The Agent Attraction and Retention Strategy
Agent Client Touch Points
Just as we have identified client touch points for our customers and clients, we have identified touch points and ‘moments of truth’ for agents – who are our most important clients. Client touch points in the agent recruiting and retention process occur from the moment an agent becomes aware that we exist, and, continue throughout our (hopefully) career-long association with that agent.
More often than not new agents come to us through a referral from an existing agent. In a new market however, we want to set the stage for a prospective agent will ‘discover’ us through a google search, a social media post, or possibly a targeted email to a select group of agents in a given market. Our goal is to make it possible for our right-fit candidates to find us. If they discover us organically, they own the experience and it is their victory.
This following is not a definitive list, you will likely add many more opportunities to make a difference.
A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to the Good Life Videos
Our marketing plan for recruiting new agents was originally outlined in my 2015 book A Real Estate Agents Guide to the Good Life – What You Should Expect from Your Brokerage.
Once I put the book out there in our primary markets and on Amazon.com, I quickly realized that getting agents to read it, even my own, was not going to be easy. Even at less than 10,000 words, it was not something very many people wanted to plow through in their spare time. I even put a free downloadable version on our website but had very few takers.
Weekly Videos
So, I had the bright idea that I would break the book down into weekly, easily digestible bite-size pieces and release it weekly on social media. Our social media partners, Levi and Shayna Wiggins, suggested that we also create short weekly videos to complement the blog posts. I re-wrote the book during the summer and fall of 2016 as a series of 48 blog posts. Levi and Shayna further edited my work down to 60 to 90 second scripts, then created, and narrated, 48 animated videos.
The videos are very simple but hold the viewer’s attention in such a way that 60 to 90 seconds flies by. We publish a new one every week on social media. We will continue to update and reposition the content annually to keep weekly communication fresh and to catch new eyes over time. This is one way we are creating client touch points on line and new opportunities to make connections.
Post Card Content
We also created a series of 12 recruiting post cards featuring our agents and key points from the book. We mail these to our recruiting ‘hit-lists’ in each market we operate in. We use the same content to create emails that we send out monthly to a broader group of local Realtors.
Our Best Candidates Are Referred by Our Agents
It should come as no surprise that our best agent candidates are referred to us by our existing agents. I am always happy to schedule an appointment with almost anyone that wants to talk to us about our company, but I always ask them to read A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to the Good Life – What You Should Expect from Your Brokerage. first. Anyone who reads the book and still honors our appointment, is almost always pre-sold on what we have to offer. If the book resonated with the prospective agent at all, they want to learn more. If the book is perceived as an obstacle to whatever that agent’s personal goals are, they screen themselves out.
Even if the meeting goes well there is generally a lengthy courtship process because successful agents are busy earning a living and any move, even a good move, will disrupt their business to some degree. There is also the issue of ending their relationship with their current broker. Even in less than satisfying relationships, breaking up is hard to do. That is why it is critical to keep the good will of the make or break moment / meeting alive by staying in touch online and in person.
The Candidate Screening Process
One of the recruiting tools we have in development is called The Market Maker Advantage Mindset Scorecard. This marketing and screening tool, available for view at www.MarketMakerScorecard.com is one of a series of marketing ‘scorecards’ we are developing for agents, buyers, sellers, property management clients, staff members, and prospective ROOST and Lucky Town franchisees. The beauty of the scorecard is that within ten to fifteen minutes, a prospective agent will know intuitively whether they belong with us or not. Depending on how they score, we know too.
The Online Agent Attraction Strategy
Our marketing funnel for attracting new agents to our company consists of four parts. They are reach, engage, activate, and re-engage. In the reach stage, we are casting the widest net to reach all possible people who self-identify as Realtors. We can target our online marketing activities to specific geographic areas.
The engage stage involves establishing a relationship with those people whom we identified in the reach stage. They are watching our videos and following us on social media. In this stage of the marketing process, we hope to see them download a free e-book version of A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to the Good Life from the www.CareerWithROOST.com website.
In the activate stage, we hope to be communicating directly with Realtors looking for a new brokerage. These people will be our best qualified prospects and we hope to engage them through the scorecard, and hopefully a phone call, and even a meeting. At this stage, we want to mail them free copies of all of our recent publications and some ‘swag’ like a t-shirt or mug.
At this point we hope to seal the deal with the prospect joining our company. However, timing is everything and sometimes the courtship process is longer than we would like. The ‘re-engage’ stage is essentially outside the funnel and is an incubation period where we hope to stay connected with the prospect through social media and target emails with information and updates about our company. The goal is to get these Realtors back to the activation stage.
Your Brokerage for Life
Just as I want to attract clients to our brand and retain them throughout their lives, I want the same for our agent and broker relationships. A great relationship starts with attracting someone who is personally aligned with our brand values and aspirations. The relationship grows over time as we continuously add value to an agent’s business and life.
As the needs of an agent change over the arc of their career, we will adapt, change, and develop whatever new capabilities we need to support them. We will be there from the day they pass their real estate license exam, sell their first house, hire their first assistant, assemble their first team, all the way to the point where they decide to sell their business or just slow down a bit.
Ours is a business relationship, but no matter how much we like to kid ourselves, our business is personal. When we find a good match in an agent, our hearts get thrown in too. There is respect, admiration, and love at the core of what we do. Ours is a relationship where we expect each other to bring the best we have inside us to our profession every day. It is the heart and a mutual commitment to each other’s success that sustains our relationships over time.
Your Recruiting Success is Our Recruiting Success
Care to learn more about how we help our broker / partners build their businesses? Check us out at www.PartnerWithROOST.com. And – we’ve got a scorecard for you too! Take 15 minutes and complete the scorecard at www.ProfitabilityScorecard.com and get a free download of my e-book Your Broker Profitability Partnership Mindset Scorecard – 8 Real Estate Broker / Owner Mindsets Growing or Slowing Your Business Right Now. Finally, connect with me directly at Chris@RealEstateBrandsLtd.com.
~ Chris McAllister
