When you think of retention what service sector comes to mind?  Prison System

So why is it that the real estate industry insists on recruiting versus attracting talent?

To begin this series of “Recruiting versus Talent Attraction” it is important to remember that many real estate managers have risen to the rank of manager from a former sales agent position.  Most of these managers have not had proper training on how to attract talent to their company.  Yet one of the most important positions they hold as a manager is “hiring manager”.  They are required to build their agent roster on-going.  Their directive is “recruit, recruit, and recruit more”.

Simply stated, recruiting is done when a company does not have the proper processes and systems in place to help them identify, capture and engage with qualified individuals.  Because the company lacks proper planning and strategies they are often left with chasing talent which results in a constant revolving door and creating an environment of instability and a reputation that the company will of “hire anyone”.

 To make matters worse as recruiting becomes more difficult for brokers across the country we are faced with yet another challenge, the ageing baby boomer generation.  This generation makes up the majority of the real estate industry today with the average age of a real estate professional at   50+ years old.  With more than 70+ million boomers nearing retirement, our industry is scrambling to replace the talent that is transitioning from the business.

By attracting talent versus recruiting bodies a company will build a stronger and more solid organization that can survive the ups and downs of a changing real estate landscape.

The hard cold reality is recruiting to the real estate industry as whole has been getting harder each passing year and it will take a different approach to attract the right talent.  If you need to talk to someone about how you can restructure your processes and win the war on talent feel free to reach out to me directly.

So using just one recruiting strategy and message to all recruits will not work. Just like school children who are all so unique and need different learning styles—people need different recruiting touches (in terms of both content and process). And ultimately the personal touch is needed—you need to talk to a live body—to engage and to show you care enough to spend the time.

Recruiting is a process—and the successful companies—uses many approaches and processes to move candidates through the funnel—which ultimately yields the goal—bringing on new employees into your organization.

Today Social Media is clearly at the forefront of everyone’s mind—how to use it, to be unique and to make it work for your company. While Social Media is essential to the process, it’s only part of a process vs. the entire process. It is a tool to get people in your funnel—your database—ultimately that is the pot of gold—that is what will yield the “numbers” in your recruiting goals but not necessarily the right people. Don’t worry if you aren’t exploring every social media tool—play with them all and tweak them and find what works for you. Facebook, twitter, linked-in and blogs—all are useful tools to ultimately connect with individuals. But in that connection—you need to provide some value—information, ideas, results—this is ultimately what will create a following. You need a game plan—to ultimately move people from your social media to your database of real prospects. Then you want to stay engaged with these prospects and monitor your activities on moving them through your recruiting pipeline.

From there—other tools come into play (while still working the social media assets.). Email drips and follow-up and touches—still are useful. Some people may say email is not effective anymore—again that’s like saying the old way of teaching doesn’t work—it does for some people, but in moderation. As we all know—too much of anything isn’t good for us—finding the balance is a key to being successful in meeting your recruiting goals. Email still is effective—with the right message, the right time and the right sharing of information. Constant advertising campaigns may prove to become ineffective—but sending information and sharing of thoughts and ideas—that likely will work well with a combined advertising approach. The goal is to be a valuable resource—to last over time –this ultimately can help position your company as the “place to work.”

After you have followed up and emailed folks that are interested with information that you can share. Now it may be time for the personal touch–phone calls. Pick up the phone, call the person, engage in conversations and move them further down your recruiting pipeline—again tracking, marking your milestones and reporting on your activities.

If you don’t have the quantity you’ll have a much harder time finding the quality you’re looking for. So once you fill the funnel that’s where other steps are needed if you are interested in picking the best matches-those folks that will provide a significant return on investment. Assessments are essential for this—this takes out the subjective part of the process and makes it completely objective-that way you are dwindling down your pipeline to talk to only those folks that will be successful in your firm. Then it’s a matter of fit and chemistry which will most often be determined during the live interview.

http://www.alignmark.com/turn-social-media-into-a-powerful-recruiting-tool

Helping you hire more agents!

To open this discussion, let’s say that those of us onboard with social media know how easy it is to socialize with friends and family, swap pictures, and re-connect with school mates and past co-workers.  One of the best features is the ability to sign on and off whenever you want to, 24/7. 

With all types and phases of business there are literally millions that conduct transactions of all types using social media. Being privy to discussion boards and Tweets (rather anonymously) is just worth its weight in gold.  You have access to tons of people yet don’t get sucked in to long meetings, long-winded conversations or touchy interactions you’d rather not engage in, unless of course you choose to.  Walking away is as simple as closing out the program.  

Real estate companies use social media to quickly and inexpensively recruit agents around their community and globally.  Reaching beyond the boundaries of a company’s web site allows real estate companies to express their value proposition (where you are now, where you are going, what you’re all about) to countless numbers of people – crucial to attracting talent.  On-line media portals like job boards, blogging posts, etc., help to reduce ad costs and assist recruiters to find a range of quality agents.

If you employ the wonders of online media – and you’ve got your value proposition out there – the word about your company spreads.  Think of social media as the epitome of “you tell two friends” and “they tell two friends” viral type marketing.  Using social media makes you appear instantly open, accessible, pleasant, open-minded, and technically well-versed.  We’re not saying that social media will make you a better company than other companies around the corner, but it provides the outlet and advantage of attracting more prospects and helps to shave recruiting expenses.  Today’s connected consumer is more adept than the consumer of the past, and they have more resources and information available to them. They are willing to research what they are seeking prior to making a decision to buy.

As a side note, let me go on record to say that if your reputation suffers, or if your culture is not known for being friendly or welcoming, or if your team of agents are part-time, low producers, or your leadership is dated, tired, and not willing to move forward; you have other issues that won’t be helped by social media.  These issues are complicated and need to be addressed and corrected before moving forward; otherwise you’re going to keep on experiencing a sad return on your investment of time, effort, and energy. 

Social media can level the playing field, unblock a road, and tear down a dam.  Sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Word Press, and others are usually free and available to anyone.  Before unleashing your recruiting force, you must take the time to prepare your profile and image, support that image and deliver it in a way that attracts people you’re looking to communicate with. Above that you must be able to deliver what you say you offer in your value proposition.

It wasn’t that long ago larger real estate companies seemed to have the recruiting advantage with deep pockets and loud voices.  A small company was just unable to pay for the same advertising resources to recruit.  It was virtually impossible to gain the same level of exposure and perception as the larger companies.  Now with the far reaching tentacles of social media a smaller company can level the recruiting field and finally get into the recruiting contest.

Likewise, larger real estate companies can become even larger if they also incorporate social media tools the right way.  Being able to tell your story, reach more people in a concentrated area, provide the right message and deliver what you say you can, is a very powerful weapon in the real estate recruiting climate.

To use social media successfully for recruiting means you’re giving people a glimpse into what it’s like to be able to work at your organization and your offerings. Be the employer of choice; build your brand and company through social media venues. 

Maria Mull, Director of Business Development for AlignMark, Inc., is a former real estate recruiter whose passion is to help brokers grow their business one productive agent at a time.  http://www.alignmark.com/solutions/realestate.asp  Maria can be reached at 919-372-9092 or mMull@alignmark.com

January 30, 2009, Glen Jaffee, VP AlignMark

Businesses have to change to be successful in this economy. Now is the time for companies to work with as much effort on the business as they do at the business.

There are two facets to the Real Estate Business Model: its Product and its People. People are one of the most critical drivers to a successful real estate company. They touch 100% of your clients and generate 100% of your revenue. Prior to this economic downturn, People could make money in their sleep, and People did not have to be skilled at what they did to make your business money. And so the world turns, and with revolution comes change. Now People have to be skilled to stay in this business.

To experience success, People must master the position of Sales. That’s right. It’s a Sales World after All. People are responsible for Building Rapport, Managing the Sales Process, being Assertive without overpowering, and having good Listening and Comprehension Skills. The combination of these skills is what it takes to compete for sales transactions. In fact, companies with successful sales people will outperform others by 10 – 1.

So what are companies doing to recruit sales people these days? And do these recruits bring with them the right sales skills? Many companies are caught in a vicious cycle. They are using the economic downturn to focus on experienced agents alone; missing out on a significant opportunity to build bench strength and welcome in the next generation of workforce. In simple terms – they are missing out on good sales People. And what if every company deployed the same strategy? Wouldn’t this mean the real estate world would never turn, but just rotate?

So this brings us to a validation analysis conducted by AlignMark. AlignMark set out to truly measure on-the-job success of those experienced agents, comparing them to agents without experience. Now here comes the punch line. Over the last 12 months, studying the results of hundreds of people from across the country, there was no measureable difference in transactions of those brand new agents with strong sales skills and experienced agents. NONE!!! It’s a Sales World After All.

AlignMark is a Human Capital consulting company working with companies around the world, specializing in recruiting, selection and agent retention. To learn more about this validation study and how to find the next generation of sales People, contact or visit www.alignmark.com, AlignMark, Inc., Glen Jaffee, gsjaffee@alignmark.com, 407-659-3576.

 

Without a doubt – the market change this year has been dramatic! But a manager’s top priorities for running any successful office have not changed.  They’ve always consisted of two crucial activities: recruiting and retention . . . Period! 

Most managers were successful by default over the past few years.  But really, how are you doing in recruiting these days?  It takes commitment and effort to be successful in this industry.  Do you have a plan for 2009 OR are you still flying by the seat of your pants?

Ask yourself this very important question:  “Do my 2008 recruiting numbers reflect where I want to be at this time of year?”  If I were a betting person I would say the vast majority of all brokers are way off target.  Only 10% of all brokers have a small portion of their recruiting processes in place; the other 90% simply do not have established systems to ensure their recruiting or retention success. They merely get by without any preparation, planning or participation in their processes and they struggle every single day.  Flying by the seat of your pants will not help you survive this turbulent market and neither will touting you have technology, training and support. 

Recruiting activities should be the number one priority on your calendar every day.  If you lack a defined plan with stated goals, then there is very little room for success in terms of recruiting or retention.  Oh and by the way, putting out fires is not a retention strategy.  Your retention strategy is a whole other discussion.

Listen, while you know you need to embrace and implement new technologies and streamline your processes, first you need to get down to basics.  Social networking, blogging and all that stuff may help, but if you don’t know where you are going then you need a plan to get there.  Here are seven basics to help you plan recruiting activities for a successful 2009.

1. State and post realistic goals in your daily view!
2. Know your targets! Who do you want to hire? New agents or experienced? What percentage of each?
3. Have a complete recruiting solution available to help you manage your day-to-day activities. Just any old CRM tool will not be as efficient or effective. You need programs that have a proven track record in helping brokers with  prospecting and lead management activities – just like your agents do!.
4. Use some form of assessment whether through good interviewing skills or through an assessment tool that helps you identify a person’s capabilities and needs.  Of course a great one I would recommend can be found at www.RealEstateSimulator.com.
5. Know what you expect from anyone you hire – new or experienced – and be prepared to communicate that message. And know what the breakeven cost is for your organization.
6. Develop a strategic stay-in-touch component to your recruiting and retention strategy.  Just don’t dump e-cards and e-mails on everyone and think this will help you.  Remember – it’s still a relationship business.
7. Allocate a minimum 20% of your working time to recruiting alone; any less and you are not being effective.  You must keep your pipeline full and moving forward at all times.  INK in your recruiting activities first and stick to them.  Mornings are always the best time for recruiting.

Ok now that you have a basic plan in place, what else can you do to help yourself be a winner in 2009?

·        Always be re-recruiting your agents.  Remind them why your company is the one they should be affiliated with to help them in their career.  If you don’t, someone else will tell them why they should come to them and most likely recruit them away from you.  And let me tell you in the spirit on the new book Twilight – there are bloodsuckers everywhere and they do not mind sucking the lifeblood out of your organization.

·       Follow up on co-op transactions.  See if you can help the other agents have a successful transaction or at least thank them for their participation.  Plus give them something of value to help them in the future such as an outline on “How to have a successful closing” or “How to have a great open house” or what about “How to find buyers in a down market.”  Always build value whether the agent is yours or not; they just might possibly be one day.

·       Referrals – agents work off referrals why shouldn’t you?  Help your agents layer their income by paying them a finders fees for people who they would like to see affiliated with your company. Agent referrals can be a good source of leads for you and should be you number one source.

Getting back to the basics is nothing new.  Real Estate is a sales profession and you as a manager should be selling your company to attract more talent.  You are the ambassador and you should be spreading the good word about why a real estate career with your organization is a viable career option.  If you are unable to communicate this basic message then why are you in charge of recruiting?

This is a great time of year to take stock and re-evaluate your goals, priorities, and achievements.  It is the perfect time to tweak those goals and set the tone for the beginning of 2009.  If you don’t know where to start or need to make changes in your processes you are welcome to reach out to me and I will discuss with you some options that may just be the small tweaks you need to survive in 2009.  AlignMark, Inc. has been helping companies for more than thirty years and we will even talk to you for FREE, no strings attached! 

And by the way “Cheers to the survivors in 2009”.  We look forward to seeing you at the top! 

Maria can be reached at 919-372-9092 or mMull@alignMark.com

Real Estate is still a very viable career path!  The media is making it sound all doom and gloom and unfortunately Real Estate companies did not plan for the lean times by training their agents to survive this type of economy when business was good.  No one planned for the famine, they only reaped the rewards of the feast and sadly they squandered their time, money and opportunity to put away for the lean times.  How many brokers have trained their agents to run their business as a business?  This is a whole other topic, maybe one for later.

What we do know is that no longer will real estate have an onslaught of new comers who get in the business and make hundreds of thousands of dollars without working for what they earn.  No longer will brokers be overrun with people wanting to get in the business.  Now brokers will have to learn to “fish” and cast a larger net to help them recruit more agents to the business.  They WILL have to position themselves as the broker of choice and help others understand their value proposition.

So here is my question, if you want to recruit and retain more agents, What makes you so special?  Answering this question will help you understand your value proposition.  No longer is it enough for a real estate company to boast about their training, their technology or size.  Small is the new large and big armies don’t always win the war.  

If you cannot clearly communicate what makes you so special then maybe it is time to reach out to someone or a company who can help you.  AlignMark has been helping companies for more than 30 years with their human capital investments.  Alignmark recently launched the latest Recruiting technology, AccuRecruiter, to help brokers reach more passive job candidates.  This new technology helps convert more leads into hires.  If you want to learn how a click, connect, converse and close can help you contact AlignMark for more details.