Hi All - Need some ideas if anyone has any. I have a Prudential real estate agency that is looking for good, hard-working agents. Being in Michigan with high unemployment, it seems like that would be the least of his problems, but he can't offer any health insurance and agents are working on 100% commission, so he's having a hard time. I put together one idea where we set up a week's worth of spots for him and lead it up to an open house/job fair for him, but he didn't seem to keen on it. Any other ideas on what could work to help draw some good people to him?
Real estate is very much a reflection of the times. When it's booming everyone thinks it's a great job and when it's not the number of agents plummets. Nationally, the average agent is only involved in 4 transactions a year.
Having said that, three of my best long-term clients are in real estate and their business is good. We are using high frequency schedules that clearly point out the difference in them and competitors.
His best prospects are real estate agents working elsewhere who are already licensed. Real estate has a barrier to entry: the licensing process. He may want to sell the working and organizational environment, the 'team' at Prudential, how and what he does to advertise or otherwise support his sellers and build listings, the total sales and activity level in his office, other aspects like that against the negatives common in real estate offices. He probably knows he needs to woo away agents from other offices - that's why he rejected your idea of a job fair that would attract unlicensed, untrained people.
He might want to look at HSA's if the benefits thing is a big hindrance.
You can word the commercials to attract licensed agents that would give him the biggest return in the shortest amount of time. But he may have to throw something in to get that accomplished - the HSA's, that he pays for ongoing education (required to keep your license), that kind of thing. Did you ask him what things agents dislike about real estate offices that he does NOT do in his office?
