Focus recruiting in all the right places

1. Deliberately position yourself for visibility whenever and wherever REALTORS® gather and meet. Agents will gravitate more to the manager that they know. Your attendance translates into involvement and creates opportunities to recruit.
2. Always ask a recruit if there is anyone else that he would like you to go after that would make his move to your company more appealing. Agents prefer to surround themselves with quality agents of like vision.
3. Know the agents who sell your listings and reach out to them when they are in your office. Thank them for doing business with you—in person and via note or email. Initiate a program with a local florist to deliver them a rose after closing one of your listings.
4. Host an educational event to benefit key recruits and your existing agents. Use internal talent and expertise (good farmers, experts in expired listings, niche specialists, etc.) and other professionals (attorneys, financial planners, insurance brokers, etc.). Key your message and invitations to your target agents. Solicit sponsors to underwrite and give credibility to the event.
5. Understand the vulnerability and opportunity among your competitors and explore them as fertile hunting grounds. The selling manger whose clients compete with his agents for attention or a broker with an abrasive personality, firms who have recently instituted unpopular internal policies, and agents who are not receiving proper system support are examples of such opportunities.
6. Watch local media touting the agents-of-the-month or top producers. Many times the recent success of an agent makes him a prime target to upgrade his surroundings to enhance his performance potential. Make the call to congratulate.
7. Direct mail is an effective method to get out the message that your firm is ripe with opportunity. Its effectiveness is enhanced logarithmically when coupled with a follow-up call. It is a very rare agent who will turn down the opportunity to explore what kind of grass is in the next green pasture.
8. Build an e-mail database for the ongoing contact with potential recruits to tell them about opportunities with your firm.
9. Advertise in agent-targeted publications.

Buyers & sellers, visit www.texasrealestate.com.
REALTORS®, visit www.tar.org.