What has been your best recruiting stategies? and what were your results?

Thanks-

Good question. I will tell you what I do & the results:

Had a booth at Realtor tradeshow
.....Hired 2 agents

Ad on Monster (just 1 run)
.....Hired 1 agent

Send out recruiting letters to newly licensed
.....Hired 5 agents

Send out recruiting postcards every month to everyone on the local board (about 2,000/mth so it gets pricey)
.....Hired 4 agents

Referral from my agents account for 3 hires (I give a recruiting bonus)

Wow! In MO it's illegal to try to get an agent licensed under another broker to leave their broker and work for you. Things must be really different in Florida!

Then how on earth do companies hire agents? Just open an office & hope agents stumble across it? Sorry if that sounds obnoxious but if you get right down to it, an employment ad in the newspaper could be construed as an attempt to recruit an agent away from another company.

Well, if you write an ad that says, "Real estate agents, are you sick of all the bull your current broker makes you put up with? Come work for us..." That would be targetting agents currently licensed with another broker. But if you write "Thinking of a career in real estate? Come talk to us!" that is targetting people who are not licensed under anyone else. Yeah, established agents will see it, too, and may contact you to see if they'd rather work with you than their current broker.Since you did not initiate that contact or directly attempt to get them to leave their current broker, it would be fine. I have, just in casual conversation, mentioned that we are growing and need to find someone good, and we have had 3 agents who ended up leaving their brokers and coming to work with us. Recruiting agents by sending postcards to existing agents is about the same as sending postcards to a seller that you know has his house listed elsewhere- a big no-no. But if the seller calls you, you're okay.

Well, it's not really the same since a seller has a listing contract with a broker. Sure, an agent may sign an Independent Contractor agreement but you own your own business. Florida is also a right to work/at will employment state. Do agents in Missouri sign an employment agreement to work for a specified period? That's the only reason I could see it would be illegal to try to recruit them away. There are some companies here that have the agents sign contracts for a year but *I've been told* it's not really legally binding.

In FL, we can still send postcards to sellers with the disclaimer at the bottom that it's not to solicit them if their house is already listed. Agents may farm that area & they can't remove the mailing for the houses that are listed - so we put the disclaimer on the bottom.

What is the reasoning behind not being able to recruit agents away from other brokers?

Our recruit process is through presenting information about our company to various groups.
works great

From your side of the desk, what do you look for in a new agent? I'd like to get a better idea how to present myself. I have narrowed my personal preferences down to two possible agencies. One is a big independent firm and the other is just an office with several agents working. I will interview at the beginning of August.

Ill have a broker's license, but will be just working as I would as salesperson.

Kevin ( a returning RE professional)

what do most brokers look for in an agent???? thats easy, a credit card. Remember, they are not interviewing you, its the other way around

There are many different Real Estate models out here. Offering career development and 70% payouts up to 100% as well as profit sharing are among the most attractive. If there is a value to offer they will come and they do. Dare to be different.
Gail Daly, Broker, Trainer, SC RE Instructor, ABR, EPRO
Keller Williams Realty, Myrtle Beach South,
Pawleys Island SC 29585

Steven- Who are "various groups"?

Whoa Whoa Whoa! I am a Broker/Owner and I can tell you right now that I look for ALOT more then a credit card. I am not going to waste my time and money on someone who just plain does not have it.......when I interview a prospect, I make sure that I am always in control. Any Broker looking to build a strong Real Estate company needs to be picky and learn to hire the right agents.