What kind of real estate team are you running? Is it one based on ego, or on success?

These are important questions, as we find ourselves on the precipice of what could be the next real estate boom. Lower interest rates are attracting sellers and buyers into the market once more, prices will rise and a flood of new agents (with the best intentions) will follow.

As those agents come knocking on your door, you should be asking yourself: is more really more?

The promise and pitfalls of mega teams

The “mega team” model has been gaining more attention recently, and of course, it can work, but only under the right leadership. Real estate is a naturally competitive business, and I’m flabbergasted that in today’s transparent world, where everyone can see what their colleagues and counterparts are producing, the size of so many of these “mega teams” still outweigh their production.

New agents: The advantages of joining the right team

As a new agent just starting out, joining a team can be career changing. Most of your expenses are covered by your split, your marketing is done for you, and you have direct access to hands-on mentorship. The right team can help new agents gain traction and set them up for success, until they’re off and running all on their own. 

Team leaders: Balancing quality and quantity 

As a team leader, working with top-performing agents can be incredibly rewarding. Imagine the potential of leading a mega team of a hundred high producers – that’s more power, and significantly more income, in your hands.

However, investing in a team with too many low- or non-producers who occupy your office, consume your resources, and demand your attention as a leader is unlikely to yield any meaningful returns. Even if you charge high office fees, retaining these underperformers ultimately distracts from the productivity of your high-achieving team members and undermines their efforts.

Strong leadership is the key to navigating market cycles

The success and sustainability of a mega team, or any team model for that matter, comes down to two critical factors: strong leadership that is hyper-focused on agents’ success, and agents who sell a lot of real estate. To our home-buying and selling clients, we always tout the benefits of “local” market expertise. This is also the case when it comes to team leaders.

Since booms are sometimes followed by busts, solid leadership makes all the difference. Shooting fish in a barrel doesn’t require much skill and it doesn’t demand leadership, only opportunity. This can be said of an “up” housing market. But what goes up eventually comes back down, and when it does, experienced leadership and a brand invested in its network’s success will help individual agents and brokers weather those up, down and sometimes sideways markets.

The bottom line 

If you’re a team leader, don’t get caught up in the quantity of your agents over their quality, and remember that the bigger team doesn’t always win.

If you’re a team member, ask yourself if your environment and the people in it are lifting you up and encouraging you to be your best self, or if they’re dragging you down. Be wary of the mega team that doesn’t have the production to back up its numbers.

Leaders are responsible for developing strong, professional agents and ensuring they can weather any storm. Whether it’s the fluctuating economy or a chronic housing shortage, there’s no question that running a successful real estate business demands a whole lot of strategy. Given these macro and micro complexities, make sure your agents are professional and ready to work for the team – regardless of its size.

“Pain is a good teacher … The silver lining is we don’t have any drama.”

This is what Ravi Singh, team leader of Connexus Group at Re/Max (Connexus), had to say about the fallout of his third major health scare since 2006. After he dealt with a colectomy, cancer, gallbladder removal, degenerative liver disease and 13 emergency room visits in a year, Singh’s team quickly learned what matters and has been extremely motivated to achieve greatness—both for themselves and their leader.

“They work really hard. Our numbers are up 27 per cent (in 2024 from 2023),” Singh notes. “They showed up when (I) needed them.”

He feels that anyone can be successful anywhere but, “Sometimes you want to have somebody to high five. You want to feel like these are my people (and) I can’t wait to share good or bad news.”

Indeed, Connexus saw $1.8 million in gross commissions last year. Of course, this and the rest of their success—including consecutive Re/Max Platinum and Diamond Team awards since 2016—result from very intentional efforts.

Habits, rituals and culture

Singh says the main things vital to his team’s success are the culture and core beliefs. “We work on an ‘all hands on deck, everyone wins’ philosophy,” he says.

Connexus agents start with the philosophy of contribution. “Giving starts the receiving process,” Singh says, and his team isn’t there for what’s in it for them. “They’re trying to figure out how to grow through giving. To really understand that is at the core of what we do.”

This “servant leadership” approach creates an optimal platform to understand agents and meet them where they’re at, ensuring their version of success is being navigated, not his. “I’m giving them the best possible platform in terms of tools, resources, mentorship, expertise and business best practices that I can to ensure that success.”

A balanced view of contribution and value plus quantity and scale

Singh notes that agents typically look at quantity and scale, while he looks at contribution and value.

He stresses how important both elements are to success and notes this is where the servant leadership philosophy comes in. “When we serve, the byproduct is kinship and money … It’s about how (we) can make an incredible contribution.”

Consistent processes and practices year-round

Singh holds two regular meetings that he says are crucial success factors, the first being a weekly “jam session.” There are two components to this.

First, the deals pipeline gives agents a “bird’s eye view and fly-on-the-wall perspective” of what others are working on, to learn through experience, something Singh notes is invaluable to all. The second component is a future focus on marketing initiatives that Singh breaks down into process and projects.

Process involves things like buyer and seller appointments, open houses, showings, offers and paperwork.

Projects are assessed to ensure the team is building a healthy pipeline that targets their ideal client or demographic: an “approachable baller” he describes as very well-rounded, with, say, two kids and a nice townhouse in a walkable, urban Toronto community. Recent projects centred around the holidays and included client gifting, events, drop-bys, annual comparative market analyses, real estate reviews and surveys.

The second regular meeting is a 10-minute agent huddle, where team members stay accountable by reviewing, answering and documenting three questions: What are you working on? What did you do? What is your immediate next step?

Singh also holds an annual offsite for yearly planning, and “all hands on deck challenges” about twice a year. These are proactive campaigns for lead generation with high-touch, one-to-one, personal client transactions. “Nobody leaves until it’s done. I give them what I call ‘rocks’ to call, (or) people and initiatives, like introducing the Re/Max Canada Housing Outlook report to 30 people daily.”

An open policy on financials

Singh feels his openness around financials sets his team apart. He says the open-book policy has created incredible transparency and trust, and he’s “very comfortable” with the company’s net operating income of 13.5 per cent because he’s being fair to his agents.

The team leader reports that in 2024, his team of seven earned about $1.8 million in gross commission from 83 transactions and 36 leases, growing by about 15 percent year-over-year.

Agent profile

Singh’s agents have been with him for years, some over a decade, and there’s next to no turnover. They’re very competitive, extroverted high-achievers but, “They have no organization,” he points out with a smile.

This is why Singh hires naturally organized staff who can support the agents with everything from coaching and mentorship, administrative support, listing preparation, database management and programming to increasing lead generation, prospecting or geographic farming and online leads.

Singh’s agents are team-oriented and coachable and don’t need the spotlight. He likens this to a band: “Each band member must play their part … My ideal agents want to succeed but not necessarily do all the parts—(just) be belly-to-belly with clients and thrive in the hot seat.”

Likewise, Singh is intentional about not putting himself in the spotlight. He explains that each team member is their own top producer and could thrive alone. “But the goal is not to create a revolving door of juniors,” he stresses.

Advice for agents

Connexus has a corporate charter with defined principles or beliefs, including being relevant, energetic and fun. Singh believes this last charter quality is paramount. “If you’re not having fun, why are you here? To shuffle through something you dislike? I don’t want that energy around me.”

He also tells anyone looking to improve to remember that success leaves clues and builds off of mentors, colleagues and models. “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” he advises.

Finally, to truly succeed, he says agents must define what success looks like for them, personally. For Singh, it means retiring on the Amalfi Coast surrounded by his grandkids and his team, looking back on 2023.

“I haven’t built a team, I’ve built a family.”

Photo: Connexus Group team

I used to think I needed to be perfect for people to want to work with me. But now, I realize that the most successful people I admire—and the clients I love working with—feel quite the opposite.

There’s no need to get impostor syndrome if you don’t have all the answers.
There’s no need to pretend you’re perfectly successful.
There’s no need to carry the world on your shoulders.

When I started being more vulnerable and real, so did the people I wanted to be in business with.

Imagine a business without daily stress

Would you prefer a business that doesn’t bring constant stress and anxiety? Imagine not always worrying about the follow-ups you missed, the strained relationships you don’t have time to nurture or the social posts you feel pressured to create just to maintain appearances.

Instead, picture a business that naturally attracts the right clients, partners, and team members. I’m going to show you how to build exactly that in three simple steps—and I’ll even show you how two multibillion-dollar companies can help you do it for free.

Step 1: Identify who you are and what you do

Start by clarifying the basics:

1. What do you sell?
2. Where do you sell it?

Then zoom out:

• What do you want to sell, and where?
• What do you need to learn to get there?
• Who do you need to know?
• What are the daily actions that will help with both?

Step 2: Put actions in your calendar

Let’s make this practical. For example:

If you want to become an expert commercial agent:

1. Action: Look at MLS daily.
2. Add it as a repeating task Monday through Friday.
3. Call five agents with new or sold listings, congratulate them, and ask for insights you can’t get on MLS.

Step 3: Share what you’re learning

Next, share your insights to build credibility. For example:

1. Action: Post on LinkedIn about something you learned during your calls.
2. Add this as a repeating task Monday through Friday.

Over time, these small actions will compound, and people will start to see you as an expert in commercial real estate.

Contrast this with the typical agent approach

Too many agents barely look at MLS, rarely share what they learn, and pretend to have all the answers when leads call. It’s no wonder their conversions lag.

Instead, embrace three habits that will compound over time:

1. Learn your craft.
2. Build your business.
3. Market yourself.

No one else will do it for you.

How multibillion-dollar companies can work for you

Here’s the kicker: If you focus on delivering real value to your ideal clients, platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Google will help bring these clients to you. They’ll even help you discover clients in your own backyard.

Most people think it’s all about gaming the algorithm or paying to play. But the truth is, you’re probably confusing these platforms about who you are and what you do.

Challenge yourself for 90 days

For the next three months, try this:

1. Pick one platform.
2. Choose one client type.
3. Focus your content on their needs and questions.

Post relevant insights, articles with your opinion, or videos speaking directly to that audience. Engage with those who respond to your content and watch what happens to your business.

Tip: If your feed isn’t aligned with your goals, unfollow or hide content, and train the platform to show you more of what you want.

The truth about engagement

If you don’t have a large following, focus on building community over just posting content. It’s a myth that constant posting alone will build your following. Instead, engage meaningfully with 10 accounts you respect. The algorithms will notice and help connect you with like-minded people.

If your feed is filled with terrible things it’s likely because you watch too many terrible things. If your feed is filled with arguments, it’s because you spend too much time reading arguments or engaging in them. 

Be intentional in what you consume and engage with.

Remember, the success you seek lies in the actions you might be avoiding. At the end of the day, you have your ambitions and your actions. If you’re not reaching your ambitions, change your actions—or change your ambitions.

It’s no secret: in the ever-evolving virtual landscape of clicks, likes and views, online marketing strategies are often dictated by the latest trends and algorithms.

This approach may offer short-term gains, but it seldom stands the test of time. Realtors who achieve sustainable growth recognize the power of building a brand in alignment with their core values and beliefs. 

Understanding and embracing what makes you unique as a real estate agent will allow you to attract clients who want to work with you (and who you want to work with).

Think of your brand pillars as your unique process for getting the results you promise. Identifying your brand pillars requires self-reflection and an understanding of what truly matters to you and by extension, your clients.

What is a brand?

Your brand is more than a slogan, logo and colour scheme. It’s a representation of who you are and how you serve your clients. Attractive visuals may get people in the door, but a properly positioned brand will earn you a client for life. 

At the heart of any winning brand is authenticity. It’s about standing for what you believe in and creating a personal connection with clients who are drawn to similar ideals.

Defining, or redefining, your brand pillars

No one provides a service the same way as you do, and your real estate services are no exception. Understanding and embracing what makes you unique as a real estate agent will allow you to attract clients who want to work with you (and who you want to work with).

Think of your brand pillars as your unique process for getting the results you promise. Identifying your brand pillars requires self-reflection and an understanding of what truly matters to you and by extension, your clients.

We encourage our clients to narrow it down to the three pillars they feel best represent their brand. Consider the following prompts:

• What emotions do you want people to associate with your brand? (e.g. trust, security, excitement, etc.)
• What key messages do you want to convey?
• What are the core values you want your brand to represent? (e.g. integrity, expertise, community, etc.)

Uncovering your brand promise

Once you’ve established your brand pillars, you can go a step further and begin crafting your brand promise. Your brand promise is a summary of who you help, how you help and why you’re the best choice. It encompasses your brand pillars, your values and your personal experience. 

Take a moment to consider what promises you’re willing to make about:

• how your dream client will feel.
• how this experience will be different.
• the results your dream client will experience.

Here’s an example:

“I promise… You will feel confident and at ease in your real estate journey knowing you made the right decision(s) for you and your family. I promise to take the time to understand your unique goals and do everything in my power to help you exceed them. I’ll answer your questions before you even think to ask them (and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll find it for you), and make strategic recommendations to get you the most for your investment, even if it means having the hard conversations.”

Be specific: Trying to reach everyone means you’ll reach no one

Be specific about the level of service people can expect to receive and the type of client you are here to serve. Remember that trying to reach everyone with your marketing is the quickest way to reach no one. This is why it’s so important to know exactly who you’re speaking to.

What you discover through this process will give you guidelines for positioning your brand in your marketing moving forward, and finding perfect-fit clients who resonate with your message. 

Setting the stage for success

As a real estate agent, your journey toward long-term success begins with the intentional cultivation of your brand. Within a digital landscape dominated by trends and algorithms, embracing your brand pillars and promise becomes a unique selling proposition.

When you can communicate these with both sincerity and authenticity you will not only attract your ideal clients but build lasting connections. 

Want to learn more about how to stand out online without the pressure of keeping up with trends or algorithms? Stay tuned for our next post to learn our agency-approved Instagram content and engagement tips!

How many times have you heard someone say, “Don’t do that – do this to make more money!”, followed by some other self-proclaimed “guru” touting their own magical mix?

Just because someone else’s model or “success map” worked for them doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get the same results – or get even close.

But, there is a scientific approach to success, and it’s couched in six habits that, when practiced consistently, have been proven to deliver higher income, greater happiness, richer relationships and more. They’re not hard – but as with any habit, the challenge is in practicing key actions long enough that they become second nature.

Habit 1: Clarity

Clarity isn’t just being clear on your goals or what you want most from your business and life. It includes those things, but goes a step further: How do you need to change so that what you want becomes both possible and a reality? Can you visualize yourself living the life you want – and do you know how it will feel?

Do this: Grab your notebook and write, in great detail, the life and business you want. Describe how your days go, where you travel, what you eat, how you feel, even how you sleep! The reticular activation system in your brain will kick in and you’ll find that you begin to see opportunities that can move you towards what you want most.

Habit 2: Energy

If you don’t have the energy to get your work done, then you’re sunk. What you eat, how and how often you move and the level of care you take to stay emotionally grounded all factor in strongly to being successful. Trillionaire hedge fund founders have meditation rooms in their offices. There’s a good reason for that! The more regulated they are, the more capable they’ll be in handling the crazy stresses of the business.

Do this: Take a deep breath in for six seconds and hold it. Take two more sips to fill your lungs further, and then let it out for another six seconds. Slowing down your breathing leads to a longer life, greater calm, faster metabolism and increased focus.

Habit 3: Courage

There are many types of courage – moral, ethical, physical, emotional – and all are critical to success. Fear is your friend until you make it your enemy by allowing it to fester with fantastical (and fake) thoughts about how it could go wrong, fail or lead to rejection or humiliation. Our minds are designed to look out for danger, but by feeding that impulse too much and too often, it can take over. Courage is to act despite that fear, overcoming our resistance to change and growth.

Do this: Think of something you’ve been avoiding that would grow your business – making a call, shooting a video, sending a text, etc. Write down what it is about that action that has been holding you back, and ask yourself if it’s a real fear or an assumption. Most often it’s the latter, so get in there and do it! Start “little chunking” – take a big thing (business growth) and turn it into such a small task that you say, “I can do that.”

Habit 4: Productivity

Productivity is avoiding being busy by packing the day with useless or distraction-based tasks (laundry, mowing the lawn, cleaning your desk…again). By being intentional with your time, you’ll get more done in less time, with more focus and intention on the work that really matters.

Do this: At the end of your day, take out your list of to-do’s and look at the next day’s schedule. What are your obligations, and what time do you have in between? Assign tasks to those gaps, being careful to allow for extra “bonus” time in between. The next morning, look at your upcoming day and double-check that nothing changed, and then ONLY do that work. Repeat this process every night.

Habit 5: Influence

Influence has been described as the most important habit that leads to higher income and success. If no one is saying yes to you, then you won’t have a team to help you rise in your business, your clients will fall away and your pipeline will dry up. As Napoleon Hill notes in Think and Grow Rich from the 1930s, getting people on board with what you have to offer is the only way to succeed, now and in the long term. This has stayed true through to today.

Do this: The next time you have to make a sales or follow-up call, think of what you can give to them first before you make your ask. You can supply information, advice, something tangible – the idea is to provide incredible value before you ask for something in return. Our brains are wired for reciprocity, but you have to lead by giving first.

Habit 6: Necessity

Necessity is the habit that envelops all the others: It’s the art of making something so important that it becomes your top priority every day. When you know how to determine the importance and impact of the work that you do, how you spend your time becomes easy to figure out.

Do this: Define what makes something important to you – things like driving profit or reducing expenses, substantially moving your business forward, enriching a relationship, etc. Make a list of all the actions you can take that are important and look at your calendar. How much time are you devoting to those tasks, or to building the habits that will lead to the success and happiness you truly want?

Success, growth, profits and joy are all well within the reach of every one of us, but not all of us want to put in the work to achieve them. If you practice these habits and strive to get better at them, even 1 per cent at a time, you’ll watch as your entire life starts to pivot and brighten – no matter what’s happening in the market.

But productivity is always under attack. Our phones drag our attention away, beeping and bonging, notifications cascading in a constant flow. The endless scroll in social media drags us down a rabbit hole of kitten videos and people doing things that clearly indicate they have a lot of free time on their hands.

In a world that demands our attention nearly every second of the day, it’s no wonder we hit overwhelm by 10 a.m. In Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, a professor explains that if we have spent long enough being interrupted by external elements in our daily lives, we will start to interrupt ourselves — even when there are no distractions around us.

About half of my clients claim to have ADHD. Some of them do. Most of them don’t. They have a focus problem. They have allowed the notification nightmare to train their brains to be jumpy and unfocused, so it feels like ADHD. 

But could devices be the only culprit?

“This state of hypervigilance creates a death trap for real estate businesses.”

If a mind is always on high alert for danger, it stops thinking of the little things like making follow-up calls, posting on social media or getting listing paperwork done. If you’re terrified of running out of money, particularly if that was something that haunted you from your past, that’s all your brain will track, or the lack thereof. It becomes an all-consuming focus, with every ounce of energy directed at getting as far away from the threat of financial ruin as possible. This only makes matters worse since avoiding work exacerbates the problem, speeding up the cycle of doom.

This state of hypervigilance creates a death trap for real estate businesses. There are a thousand things on the go at any given time, and having them organized and systematized means that your business grows and thrives. Without that attention, you become inconsistent, drop the ball at key moments, or self-sabotage your work (i.e., you don’t make that call you know you have to make and then feel shame when you lose the deal). 

“You need to meet the root cause of what’s creating that distress in your life head-on, and through processing it, addressing it and healing from it, you’ll find your world clears up considerably.”

The more you stay in this state, the harder it is to emerge from it. In some cases, you don’t need medication to help you focus. You need to meet the root cause of what’s creating that distress in your life head-on, and through processing it, addressing it and healing from it, you’ll find your world clears up considerably. 

I have found in my work that when my clients are all over the place and clearly in distress, starting with productivity tools like time blocking or creating systems won’t work. It’s not the root of the problem behaviour, so it’s like plugging a geyser the size of a football with your finger.

So, what do we do? The good news is that research is being done to help us clear our minds and find our ability to think without fear or anxiety. Here’s a simple process you can follow to figure out the root of your own lack of progress, productivity or consistency. And while simple, it’s not easy. Be ready to commit to the outcome, no matter how much your brain resists your efforts. 

Change the environment  

Hypervigilance stems from a constant state of looking out for danger. What in your world causes you stress? Are you always checking your bank account? Or stalking people online, comparing yourself to their results (and finding yourself falling behind)? Reduce the triggers that drive the stressors as much as possible. Cut people out of your life. Unfollow people who trigger your negativity or stress. 

If you’re dragging yourself away with notifications, go into your settings and turn them off. Check only at certain times of the day. You can do that as often as you wish, but give yourself a break. Train yourself back to being the one in control of where your attention goes — not your phone. 

Ask yourself, “What can I do about this?”

Being in control alleviates anxiety and worry. You can’t worry when you’re actively working. No matter your situation, there’s always something you can do about it. Once you’ve begun to eliminate the stressors in your world, add things like meditation, yoga, going for walks or the gym. Physically processing emotions allows your brain and body to clear them, leaving you with a greater sense of purpose and energy. 

If you’re winging your way through the day, bring some order to it at a level you can manage. If you can’t do follow-ups for an hour, do it for 15 minutes. Start small. I call it “little chunking” — breaking big scary things into manageable pieces to the point where you can say, “I can do this.” 

Get help

Sometimes, what drives us is deep — and extra help from professionals who know the ins and outs of our brains need to be called in. You can’t see what you can’t see, but someone else might be able to and will walk you carefully back to a path of strength, power and calm. 

If money is your stress, get a bookkeeper or accountant to work out a plan with you. Start working towards freedom from the pain, not hiding from it.

A productive life is one full of progress, accomplishments and joy. We all deserve to have more of all those things in our lives. Start with taking a good, hard look at what’s really going on and begin to bring your mind back under your control. 

Your business — now and in the future — will thrive because you took the time to care. 

Recruiting real estate agents is a crucial aspect of building a successful brokerage, and two effective strategies for attracting new agents are cold calling and delivering seminars. It doesn’t happen in the first shot. It’s a process, a drip campaign to build brand integrity and authority among the many that are doing the same thing. Remember, you don’t want to attract everyone, but rather only those who resonate with you at some level.

These approaches not only allow brokerages to establish connections with potential agents but also provide opportunities to showcase their expertise. By leveraging these methods, brokerages can significantly expand their agent network and enhance their overall growth and success.

So how is it that you can attract someone who has grossed a minimum of $100,000 in revenue vs someone who is bringing in $500,000 to $10 million in GCI? Is it a phone call? Is it an e-mail? Is it a casual conversation at a conference? Regardless of what the agent is earning, recruiting is a dance, a tango between the recruiter and the realtor.  

A few factors must be considered:

• What are the pain points of the agent?
• Is the agent the right cultural fit for your brokerage?
• Is the agent coachable?
• How much coaching will be needed, and how do you win their loyalty?
• Most agents are concerned about splits and fees and what they get in return – are yours competitive according to what the market is yielding?
• Every brokerage is recruiting – what is your true unique selling proposition (USP) in your market?

It’s a fierce battle to acquire quality agents and, frankly, more than just a numbers game. They get called from every brokerage within a 30 to 50 KM radius, and most of the pitches sound the same, “We’ve got this great office with an exceptional admin staff and marketing department as well as a top-of-the-line media room for your access.” Imagine, once they have heard something similar every so often in their career, it gets mundane and boring.  

How do you stand out? How do you differentiate?  

Brokers are trying to differentiate their offering by providing value-added coaching to bring on realtors or creating seminars but are those as disruptive as some claim? We’ve seen a graveyard of brands come and go in the North American market and are privy to industry intelligence that most are clueless about. 

I mean, how do you find out if an agent is not happy with their brokerage? It’s not rocket science. It’s a matter of creating empathetic conversations that revolve around the needs of the agent, where you’re giving more than you receive. This will create your formula for an inbound pipeline of agents. It starts with a simple 15-minute face-to-face meeting to hear their plans.

The first step to creating a tribe is branding and then brand loyalty. I’m not talking about which brokerage you are with but rather who you are as a person that will attract the target market. It won’t be everyone. Once you’ve fine-tuned your internal branding message, then you must create the perfect pitch for a call and follow it with a text. We’re in the age of technology. Text messages are imperative in this industry. 

The next step is to curate a list from your IMS or Re-Stats database of whom you want to consciously attract. What does their profile look like? To start, create a list of 1000 real estate agents. Once you have these in place, then it’s about setting realistic expectations on how much time it will take you to acquire an agent. 

Here are some statistics to consider — five hours a day of calling and texting that list. You’re grooming the list. It won’t yield on the first go. You will have to comb through it more than a couple of times. Forget e-mail, it’s not dead, but it’s not at the top of our priorities in our industry. We’re a breed of face-to-face, phone calls and texting. Yes, you need 100 hours a month minimum to go through a list of 1000 real estate agents to get approximately 20 meetings.

There are various factors to consider. Factors include the demographic, geography, time of day and number of transactions that will yield a number like the above. The recommended target market for an ideal profile should be five to seven transactions in a healthy market.  

In the past, it used to be about the offerings of what exists in the brokerage with an amiable culture, but now it’s more about the differentiating factors.  

Like attracts like

Have you heard the phrase, “Birds of a feather flock together?” This is exactly what the broker/manager will attract. The broker/owner needs someone who will not only coach the agents being brought in but also someone who will call the list of prospects for up to five hours a day.

Cold calling is a tried-and-true method that involves reaching out to potential agents directly through phone calls or other communication channels. To make cold calling successful, brokerages must have a well-defined target audience and a compelling value proposition. They need to research and identify potential agents who may be interested in joining their brokerage based on their experience, skill set and geographical location.  

There’s a lot of noise on social media. For the most part, ignore it and take whatever is being said with a grain of salt. There’s a lot of deception behind the smiles online until you dig and find out how much work is needed under the hood.

During cold calls, brokerages should focus on engaging potential agents by understanding the plight of the real estate agent and then customizing the benefits of working with their brokerage. This includes emphasizing the support and resources available to agents, such as training programs, marketing tools, and technology platforms. 

Demonstrating a strong company culture and a commitment to agent success can also be persuasive factors. By addressing the individual needs and goals of potential agents, brokerages can build rapport and establish trust, making them more likely to consider joining the brokerage.

In addition to cold calling, delivering seminars is an excellent way for brokerages to acquire real estate agents. 

Seminars and webinars provide a platform for brokerages to showcase their expertise, industry knowledge, and value

Depending on the brokerage’s resources and current market conditions, these events can be held in person or virtually. Seminars can cover various topics relevant to agents, such as market trends, negotiation strategies, lead generation techniques, and marketing tips.

To attract agents to seminars, brokerages can promote their events through targeted marketing campaigns, social media platforms and industry associations. Offering valuable and actionable content during seminars is essential to engage attendees and create a positive impression of the brokerage. 

Brokerages can bring in industry experts or successful agents as guest speakers to share their insights and experiences. This provides attendees with valuable knowledge and demonstrates the brokerage’s commitment to agent development and success.

During seminars, brokerages should leverage the opportunity to network with attendees and showcase their unique selling points. They can provide information about the support, resources, and commission structures they offer to agents. 

By fostering meaningful interactions, brokerages can establish relationships with attendees, laying the foundation for potential agent recruitment.

Creating an environment where potential agents feel comfortable asking questions and engaging in conversations is crucial. By fostering meaningful interactions, brokerages can establish relationships with attendees, laying the foundation for potential agent recruitment.

Both cold calling and delivering seminars require careful planning, preparation, and execution. Brokerages should ensure that their agents or sales representatives conducting cold calls are well-trained and equipped with persuasive communication skills. They should have a script or talking points prepared to effectively convey the brokerage’s value proposition and address potential concerns or objections.

Similarly, brokerages should invest time and effort into creating engaging presentations and materials when organizing seminars. They should provide attendees with informative handouts or digital resources highlighting the brokerage’s strengths and advantages. Following up with attendees after the seminar is also essential to nurture the connections made and convert potential agents into actual recruits.

The bottom line, recruiting isn’t a haphazard effort. It requires time, effort, consistency, and financial investment to truly attract and retain incredible realtors to your roster.