What to Do BEFORE Recruiting Season Starts

Posted on May 28, 2015May 28, 2015 by The Profitable Recruiter

Fine Tune Those Interview Skills

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

Recruiting season is right around the bend – which mean NOW is the time to fine tune those interview skills. Use the summer to stay in touch with your recruits, and 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

, 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 data base? 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

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

additional sales and or listings sold. If we multiply that number by the average commission received, which is $

__, it looks like you could have an additional $

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 listen to your CD’s. 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 summer!

Need help turning up the heat on your recruiting? We’ve got the answers. 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 spring offer of 25% off with the promo code 25OFF any pro membership.

Play Ball!

Posted on March 5, 2015 by The Profitable Recruiter

Having a Little Fun With Your Recruiting!

by Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

Spring is right around the corner and baseball season with it — why not have a little fun this month with your recruiting calls with a playful, but effective little dialogue I like to call, “Play Ball”.

Here’s how it works. Head to your local sporting goods store and purchase enough baseballs to send to your top recruiting prospects – the ones you REALLY want. Then have your team members sign them. Then send them out! Wait a few days, then give them call!

Here’s the dialogue:

Good Morning…How are you today?

Did you receive the baseball that we delivered to your home? Well, it is that time of year again! In the spirit of a new baseball season, we played a game of our own in the office. Just as the best teams are always out scouting for new talent, we do the same here at

. I walked around the office and asked each of my associates to name two players they wanted most to have join our team. I’m delighted to tell you that your name came up several times!
As a matter of fact, your name came up so often that I went to the sporting goods store, purchased a baseball and asked the members of our team to sign it for you. It is our way of inviting you to check out our team.

My thought is that if such a large number of my best players want you to join, it might be worth it for us to sit down and share our game plans to see if there is a way that we can work together in the near future. I promise there will be no obligation and no pressure. However, If you like what you hear, let’s play ball! So, how does 3:00 today sound for you?

Recruiting doesn’t have to be boring. Or stress-inducing. Have some FUN with it! We can help!

For a very limited time ONLY, Judy has offered to release her Profitable Recruiter Audio Training System (a $297 value) to every broker who registers for a six month or one year pro membership to The Profitable Recruiter. In this audio training package, you’ll have more than SEVEN HOURS of recruiting tools, scripts, dialogues, role-playing, and foundation builders. In her Profitable Recruiter Membership Platform you’ll have weekly eNewsletters, recruiting letters, lumpy letters, retention tools, social media tools, a full library of webinars on demand (for you and your agents), and new scripts monthly as well. This power-packed duo of recruiting tools is literally everything you need to recruit the team of your dreams, but this offer won’t be on the table for long.

Register today for the six-month or one-year Profitable Recruiter pro memberships and we’ll send you the link and password information to start listening to Judy’s incredible training tools right away.

Got questions? Email us for answers! Good luck and happy Recruiting!

The Power of an Accountability Partner

Posted on December 18, 0201December 18, 2019 by The Profitable Recruiter

18 Dec

A Common Denominator for Staying ON-TRACK

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

Here’s a big question for you: Who is holding you accountable to your recruiting program? Do you have a coach, a support person within your organization or someone in your real estate network that you are answering to in terms of staying on track? As I look at many of the most successful recruiters and brokers around the world, the one thing that many of them have in common is “someone who holds them accountable.”

Top agents, top athletes and top brokers will all tell you the value of having that outside person or industry expert hold you accountable weekly. Coaches hold us accountable to do what it is that we already know we should do, but don’t. We are all guilty of putting off those tasks which are not quite as much fun. A coach is the person who will keep asking you, week after week, “Did you get (task) completed yet?” They nudge us in the direction that we have said that we want to go. They listen, and give feedback, then remind you of the goal. Coaching is not designed to be training. Training teaches you what to do. Coaching gives you the support needed to stay on track and get it done. Accountability is not a bad thing, but it can certainly cause you to feel the pressure as that accountability call approaches. Most brokers say that it is the most important piece of their success. Without it, it’s easy to come up with a bunch of creative reasons of why you didn’t get make the calls. Didn’t set the appointments. Didn’t create the new hit list. Didn’t do whatever you SAID you were going to do for the week.

Your coach or accountability partner is someone who you respect the opinion of, who you know will tell you truth when you’re on or off track. They are the person you can turn to who can review both successes and failures of each of your interviews. Coaches, especially, can provide you with various ways to overcome objections and stalls. Knowing someone is going to hold you accountable for what you said you are going to do, is a powerful motivator. If what you want is to lead in your market, build the best possible team, and keep the great agents that you already have and you are serious about growing your company then I challenge you to do three things starting sooner rather than later.

Commit to training. To learning the skills you need to be at the top of your game. To investing the time, money and effort into learning the objection handling tools, the dialogues, scripts, interview and phone skills, and mindset to push past any fear or limitations you might currently feel to truly finish this year strong and set yourself up for an incredible new year.
Commit to consistency. That one and done marketing approach never works. You would say the same to your agents when they try it, so why would you attempt a shotgun approach to your recruiting? Consistent, effective, powerful messaging and marketing every month is the key to building those relationships that will lead agents to your door. If you’re not reaching out to your hit lists week after week with topical, timely content that doesn’t push but does present you as a trusted leader and resource you’re leaving opportunities to recruit and money on the table.
Commit to an accountability partner. Whether you are ready to hire a coach or know of an industry professional that you can partner with to keep each other on track, don’t head into the new year without putting this vital business component in place. It’s a game-changer.

Fair warning, it’s not comfortable to be accountable for your actions if you’re not willing to commit. It’s not comfortable to have to say to a coach or partner, “I didn’t do what I said I was going to do.” It’s not supposed to be. Here’s the flip side of that coin – when you DO what you commit to doing, boy does that feel great. You can’t WAIT for that call. And once the habit takes hold and you are walking the walk not just talking the talk each month not only will you appreciate those calls that keep you on track, but your office will be thriving and you’ll be sharing this strategy with your agents. Pretty soon you’ll have integrity partnerships all over your organization! And when THAT happens – your business and theirs will grow exponentially. Everyone wins. What are you waiting for? Start today!

If you’re not sure how to be consistent and what messages and marketing you should be using to connect with your current agents and your prospects each month, then take a good long look at The Profitable Recruiter. It has been a differentiator for brokers. Why? Because it’s done for them, takes the guess work out of recruiting and they can put their marketing on auto-pilot and focus on follow up. Systems are powerful because they keep us from getting in our own way!

With your membership you get powerful, content-rich weekly emails to send to your agents and prospects. It’s the perfect way to stay positioned and top of mind as the broker who cares and is committed to helping them create better lives and careers. You also get seasonal letters and “lumpy letters” each month which are perfect for sending to your top-tier recruiting prospects. They get opened, get agent attention, and create quite the buzz in your market as agents tell their colleagues, “Did you see what I got from (your name)?” You also get social media tips each month and weekly broker recruiting and retention plans. The icing on the cake is our training – each month we feature a top broker or industry expert from around the world to discuss what they are doing that is making an impact and allowing them to build their best team. We also host an agent webinar that features a top agent – you should invite every member of your team to attend as well as your prospective agents. And lastly, you’ll get seven hours of audio training that cover everything from scripting and dialogues to objection handling and interview skills.

All of that for just $197 per month. In fact, register today and take 50% off your order with promo code 50OFF any 6-month or annual plan. AND as a special bonus offer, RENEW OR JOIN BEFORE JANUARY 1ST, and you’ll automatically get three months of The Profitable Sales Agent weekly newsletters (January-March) to share with your agents at NO COST. These weekly newsletters are consumer friendly so they are the perfect way for your agents to stay top of mind with their sphere.

Our members are recruiting both new and experienced agents as well as entire teams using this system. If you recruiting just ONE, you’d more than pay for the entire system for years! Give it try. Got questions? Give us a call at 813-957-2989.

Happy holidays!

How to Hire and Keep Great Agents

Posted on February 2, 0201February 2, 2017 by The Profitable Recruiter

02 Feb

Recruiting and Retention Attention

By Real Estate Recruiting Coach Judy LaDeur

Right now, lots of brokers are making adjustments to their recruiting campaigns during this important season. They are considering what to keep? What to change? So while we are always focused on recruiting – this month, and every month, make sure you are also paying ATTENTION to your RETENTION. The truth is it’s easier to keep great agents than it is to recruit new ones, so let’s look at why agents move.

Negative environments: Emotional agents need to be “happy” or they will consider leaving. What are you doing to maintain a positive atmosphere? How much time is spent on retention?
Too much CHANGE. Change creates vulnerability. If you are contemplating a change, make sure it’s a positive one at this time of year – one which will support their ability to have a more successful career.
Not enough MONEY: Some are not making money because they are just plain lazy, but some just need more supervision, coaching, and direction.

Now is the time to pick up the phone and start calling the agents you want to hire. Not sure what to say? Here’s a sample script to try:

First, ask your agents to give you a business card and write the name of the agent they most enjoyed co-oping with last year on the back of the card. Then use this dialog to follow up with agents.

Co-op Card Dialog

Hello (their name), this is (your name and company name). Did I get you at a bad time?

No? Great.

The reason for my call is to pay you a compliment. (Let them respond.) This week I walked around and asked each of my agents to give me one of their business cards and to put the name of the person that they most enjoyed working with this week on the back of that card. I am sitting here holding (number of) cards with your name on the back! I was impressed, especially with the number of agents here in our marketplace. When my agents feel that way about an agent, I make it a goal to call and not only pass on the information, but to also see if we can get together. I would like to know more about how you do your business but would also like the opportunity to tell you more about the way we do business here at (your office). .

Their reply is usually: “No, I’ve never really thought about looking at your company,” or “I love my broker”. To which you reply: I understand, and I respect that you are happy at your present company, but sometimes things change, and I would invite you to consider that, as an independent contractor, it never hurts to know what you are eligible for in your marketplace. We have found that the best time for an agent to check out another company is when they are not even considering a move, because then there’s no pressure. Let’s set up a time to meet. Who knows, you might like what we have to say! Does that sound like a good idea to you? Great. I have time in my schedule tomorrow morning at 10:00, or even this afternoon at 3 to 3:30. Which time would be best for you?

Sometimes the call is cut short before you get to the paragraph above out scheduling an appointment. No matter how brief the conversation, I usually end it like this:

I appreciate you taking a few minutes to talk to me, and I understand that you are not really thinking about looking at other companies right now. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to just mail you my card, in case the day ever comes when you think you would like to check out your options. Would that be okay? Great. Where do you want me to mail my card?

Here’s another tip that came out of our conversations with brokers recently. Watch your WORDS. Those ones that you tell yourself. Sometimes we get so caught up saying things like, “I hate picking up the phone” or “I’m afraid to make recruiting calls” and we end up creating that reality over and over for ourselves. Instead, remember why you do what you do. You LOVE CONNECTING with agents. You love showing them how they can have a better career and life. You love creating an environment that agents will flock to. Keep your focus there, practice your craft, and those calls will get easier and easier!

Powerful phone scripts as well as recruiting and retention tools are provide each and every month to our Profitable Recruiter Members. From lumpy letters, engaging eNewsletters, social media tips, and exciting, insightful training from around the world in live monthly training webinars, plus 7+ hours of audio training and 40 webinars on demand.

If you’re ready to get your recruiting ON TRACK and keep it there — join today and take advantage of our Valentine’s Day Offer! Register before March 1st, and save 40% off your 6-month or annual pro membership using promo code LOVE40.

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.