Hey guys, what do you think is the average age of a REALTOR in the United States?
For the 35 years Iâve been in the business, weâve been hearingâand I was a part of it when I got in at 19âthat a whole wave of 20-somethings and 30-somethings would enter the business. We kept hearing that REALTORS were getting younger.
Guess what? The average age of a REALTOR today is still 53 years old.
Yes, we do see some younger people getting inâI was one of them. I have young people working for me, and Iâve got young people working at our companies. But the reality is, the average age is still 53.
Why does this matter when it comes to recruiting and retention?
Because weâve got to be mindful of how we build out our companies. Weâre constantly told to design everything for Gen Z or even Gen Alphaâbut thatâs not true.
The vast majority of your agents are going to be Gen Xers like me. Theyâre going to be in their 50s. Iâm 55. Thatâs your actual market.
When you're building out your office, your ...
If you're running a great office meeting, and hopefully you are as a brokerage owner or team leader, you should be hosting these at least once a week. These meetings should be inspirational, motivational, and educational. Something people actually get excited to attend.
If you're doing that, I want you to start thinking about using your meetings as a recruiting opportunity. If you have strong relationships with co-op agents at other firms, why not invite them to your office meeting? Worst case, they say no. But you could say something like:
"Hey, we love working with you. We'd love to have you join us and check out our company. Just come experience an office meeting. I know we haven't closed a deal in a while, but if you want to see what we're all about, we'd be happy to have you. By the way, we invite co-op agents all the time. You can even pitch one of your listings or a buyer needâno pressure, just a chance to connect."
Another approach is if you have a guest speaker - a lender, ...
Okay, guys, if you're a brokerage owner or team leader and you want your team to remember one key market statistic this week, what would it be? Something like:
How do you get people to actually remember those stats?
I'll tell you what you shouldn't do. When you have your next office meeting, don't do a "data dump," which is what we often do as brokerage owners or team leaders. We throw out 25 different stats, and guess what?
Nobody remembers any of it.
Instead, share just a few key statsâmaybe three to fiveâand then clearly state what you want them to remember.
When you tell them what to remember, they actually retain it because you've set the expectation.
At the beginning of the meeting, I might say, "Hey, I want you to remember this: The list-to-sell price in our market has dropped from 100% to 98%. That means sellers are getting 98% of their asking price, which is still ...
Hereâs a question I get almost every day from people who think they need to start recruiting to grow their business.
As a real estate brokerage owner or team leader, the only way to grow profitability is by increasing the number of agents working for you.
You have to switch hats. Many of you are coming from being top-producing agents, where your focus is on personal production. But when you move to the brokerage side, itâs no longer just about your productionâitâs about where production comes from.
Production doesnât come from one, two, or even ten agents. It comes from a team of agents working under you. Your customers are no longer buyers and sellers. As a brokerage owner or team leader, your customers are agents.
If you want to grow, you need more customersâmore agents. If you stay stagnant with the same number of agents, you wonât just fail to grow; youâll become less profitable over time. Inflation is constantly eating away at your profit margins. Itâs grow or die. Expanding y...
Letâs talk about the Primadonna agent.
Weâve all heard the term, but what does it mean? It refers to someoneâhopefully not in your officeâwho believes they hold power over the broker or staff. They might wield this perceived power by being verbally aggressive or abusive, saying and doing things that are completely inappropriate. They think they can get away with it because of their production level or tenure in the office.
So, what do you do with a Primadonna agent? Hereâs the unspoken fear many office and team leaders face: If I get rid of them, Iâll lose money. Maybe theyâre a top producer, and youâre thinking, âI canât afford to lose someone like that.â
But when you let this fear control your actions, it gives them even more strengthâand their behavior gets worse over time. Worse still, having this kind of toxic person in your office impacts your recruiting. Potential recruits may avoid your office entirely, even if they donât say it outright. They may think, âIâd join, but I can...
When you step into the role of recruiter for your team or office, you have to shift gears. You likely came from production, where you were a top agent and a confident salesperson. Talking to buyers and sellers felt natural.
But then you put on the recruiter hat, and suddenly making that first call to a potential recruit feels dauntingâlike the phone weighs a thousand pounds. It feels awkward and uncomfortable. Why is that?
Itâs because you donât have the skillset yet. Confidence comes from competence, and competence comes from learning and practice. The good news is you can develop those skills by getting coached and learning from others whoâve been where you are. Weâll share some tips and tools to help with that in a moment, but first, let me give you something to think about.
If youâre serious about growing your team or office, you need to commit at least one hour a day to recruiting. Without that, your business is at risk.
Hereâs where many people get stuck: they think they can ...
I've heard this so many times over the years: "My market's different, Jim." When it comes to recruiting, people say, "We're in a tiny market, a rural market, a niche market, or a very cliquey market. People here donât make moves like they do in big cities. Recruiting doesnât work here."
Let me tell you something: I come from a small town with a population of 25,000. Iâve worked in big cities, small towns, medium-sized cities, and even cliquey ones. Hereâs the reality: the numbers behind recruiting arenât something Iâm making up. These are national statistics.
The average agent in America moves every five years.
Look at your entire database of agents in your market and think about this: every single one of them will likely move in the next five years.
Statistically, some will move sooner, some later, but overall, theyâre going to move.
The question is: where are they going to go?
Think about your own career. Did you stay at one company forever without ever making a move? Probably ...
I get this question all the time from brokerage owners and team leaders: âHow do I start recruiting today when I donât have everything built yet?â
They often feel stuck in a catch-22: They think they need to build their vision first in order to start recruiting, but they donât have the money or resources to build it because they donât have agents yet.
Hereâs the answer: People will buy into your vision as long as you can articulate it clearly and tie it to a timeline.
When youâre talking to agents, say something like:
"Iâve got this vision of the kind of company I want to build. Iâm looking for a few people who want to get in on the ground floor and help me build it. We call them âfounder agents.â Theyâll be right there, side by side with me, helping shape this vision. Can I explain to you what Iâm trying to create?"
If you can sit with people and lay out a clear vision of what youâre working towards, theyâll buy into it. It doesnât have to be 100% built yetâthatâs what youâre wor...
If I sat down with you right now as a brokerage owner or team leader and asked you, "What's next for you after real estate?"âwhat would your response be?
Think about it. You might say, "I want to be on a beach somewhere," or "I want a cabin in Colorado," or maybe even "I want to live in Alaska." Whatever your dreams are, it likely takes you into an aspirational, dream-like state.
Now, here's the reality: 70 to 80% of brokers in your market, if given the right circumstances and opportunity, would choose to exit.
Why?
Because 70 to 80% of them are losing money. Many would be far better off selling their firm to you, transitioning their agents to your company, and then working for you. This would allow them to earn a consistent income, start saving for retirement, and ultimately achieve their dreams of escape.
What stops them from pulling the trigger?
One word: ego.
But what if there were a way to move past that ego barrier and help them feel comfortable making the decision? Well, ...
Letâs do a quick quiz for team leaders and brokerage owners to test how well you know your agents. This is essential for agent retention. While recruiting is critical, retaining your agents is just as importantâif not more so. Retention is all about re-recruiting your agents consistently: every week, every month, every year.
Hereâs the key: friends donât leave, and friends refer friends. Your agentsâyour customersâneed to see you as more than just their leader. They need to see you as a friend. And that kind of relationship only happens when you invest time in them and approach your interactions relationally, not transactionally.
Many brokerage owners and team leaders make the mistake of thinking transactionally. They view agents as numbers in a modelâhiring 10 new agents a month and watching eight leave. Itâs a churn-and-burn approach that feels like a meat grinder.
Thatâs not how you build a strong company.
A successful brokerage or team thrives on community, culture, and relatio...
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