Category Archives: Real Estate Retention

How to Keep Your Recruiting Momentum Going All Summer…

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
01 Jun

A Webinar on Demand

by Judy LaDeur

Summertime.  A time when most are ready to put things in slower gear and take some much needed R&R. We wanted to share a webinar we did last year that helped many brokers stay positioned all summer long with the agents they wanted to recruit — and still have time for fun! Recruiting season is not that far off – don’t lose the foundation you’ve built during these slower months!  Here’s how to stay at the top of your game!

Having the right systems and strategies in place takes some of the guess-work out of your success.  We are happy to be a resource to help you develop a strong, supportive culture in your office, stay top of mind with the recruits you want to hire, and 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 30% off with the promo code 30OFF — PLUS, have the ability to add up to 10 managers or admins to your account at no extra cost!  That’s 30% 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 30 webinars on demand, scripts, letters, social media tools and more!  What are you waiting for? Register today! 

Want your eNews recruiting done totally for you? Check out our new Concierge service that manages your email marketing for you! 

Speaking of webinars, members, be sure to join us June 7th at 1pm Eastern for a very special guest Rhonda Sher, the LinkedIn Diva for a very special Broker and Agent Webinar!

Topic: LinkedIn for Realtors – Converting Relationships to Revenue

In this powerful webinar you will learn:

  • How to connect with referral partners
  • Why Realtors Need to be on LinkedIn
  • How to take your LinkedIn profile to profit – the secrets to a profile that creates instant credibility
  • How to invite connections that count

Webinar On Demand: Recruiting Strategies with Keith Pike

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
21 Apr

We had so much fun with this month’s guest, award-winning recruiter Keith Pike, that we decided to break our own member-only rules and share this powerful, insightful and just fun interview with our entire newsletter list.  Keith owns RE/MAX Elite in Little Rock, Conway, and Bryant, Arkansas, and RE/MAX Infinity in Overland Park, Kansas and was kind enough to share the strategies and tools he uses to knock it out of the park!

We loved every minute and know you will too!

For more great ideas on giving your agents the best resources possible, while attracting awesome new agents, join The Profitable Recruiter.  Take advantage of our special offer!  Make any Profitable Recruiter Pro Membership part of your business plan, and take 35% off with the promo code PLAN35 — PLUS, have the ability to add up to 10 managers or admins to your account at no extra cost!  That’s 35% 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 30 webinars on demand, scripts, letters, social media tools and more!  What are you waiting for? Register today! 

 

How to Create CUSTOMERS for LIFE

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
13 Oct

From First Contact to Close

By Real Estate Coach Judy LaDeur

To make it in this business for the long haul – you need to build a referral base. And that process?  Starts with the very first contact. Every person that you meet is a potential client, even if they currently know another agent. I always asked everyone that I met if I can send them my homeowner tips and ideas each month. They rarely say no. A NAR survey showed that 87% of all homeowners surveyed were happy with their agent and would use that agent again IF they could remember their name! That’s sad but true. I would say that 9 out of 10 times that I ask someone that I meet who sold them their home, I get the same response. They were really nice, but just can’t remember who they are. I have found that repetition of marketing materials, combined with personal contact, is the #1 thing that you can do as an agent to not only have those you know do business with you, but it’s also a great source of ongoing referrals.

When I started in the business, many years ago, I was “thrown in” and told to “hit the phones”. No one told me what to say or what to do. That has changed, and today’s agents have more training than ever before. Here’s the million-dollar question: If there is more training today than ever, why are so many agents still struggling to earn a living? Perhaps they are not doing the basics. This is a contact business, and if you are not selling or listing a home, you should be looking for someone who wants to sell or list a home. It’s just that simple!

What does your pipeline look like? Your pipeline consists of the total number of active listings, combined with the number of buyers that you are working with, plus any prospects that you are currently talking to about listing their home or buying a home. You should have 25 people in your pipeline at all times. How many do you have right now? If it’s not at least 25, then it’s time to hit the phones!

Once they are your client, stay in touch weekly, providing reports and feedback to insure that they are happy. Most clients want results. Results require honesty. Is the home priced too high? Does it need staging? Our job is to deliver the “tough news” in a way that they appreciate and understand. I picked up many expired listings, through referrals, and each time it was the same scenario. They needed a price adjustment and staging or decorating. They were always willing to do what was asked, when they knew that it was the key to getting their home sold. If they were not willing to do what was needed to sell their home, I was not the right agent for them.

Happy clients are clients for life if you get the job done and stay in touch after the sale. If you stop chasing all the NEW commissions and focus on building a strong book of business.  If you put each and every customer and contact in a database that you can stay connected to week after week, month after month.

If you’re an agent who wants an easy, comfortable, effective way to stay in touch, visit www.TheProfitableSalesAgent.com and sign up for our weekly newsletters, training, social media tips, and agent tools. They weekly newsletters are perfect for staying connected in a way that positions you as a resource people can trust. They are filled with lots of great messages, tips for homeowners, and calls to action. If you’re a broker who wants to help your agents get on the fast track to successfully staying in touch, invite them to do the same. In fact, register in the next 45 days and take advantage of our 4th quarter special! Use promo code 50OFF any agent membership and save 50%!

If you follow these simple steps and you’ll have happy clients from first contact to close, and a source of referrals for life.  You’ll end up with a lot of great new friends too!

COACHING TIP OF THE MONTH: MAKE THE CALL 

There are many agents who take the listing and then don’t communicate with the seller because they have no idea what to say.  Here’s an idea: Contact each of your listings, without fail, every Tuesday.  If there has been absolutely no activity, simply tell them that.  Generally, though, even though nothing has happened with their particular listing, something has happened in the neighborhood.  Whatever it is, tell them and, if appropriate, discuss a price reduction. Studies show that sellers want lots of communication from their agent, so stay in touch and you will see that they are more likely to work with you to get it sold.

Start communicating effectively today!  Register for www.theprofitablesalesagent.com today with promo code 50OFF and save 50%. 

And if you’re a broker – the same principle for success applies to you.  You’ve got to stay positioned with the agents you are eager to recruit!  Join us today and take advantage of our special offer of 35% off with the promo code PLAN35 any pro membership.  That’s 35% 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.    

Six Ways to Promote Leadership in Your Office

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
18 Aug

Growing an EMPOWERED Team of Sales Professionals

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach and Speaker Judy LaDeur

Leadership?  Is not about telling people what to do. Or owning the business.  Or even writing the checks.  It’s INFLUENCE.  It’s the ability to develop relationships in such a way that people will line up to follow you. Listen to you.  Help you grow.  Help each other grow.  Sound like you?   Or someone you would like to be?

Your relationship with your agents should be a partnership. A partnership for their success, which will lead to your mutual success.  And, as you know, partnerships take investment.

Here are 6 great ways to promote that partnership and leadership within your team. 

  1. Lunch and Learn Sessions:  This is a great time to help agents fine tune their skills, or learn new skills. But it is also a great time to build that personal relationship with your agents. Everyone brings their own lunch.
  2. Schedule a one-on-one session with each of your agents on a regular basis.  Every 30-60 days is great, but every 90 days is the minimum.  What are their challenges and what type of support can you give them?  What is happening in their life? Send follow up cards to their home after your one on one session to show your care and support of that agent
  3. Peer mentoring: Senior agents teamed up with new agents as the join the company for the first 30-60 days.  Many of your senior agents are willing to share their knowledge with newer agents at breakfast or lunch sessions. It’s that person that they can call with general questions, verses you. It allows them to build a strong alliance in the office with a well-respected agent.
  4. Promote THANK YOU’S.  Start a healthy culture of gratitude in your office by leading by example.  Sincerely thank the agents and staff on your team, and even your recruiting prospects — in person, online, and with a handwritten note as often as possible.  Make it a daily practice to thank at least five people per day for their contribution.   Gratitude can be contagious – ask them to pass it on!
  5. Don’t be shy about recognition.  When people are doing the RIGHT things, be sure to sing their praises.  Group emails, social media posts, press releases, flowers, a card, or a little bit of all of the above will go a long way to making people feel appreciated and cared about. And that?  Is a cornerstone of INFLUENCE.
  6. Empower them.  Sometimes as leaders it’s hard to let go of the reins. Let others take over.  Engage new ideas that are different from your own.  But when you do – when you really give people the ability to take their ideas and let OWN them, and help them flourish?  You fuel the passion in your team members that will, in turn, fuel your entire team.

This is a great time of year to re-evaluate your leadership role in your organization and put new strategies in place that will help you skyrocket your results – and your relationship influence with those VIPs who sit around your business table!  Good luck!  

For more great ideas on giving your agents the best resources possible, while attracting awesome new agents, join The Profitable Recruiter.  Take advantage of our special offer of 30% off with the promo code 30OFF any pro membership.  That’s 30% 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. 

Find Your Compelling Reason

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
05 Aug

Real World Recruiting Advice for Today’s Competitive Broker

 

By Real Estate Recruiting Speaker and Coach Judy LaDeur

Ready to kick your recruiting into HIGH GEAR?  You should first make a list of the compelling reasons for someone to join your team.  Create a minimum of 12 reasons for an agent to join your team. Many of you have more than 12 reasons to join, but when it comes to results, and results that you can prove, it takes a bit of work and research. In today’s very competitive market, it is very important that you determine the compelling reasons for an agent to join your team.

When we say “compelling”, what we are looking for are the following:

  • What can you do better than your competitors?
  • What are you doing that your competitors are not doing?
  • How can you help potential recruits earn more money through your systems and tools?
  • How do you enhance the working environment of your agents?
  • What happens when someone joins your team? What are their results a year later?

Something that I have found very useful in getting started is to ask your agents what they enjoy most about being at your office.  What is the most beneficial tool in their opinion? How many more transactions per year do they get, on the average, with that tool?

Of course, since we are developing a marketing plan, the reason that I want you to determine which 12 are most compelling is because there are 12 months in the year. This allows you to focus your marketing, dialogs and follow up each month on that month’s compelling reason to join! Only you can determine what your best 12 are, but here are some of the most compelling reasons that agents are looking for when selecting a new company.

# 1:  Strong Leadership: Vision, support with problem solving, and leaders who are acting like leaders are key. Take it one step further and determine what specific value you and your expertise bring to your team.

#2: Lead Generation: Agents need to prospect, but they want companies that are working to assist in generating leads for them as well.

#3: Name Brand Awareness: Companies with a strong presence in the market, locally and nationally, will always have a variety of opportunities for the right agents to utilize. Name awareness is tied to market share. The best agents understand that the stronger the name/market share, the easier it is to compete for business.

#4: Education/training: Agents are looking to fine tune their skills. Many agents know they need to get back to the basics and all of the agents realize the value of staying current in an ever changing real estate industry. The best agents also understand the value of securing specialized training or securing certain designations for areas of specialization. Such areas might include: Luxury market training, working with seniors, working the condo market, and one of the newest on the scene is becoming a global agent.

#5: Positive office attitude and healthy environment in the office: Agents want a positive work environment with competent and positive peers. It is easy to see that the offices with the best production and best attitude have brokers with a great attitude.

#6: Mastermind Groups and networking opportunities with other top producers:  Many of the best agents enjoy connecting with other successful agents. Their needs and approach to the real estate business is different from rookie agents.

#7: Marketing support/tools: Marketing is the #1 thing that your agents need to do to stay in touch with their sphere and past customers. What can you do to assist or support their marketing efforts?

#8: Client/data management tools: On the topic of marketing to their data base, most agents are not very organized when it comes to managing their data and client info. Do you have an easy to use CRM tool that allows them to input their data, send out marketing, and locate client data quickly? If it allows them to market to their sphere easily, they can make a lot of additional income!

#9: Coaching and accountability: We see many companies implementing very successful coaching programs, with some great results. The best agents like being held accountable.

#10: Administrative support: Agents are working harder, but most are not working smarter. What can you do to support them behind the scenes?  What can you take off their plate, and give them more balance in their life?

What’s next?  Once you have determined what your marketing campaign will include for the next 12 months, take the time to know what the results are from each of your systems and tools. Use exact results, NAR survey results, National Brand results, testimonials from your agents as well as success stories.

Here’s the ‘let’s put the shoe on the other foot, part of the program.  Think about what you would say to a part time sales agent.  You know – the ones who want to hold onto their full time job for the money and security while trying to get skillful at the real estate process.  The reality?  Most average one listing appointment per month at best.  At that rate, will they ever become effective at the listing presentation?  Of course not!  You’d advise them to jump in!  Commit!  Master their skills!  Build their business!

What about when the shoe’s on the other foot? 

Unfortunately – the same theory holds true!  A broker/owner who concentrates on listing, selling and personnel development, but conducts only one interview a month will never become an effective recruiter.

We get it.  Everyone’s been there.  Sometimes, as brokers, we’d rather hold onto the income and security of listing and selling or trying to increase the production of our existing agents, instead of developing the skills necessary to become effective and consistent recruiters.

But honestly the ONLY way to dramatically increase your market share and profits is to focus on recruiting.  In fact, today recruiting experienced agents is the primary focus of every major real estate firm.

Do you want to learn more about staying FOCUSED and building a successful, growing office? 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 summer offer of 35% off with the promo code PLAN35 any pro membership.  That’s 35% 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.

The Real VALUE in Focused Recruiting

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
21 Jul

Start With the Math!

by Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

Sometimes it’s tough to get brokers to see the value in staying focused on their recruiting efforts.  I get it. You wear a lot of hats every day and it is work.  That’s when I usually break out a little math that helps illustrate my point.  Here goes: If you were to recruit a two million dollar producer away from your competition – you’d gain $2 million in market share.  At the same time you decrease your competitor’s market share by $2,000,000.  That’s a $4,000.000 market position increase for you for each agent you recruit!

Now it’s getting exciting right?  So if you recruit two agents per month for 12 months, that’s an additional 24 agents, with a $48 million market share increase and $98 million stronger position in your marketplace.

If you were $98 million stronger in your marketplace one year from today would it help your agents do more business?  Would it help you with retention?  Would it be easier to recruit?  YOU BET!

By staying focused, every broker should be able to recruit an average of 24 experienced agents per year or more — depending on your current size.  Ironically, as you become stronger in your marketplace, the strong producers will naturally seek you out because they want to be with the best.

Let’s work the problem out backwards. We’ve always been taught that even though objection handling and closing skills are critical, if the prospect isn’t sold (due to a poor presentation) no close in the world will help.  So, closing skills are important, but ONLY if your presentation is effective.

How do we perfect the presentation process?  With training and lots of practice.  (Remember that old saying – “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?  PRACTICE!”  Your attitude needs to be “We don’t need them all – we just need the BEST!”)

It’s hard to accomplish your recruiting goals when only one agent per month walks through the door!  But when you have lots of prospects, you can be more selective. So, get lots of practice, AND build your confidence through proven systems.

How do you get in front of lots of candidates?  By PROSPECTING.  It’s not a bad word, we promise!  There are hundreds of good prospecting systems and ideas being implemented by brokers all over the globe.  The key is to find what works for YOU and YOUR ORGANIZATION.

Do you want to learn more about staying FOCUSED and building a successful, growing office? 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.  

Take advantage of our special offer!  Make any Profitable Recruiter Pro Membership part of your end of the year plan, and take 35% off with the promo code PLAN35 — PLUS, have the ability to add up to 10 managers or admins to your account at no extra cost!  That’s 35% 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 30 webinars on demand, scripts, letters, social media tools and more!  What are you waiting for? Register today! 

 

CULTURE: What It Is and Why It Matters

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
16 Jun

Evaluating the Health of Your Company

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

Whenever we evaluate the relative health of a company, the first element we examine is the company’s culture.  Cultural strength may well be the most critical factor in a company’s success.

What is culture?  A company’s culture refers to how well the members of an organization agree about the importance of shared values.  In simple terms, it’s “the way things are done”. Yet, culture is often overlooked or dismissed as “fluff”.  Subsequently, in many companies, culture is derived accidentally, verses by design.

Culture is everything we do, including the way we answer the phone, greet clients, resolve disputes, communicate, dress, and process information.  It’s also our performance standards, the appearance of our offices and yard signs, our marketing message, and the perceived image of the agents.   Culture should be created by a specific set of core values, and implemented on a daily basis. Do you view the growth of your agents as the pathway to increasing your profit? Ultimately, culture is how well a company collectively “walks the talk”—not simply an eloquent mission statement in the foyer.

Why does culture matter?  There is overwhelming evidence that companies that intentionally develop and manage their cultures outperform similar companies that don’t and by a wide margin! Real estate companies with strong cultures attract more clients, have a higher percentage of repeat and referral business, attract and retain the most productive salespeople, and have the most positive environments.  You can literally feel it when you walk in the door.

What does a strong culture look like?   

  • An atmosphere of trust, transparency, and fairness permeating the organization.
  • A prevailing sense that the whole of the company is important to all.
  • A commitment to continuous improvement.

What is the leader’s role?  There is no more important job for leadership than to develop, articulate and model an intentional culture.  Ultimately, every culture and sub-culture in any organization is a reflection of its leader.  Changing culture is complex.  The process can begin by identifying:

  • 3 values that are important to you, the leader
  • 3 values that are important to your team:  agents and support staff
  • 3 values that are important to your clients
  • 3 values that are important to the success of your brokerage

Once you have identified the shared core values, you should begin developing a comprehensive plan for implementing those core values in everything you do. Are you recruiting agents who support your values? Do your clients know your core values and how that benefits them?  Does every member of your team adhere to those values on a daily basis? It does not happen overnight, but you can start today to build your office of tomorrow.

A great tool to get your message to your potential recruits and your clients is our Profitable Recruiter Motivational messages. We create a motivational message each week for you to send to your agents, your recruits and your agents clients. You can personalize each message with one of your core values. To view each of the tools on our Profitable Recruiter platform, go to www.TheProfitableRecruiter.com.

Having the right systems and strategies in place takes some of the guess-work out of your success.  We are happy to be a resource to help you develop a strong, supportive culture in your office, stay top of mind with the recruits you want to hire, and 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 30% off with the promo code 30OFF — PLUS, have the ability to add up to 10 managers or admins to your account at no extra cost!  That’s 30% 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 30 webinars on demand, scripts, letters, social media tools and more!  What are you waiting for? Register today! 

 

How to NOT Have to RESET Your Recruiting Each Season

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
26 May

Summer Recruiting Realities for Brokers and Managers

By Real Estate Recruiting Speaker and Coach Judy LaDeur

Summer is a great time of year, right?  Time to kick back a little. Enjoy some rest and relaxation.  Re-charge the batteries.  There is one thing that brokers should NOT leave in a holding pattern during the summer months however, and that is the consistent process of staying in touch with their recruiting prospects. Otherwise – you have to hit RESET on your marketing and recruiting efforts each season, losing valuable time and opportunity.

I like to remind recruiters that this time of year it’s crucial to “stay comfortably in touch” with those they want to attract – as well how to not have to reset your recruiting each seasonas the agents they already have.  It’s an easy time to kick back, ease up on the marketing, and postpone “staying in touch” calls. But the months of June, July and August are two really important times to do the opposite, because, the truth is — the agents are doing the same thing!  That means for those who are taking a summer sabbatical – they will be starting all over again come fall. When agents do not stay in touch with their database, their pipeline starts to dry up.  Agents should have 10 clients and customers in their pipeline at all times. That means: current listings, buyers who are looking at homes, or listing appointments booked.  Agents who maintain a pipeline of at least 10 clients, will start off the fall season on the right track.  Use the month of July to spot check your agents’ activity. If they have 10 in the pipeline, great!  If it is less than 10, have a one-on-one consultation with them to see what it will take to bring that number to 10.

The same thing happens to brokers. Many brokers let their pipeline dry up in the summer. Who should be in YOUR pipeline?  Those you have interviewed, but not yet hired combined with those interviews which are set. Do you have 10 agents in your pipeline? If not, what will it take to build up your pipeline?

Summertime is also a terrific time to sharpen your skills and stock up on summer reading that will help you fuel your team and help with retention.  Fall is recruiting season which means, just as you are seeking out and talking to agents in your market, other brokers are going to be talking to YOUR agents, too.  Here are a few great book recommendations to consider:

  • The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon is a great book about passion and positive energy.
  • The Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton talks about building a referral based business. Brokers should apply the same principles to building a referral based recruiting system.
  • Billion Dollar Agent by Steve Kantor studies the common traits of agents who have sold a billion dollars in real estate. It has some great insights for brokers on what their agents should do to build their business.

While lots of agents are on “family time mode” this time of year — there are lots of things brokers can be doing to secure their top of mind spot when agents are back in work mode.

Activities brokers can do to position themselves for a strong finish to the year are:

  • Go back and see who you interviewed, and then put a reminder on their calendar to call them mid-August to get back together.
  • Go back 7 years and make a list of everyone who left your office. If they are good agents, it’s a great time to call and invite them to come back. Tell them that they are missed.
  • Set up your marketing (if you haven’t already) to go out via Constant Contact, iContact, or whatever your email platform might be.  These systems allow you to allow you to see who is opening your emails and track results.
  • A very basic thing is to keep all your data in a contact management program. I am still surprised how many brokers do not have their info set up in an organized format. If it’s not set up, use this time to get organized.
  • Our weekly emails give brokers activities each week for recruiting and retention, so just sending your emails and implementing those ideas each week will keep you positioned.

Mindsets are important too.  For a lot of recruiters – forming the right habits, such as time blocking and the ability to pick up the phone without fear are important.  What can you be doing right now to fuel your skill sets?  Networking with other successful recruiters is a great way to keep the right mind set, and pick up new ideas. Recruiters are a team of ONE in many companies. They are not an agent, and they are not a manager. This makes it tough for recruiters to have someone they can talk to, bounce ideas off, etc. I coach many full time recruiters and they are always saying how great it is to have someone to talk to about their recruiting systems/objections/solutions.  As a broker, be aware of their need to connect with other like-minded recruiters. As a recruiter, search out other successful recruiters. They are always participating in our recruiting blitz, and we have one scheduled to start in a few weeks.

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 35% off with the promo code PLAN35 — PLUS, have the ability to add up to 10 managers or admins to your account at no extra cost!  That’s 35% 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 30 webinars on demand, scripts, letters, social media tools and more!  What are you waiting for? Register today! 

How to Keep Great Agents from Leaving

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter
06 Apr

It All Starts With YOU

By Real Estate Coach and Speaker Judy LaDeur

The top two reasons people leave their jobs are lack of recognition and poor working environment. It’s that simple.

Negative agents can scare off every customer they speak with-for good, which means that how your agents feel about the company has a direct impact on your profitability.

  • 65% of Americans received no recognition in the workplace last year.
  • 9 out of 10 people say they are more productive when they’re around positive people.

There is a great quote in the book: Open Your Big, Bold, Beautiful Mouth by Alphonso Belin and A.J.Polizzi. “The highest achievable level of service comes from the heart, so the company that reached its people’s hearts will provide the very best service.”

Happy agents are productive agents.  When agents feel good about their company, and their life is in balance, they produce more – and they are less likely to be recruited away.

In a recent study of more than 1,500 employees in scores of work settings by Dr. Gerald H. Graham, professor of management at Wichita State University, the most powerful motivator was personalized, instant recognition from their managers.

Graham’s study determined the top motivating techniques were:

  1. The manager / owner personally congratulates those who do a good job.
  2. The manager / owner writes personal notes about good performances.
  3. The organization used performance as the basis for promotion.
  4. The manager / owner holds morale-building meetings to celebrate successes.

When employees at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, California, hit their goals, they ring a large brass bell.  I know of several real estate companies who put a bell in the office and let the agents ring the bell when they get a listing or sale. It motivates the whole team to want to ring the bell – and it brings them together to support each other’s successes.

The Pinellas County, FL public school administrative offices have designated a small area where employees can drop off clothing for dry cleaning in the morning.  A local dry cleaner picks it up and returns it by the end of the workday. Many real estate offices offer this service to their agents as well. It does not cost you anything but offers a great service to busy agents.

People today are looking for much more than a paycheck.  They want to be treated like human beings.  That may sound obvious, but a lot of companies still don’t get it. During the busiest times of the year, executives at the Cigna Group, personally push coffee carts around the office, serving drinks and refreshments to their frontline partners.  As they serve, the executives coach and encourage their colleagues as well as hear about real consumer issues from those who know customer concerns the best.

Herb Kelleher, CEO and co-founder of Southwest Airlines, has discovered that by becoming personally involved in the workplace, and in the jobs that his employees do, he can unleash a tremendous amount of energy among his workers.  For example, Kelleher often helps flight attendants serve beverages to customers when he flies on his airline.

At Hewitt Associates, new employees are made to feel special. “I joined the firm about six months ago as a writer/consultant in New Jersey,” said a new-hire. “I was surprised at the level of detail that had gone into the preparation for my arrival.  One of the more experienced writers left a welcome note on my desk, along with a ‘survival kit’ (including a candy bar) and everybody came by my office to personally welcome me to the team.  For the first two weeks or so, every day somebody made a point to stop by and ask me to lunch.”

What type of reception do your new agents get when they join?

Some great “non-cash” ways to show you care:

  • Call an agent into your office just to thank him or her; don’t discuss any other issue.
  • Post a congrats note on the agent’s phone when they get a new listing.
  • Volunteer to do an agent’s least desirable work task for a day.
  • Have the President of the company or the regional manager call an agent to thank him or her for a job well done.
  • Have someone wash the agents’ cars in the parking lot during lunch.  Stuart Thomas, a great Broker in California, does this on a regular basis, and his agents love it!
  • Carry a supply of your cards with you and as you ‘catch people doing something right,’ immediately write ‘thanks,’ ‘good job,’ ‘keep it up’ and what they specifically did in two to three words.  Put the person’s name on the card and sign it.
  • Have lunch or coffee with a group of agents that you don’t normally see. You can announce over the office intercom; I’m buying lunch today. Who wants to join me?

In the book, The Leadership Pill, Blanchard and Muchnick explain profit this way: “Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your people and creating a motivating environment for people.”

As a broker and manager, your top priorities are recruiting and ensuring that your team of agents have not only what they need to succeed, but that feeling that they are where they belong in terms of their business “home”.  A lot of that comes down to those little things that you can do as a business leader to make people feel appreciated, cared for, and valued.  We’d love to hear what YOU do to help agents feel special in YOUR office!

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 25% off with the promo code 25OFF any pro membership.  

Scripts and Strategies Webinar On Demand

Posted on by The Profitable Recruiter

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About The Profitable Recruiter But Were Afraid to Askwebinar 2

We had a great turnout for our monthly Profitable Recruiter Members’ webinar.  This month we did something a little different. Normally our monthly webinars include a guest speaker from the industry, but we had so many brokers who really are eager to hit the ground running and make this their best recruiting year ever and wanted to learn more about how to use their platform more effectively. So that’s what we covered. The A-Z of how to use The Profitable Recruiter Membership platform to recruit the agents you want and need this year. At the end of the session Coach Judy LaDeur also shared great scripts and strategies for handling some of the biggest recruiting objections that our listeners were facing. So don’t miss out on those!

Thanks to all of our members who shared their questions, and of course to Judy for always delivering great content and answers!

If you’re ready to recruit your dream team and have YOUR best year ever as well – become a member today.  Why? Because creating is hard. Knowing what to send and say to recruit the experienced and new agents you’re looking for to continuously grow your powerful team of agents isn’t easy when you’re going it alone.

Using the tools that others have built for you that will position you for the success and growth that you want for your business is simple and affordable! If you are a Profitable Recruiter Member – make sure you are taking full advantage of your membership platform by actively using everything in your platform. 

If you are NOT a member of The Profitable Recruiter but would like to start using these powerful done-for-you content training and tools, then register here and you too can use the promo code 25OFF to save 25% on any pro membership.  Don’t forget — you can add up to TEN (10) managers or administrators to your account.  That way everyone on your management team is on the same page and working together to grow your company.  Not a big organization? That’s all right too! We can add your admin assistant and help you have as much recruiting power as possible. To access the Audio downloads, register for either the 6- month or annual memberships.  Got questions?  Email us!  We’d love to help!  Make it a great year!