Staz is a certified rock star when it comes to real estate agent recruiting. He credits enthusiasm and a long-term relationship-building approach as his keys to success, and has unlocked numerous secrets of the trade over his years in the business. Staz’s brokerage notably closed and absorbed an entire 30-agent office recently, from a prospect discovered and referred by SmartSetter Recruiter.
We interviewed Staz to uncover his views, tips, and secrets for a great real estate agent recruiting plan.
Shaun: You recently mentioned that you’d been doing quite well with our real estate agent recruiting service. How are things going with the recruiting so far?
Staz: When I took over the office last year we had 67 Realtors®. Today we have 122 agents within about just over a year and three quarters. You guys are a part of that recent success. Real estate agent recruiting is obviously a contact sport. You have to be talking to people on a regular basis. That’s where your service comes in – assisting in that allows that process to continue. It’s like real estate – if you stop prospecting, your outcomes start to diminish. That’s the thing that I appreciate most about the services you provide.
We also just closed a 30-agent office who is coming onboard, from a lead you referred us. So thank you for that!
Shaun: That’s awesome. What were you doing to fill the top of your funnel before working with us?
Staz: A lot of cold calling, asking for referrals to the office with agents – which still hasn’t stopped. In addition to that, we are going through rosters of agents in the marketplace and identifying which agents are producing in an effort to try to get them to come in and talk to us. One of the things that obviously does help quite a bit is that you guys are making those extra calls because as you can imagine when you’re growing quickly, it’s hard to find the time to make outreach calls.
And I probably interview with agents at a minimum of four times a week. So I probably would meet with agents nearly every day in addition to managing an office with 120 realtors.
“…If you stop prospecting, your outcomes start to diminish.”
Shaun: Who do you think that the service is beneficial for, who would you recommend it to, and why?
Staz: The service is beneficial for anyone who is interested in growing their organization. But you cannot be a passive company. You have to be committed to recruiting, and committed to the follow-up. And you need to have a solid presentation showing exactly what you’re offering.
People definitely want to talk. People have asked me “what’s the success rate of converting calls into face-to-face meetings with you?” It is extremely high. Let’s say for every ten intro calls from the leads you’re giving us, 7 will actually meet with me. They may not join our office right away, but they’ll definitely meet. You just have to have a solid plan and idea of what to say.
Shaun: You’re obviously having a lot of success in getting prospects from the initial call to where they’re coming down to meet with you. What’s your strategy on that first call?
Staz: My goal is to tell them that we’ve hired a lot of great agents who have joined us and we’d love to share with them exactly what’s made them successful and why they decided to come and join our company. They don’t have to commit to anything but we also make it worth their while to come in person and talk to us.
I just give them a teaser of some of the tools and resources that differentiate us in the marketplace from our competitors. But I also tell them that the best thing is for them to come in. They’re going to talk to one of the most successful, reputable brokerages in the area, and they can learn about everything we’re doing. So whether they decide to join or not, they can see exactly what the tools are, and what’s available.
Shaun: So would you say you try to keep that first call a little bit short, and withhold some information so that you’re teasing them to come on down?
Staz: Definitely. You can’t recruit them over the phone. The sole purpose of the phone calls is to book an appointment.
Shaun: How do you approach follow-up?
Staz: Follow-up is everything. So I’ll definitely follow up with them and try to get a hold of them again, or else send them an email. I give it three opportunities with a combination of phone calls and emails, and if I don’t connect with them then that’s when I let it go.
Shaun: And if somebody has come down to the office and they say “Okay I think I might be interested.” What do you usually do with them? Do you put them in a mail sequence?
Staz: They go in the database, so they’ll get a follow-up call or email from time-to-time. I always keep the relationship going.
“You can’t recruit them over the phone. The purpose of the phone calls is to book an appointment.”
Shaun: You mentioned that the process of real estate agent recruiting takes a bit of time. When using us you didn’t get your first recruit until the second month, and then in months 3 and beyond it really started to roll. Do you still feel that way?
Staz: Yep! That is an absolutely accurate statement. It takes time, and follow-up. It wont’ usually happen right away, even though we may want it to! You have to remember these prospects are facing an important decision.
Shaun: What would be your one key piece of wisdom that you could provide that you would say is the key to recruiting?
Staz: Number one, you’ve got to be enthusiastic. Attitude is everything. Second, you have to understand that everything is about building relationships. It’s always going to be a long term play. Often when you’re selling real estate it’s not just about today, it’s what the outcome is going to be later on. You meet someone and they may not join your company today; but I’ve had people that I’ve met with and built strong relationships with who send me other people that have joined the company even before they’ve joined.
You’ve got to enjoy talking to people and connecting. You’ve got to be connecting with people all the time.