the best decision for your real estate career TODAY. Based on what you are looking at, does it look like a good time to join (your company)?  I agree, so let’s take a look at the various compensation plans and determine which one is best for you!

This is called: Closing on VALUE.  When you get their commitment, before talking about compensation plans, it’s a lot easier to hire them.

THE CLOSE: You must ask them to join. I like the handshake close. Those who have tried it have found it works great. There are a few people who are shy about trying it. This summer is a great time to master the official Judy LaDeur Hand Shake close.

Stalls and Objections: If you need help handling stalls and objections, please refer to the audio downloads in your Profitable Recruiter Membership platform.. I have all the solutions recorded.  Here’s what others have found: When you follow the interview process, as described above, you will have fewer stalls and objections.  Have a great recruiting season!

Want to learn more about hiring the best agents for your team, and keeping your team happy and productive?  Join The Profitable Recruiter and gain access to 7 hours of training via downloadable links including interview skills, scripts, objection handlers, and more. PLUS, you’ll have access to entire libraries of recruiting letters and notes, emails, social media content, training webinars for recruiting and retention, and opportunities to network with the best of the best. Join today and take advantage of our special 50% off with the promo code 50OFF any membership.  

Not sure if this is the right thing for your company?  Contact us to learn why brokers of every company size are making it their turn to way to stay positioned for recruiting success in today’s market — and putting the fun back into their recruiting.  We’re taking the guesswork out of recruiting for brokers — and they are loving it.  We can do the same for you! Questions?  Email us today.  

Growth, Culture, & Retention Webinar

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter

How one powerhouse recruiter brought on board 52 agents in just three months? 

We are delighted to share our January Profitable Recruiting webinar with everyone to kick start our 2019 off on an amazing foot. Learn the strategies, mindsets, and tools she learned from Judy LaDeur’s One-On-One retreat coupled with savvy marketing intuition, and a passion for hitting her goals.

Meet Jackie Root, who, nine months after becoming an agent, (after a long career in marketing and development) Jackie was asked if she would be willing to create a position that did not exist at that time and work with her company’s team to grow the company.  Her compelling insights, ideas, and strategies to increase culture, agent retention, and expand into new markets took them from 215 agents to 487 and increased transactions from 4500 per year to 6850 this year and went over a billion dollars in volume.

You’re going to want to take notes — and then take ACTION! Thank you, Jackie, for sharing with our membership!

It’s time for every broker to make this YOUR year for increasing profits, productivity, and growing your team with the right agents for your organization.

Want to get results like Jackie is getting? We can help!

Learn how to master recruiting skills and be the broker to join in your market.  We have a full spectrum of membership benefits with all the tools, strategies and solutions you need to position yourself to win this year and every year. Our goal is for you to become the “turn-to” broker in your area for every agent.  

Join today and take advantage of our special offer of 45% off with the promo code 45OFF any 6 month or annual membership.  That’s 45% off everything you need to be in the right place at the right time when the agents you want are ready to make a move – including SEVEN HOURS of recruiting audio training!  What are you waiting for? When you join – you and up to 10 managers can access your account! Try it for a month and see what it can do for you.

Recruiting Rising or Fading Stars

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
15 Mar

An All-Star Strategy From Recruiter John ArquetteJohn Arquette

By Julie Escobar

I was just speaking with two recruiters this week about a strategy we learned on one of our Profitable Recruiter webinars from the fabulous New York broker and recruiter John Arquette. So, I thought it was the perfect time to re-share what he did to change the recruiting game in his market.  John has such an amazing attitude and willingness to dive in and just do what it takes to build his team that we wanted to spotlight him as a standard-setter in our industry.

Here’s what he shared:

Q:  Thanks John for sharing your words of wisdom!  You hired 7-8 new experienced agents in the just a few months – can you tell us a little about that?

A: We have hired 8 new agents after the conference. The two biggest differences are first, how we interview.  I use Judy’s 7-step plan which drills down to find hot buttons and preferences. The second this is we are more focused on prospecting. Make the calls and you will get appointments.

Q:  In terms of putting together your prospecting list for recruits you recently spoke about ‘rising stars’ and ‘fading stars’ and how you are using interns to help create those hit lists.  We thought that was a brilliant strategy – can you tell us more? 

A:  We use interns to scour the MLS and compare year over year production. When we identify either a rising or fading star we drill deeper by going back another year in the MLS, looking at Facebook and LinkedIn postings, doing a Google search all hoping to learn more about what is going on in this person’s life then we make a phone call and structure the conversation around what we have learned.

Q:  That’s just smart recruiting!  You’re using the Profitable Recruiter Monday Motivation eNewsletters now every week, and you’ve added a ‘What’s Happening Here’ email on Fridays.  So you are CONSISTENTLY positioned with your recruiting prospects. (A giant key to recruiting success!) Can you share with our readers how that’s impacted your recruiting efforts? 

A: I am surprised at how hungry the industry is for local news and statistics. The number of agents who come up to me at broker open house events and association functions to comment on the Monday Morning Wake Up Call eNewsletters and the Friday Update is incredible. This opens the door for a “getting to know each other” conversation which should lead to more, I hope!

Q:  I love the strategies you use with agents from an office from which you’ve hired another agent – can you tell us about that? 

A:  Once an agent is on board (we have an 8-step on-boarding process) we ask them who else we should reach out to at their old office. They have an insight I’ll never have and often we are able to arrange a few more meetings. We run huge welcome ads in the local paper telling the new recruits story and introducing them such as, “Meet Christina Closson – the newest member of our elite team.” This always get noticed. We take the ad and send out an email blast using Vertical Response and we mail copies to selected agents as well.

Q:  Great stuff John.  If readers have referrals in your area – what’s the best way for them to connect with you? 

A:  The best way to reach me is via email.

Profitable Recruiter Members — login to your accounts today to watch John’s awesome webinar on demand today.  His insights were on point!  Need help recruiting your own dream team?  Join The Profitable Recruiter and gain access to 7 hours of training via downloadable links, hundreds of recruiting letters and notes, emails, social media contents, webinars for recruiting and retention, and opportunities to network with the best of the best. Join today and take advantage of our special spring offer of 40% off with the promo code 40OFF any pro membership.