1

The 10 Commandments of Recruiting

Authors: Judy LaDeur, Kathy Baker, & Dane Maxwell

2

Table of Contents

#1 Thou Shalt Listen More Than You Speak 4  

#2 Thou Shalt Make Your Phone Calls 9  

#3 Thou Shalt Qualify Your Hit List 13  

#4 Thou Shalt Make it About the Agent 16  

#5 Thou Shalt Know Your Stats 18  

#6 Thou Shalt Know Your Competition 20  

#7 Thou Shalt Focus on the Process 23  

#8 Thou Shalt Market Consistently 25  

#9 Thou Shalt Become a Master Closer 27  

# 10 The Final Commandment 29  

Questions or Comments About the Report? 30  

3

Our goal in this report is to take a look at the basic

skill set needed to be a a master recruiter. It's not

just doing one thing. It's not just being a great

closer, being able to interview well, or making a lot

of calls each day. Instead, it's made up of a lot of

components. If you can implement all of these

components and doing them really well, you'll be

able to consistently hire the best agents in your marketplace.

The following 10 Commandments should be used when learning to

become a Master Recruiter:

4

#1 Thou Shalt Listen More Than You Speak

The Key Idea: As a broker, we get into the mindset of

telling the prospective agent more than they want to

know about the company. We've spent time building

and fostering the relationship and want to share

knowledge about our business. But, that's not always

the best way to do it. Instead, we need to stop

talking so much and treat them as a buyer.

We're not at a listing presentation. Instead, pretend you're working with a

prospective buyer. The first thing you should do is qualify them by asking

very specific questions and listening to their response. It's not just what

they say, but their body language as well. What are they telling us through

their body language? More specifically, you can usually tell through their

body language when they're making the decision to join the company.

Many times, brokers talk more than they listen because they're excited to

get an agent in front of them. They want to convince them to join the

company, so they go into sell mode. Any time a broker is in sell mode,

they're in talking mode.

The most effective selling tool is to listen.

How to Take Action:

Whether we're talking about selling houses or cars, you can't sell someone

something they don't want. It doesn't matter how great of a salesperson

you are or what your skills are. As hard as it is, you need to sit back and

approach the interview from the attitude of: "I want to make this person

make the best decision for their real estate career. To do this, I need to

know some things about the person. I should know things like what their

5

needs are and what they're looking for." This is one of the most common

things brokers do, so that's why we made it our first commandment.

Instead of viewing the meeting as an interview, view it as a consulting

session. Ask the person where they're at in their life and what you can do

to help them. Another term brokers could call it is a career evaluation or

consultation, because that's really what we're doing. If the broker is

conducting the interview correctly, they're asking questions, investigating

their career, and trying to decide whether or not the agent would be a

good fit for the team.

What Kinds of Questions Should I Ask in the Consultation?

The rule of thumb is that the questions should be asked in

thirds. The first 1/3 of your questions should be easy-to-

answer questions like these:

• What do you like about your current company?

• If you were to make a move, what would you be looking for?

• How long have you been in the business?

• How do you feel about your business at this point in time?

Each of these questions are things they can answer without giving much

thought to.

Once they start to warm up, you should begin to ask probing questions.

These are designed to cause some pain and make them wiggle a bit.

Here are some examples:

• What kind of marketing support are you getting from your current

company?

o The reason for this question: Today, many companies aren't

giving agents marketing support. If this is the case with the

6

agent you're talking to, we want that to feel painful for them

because it's something they're missing out on.

• Who's currently helping you with your business plans?

• How many leads are you getting from your company each month?

These questions are aimed to uncover the things the agent is missing. Are

leads important? Is marketing important? Is education important? If

they're not getting these, it's likely they're feeling pain from it. The answers

to these few questions will tell us better than anything what we should be

presenting.

Last but not least, you should ask thought-provoking questions that involve

some consideration:

• If you were going to make that move

today, what would you need to hear from

me?

• Is there anything right now that would

keep you from making the move today? If

so, what would that be?

These questions are aimed to get the agent thinking and coming up with

their objections. Once you have this information, you're ready to develop

a presentation that's tailored to them.

Behavior Styles: Emotional vs. Logical

An important aspect in the consultation process is identifying behavior

styles. Types of behavior can usually be divided into two main categories -

Emotional or Logical. It's really important you learn to distinguish between

the two. If you learn how to properly do that, you can add components

into the questioning that give you tremendous insight.

7

For example: If someone is an emotional decision maker, a probing

question you should ask when they give you a response is "Tell me how

that makes you feel?" This type of decision maker is going to make their

entire decision based on emotion.

Here's a common situation: If the agent had always been provided

marketing collateral and lately the marketing funding had been cut out,

you can ask them something like "How does it make you feel to not have

the marketing collateral provided to you?" If you know you're working with

an emotional decision maker and can get them worked up emotionally,

they'll make the move.

Others are considered logical decision makers.

When working with someone like this, follow up their

response with, "What is that costing you in time or

money not to have this service provided?" This is a

whole different level but becomes very important in

becoming a master recruiter.

Each of the above question styles are designed to identify the agent's

pain. The first 15 or 20 minutes of the consultation should be pure

questions, while the rest of the interview would be your presentation that is

tailored to the questions the agent had.

A master recruiter knows how to slant the interview in emotional terms or

logical terms to make it easier for the person they're trying to recruit to

make their decision.

As a rule, 80% of agents are emotional decision makers. Of these, 70% are

considered expressive, while 10% are amiable. Being amiable, in a

nutshell, is "nice." This type of person is easy to approach, warm,

hospitable, polite, and caring. All other sales people are considered

8

expressive. They're typically friendly, outgoing, assertive, and competitive.

The remaining 20% of agents are logical decision makers.

Although this may vary by organization, the 80%/20% concept can be

used as a general rule of thumb.

9

#2 Thou Shalt Make Your Phone Calls

The Key Idea: Phone calls are the hardest part of

the sales process because brokers can always find

something else to do besides making calls. However,

what some brokers don't realize is that phone calls

are the greatest income-producing task that you

can complete every day.

The Value of an Agent

To learn the importance of a phone call, every broker should be aware of

the value of each agent. What does each agent add to the bottom line

of the company from a profitability standpoint?

Here's an example:

Let's say a new agent adds $1,000/month for profitability.

If the agent is there for 12 months, that's $12,000.

The National Association of Realtors has determined that an agent is

typically with a company for an average of 5-7 years. If we split this and

say 6 years, that's a pretty good profit. By spending 6 years with a

company and producing $12,000 each year, over time the broker will

earn $72,000.

This is one great way to look at a phone call. If each phone call you make

that results in a hire is worth $72,000, that's very motivational.

Keep in mind: "What is the value of the prospect, and what is the potential

value of a telephone call?"

10

How to Take Action:

Schedule Your Calls

As a broker, set aside time each day to make

your phone calls and do your follow up.

Unfortunately, many times this is easier said than

done. What usually happens is that a broker

schedules time, then gets interrupted by an

agent, another phone call, etc.

Let's put things into perspective...

If you're on your way out the door to a $1 million listing appointment and

an agent approaches you and asks to have a few minutes of your time,

it's not likely you'll say yes. Why? Because the $12,000 you could potentially

earn from that sale is suddenly important to you; something you don't

want to give up.

An agent is like having a $1 million listing that you get to sell every year for

the next 6 years. Understand the value of this and make it priority.

Real-World Example

We recently had a recruiting blitz going on. We did it because, as a rule,

from mid-July to mid-August brokers don't focus on recruiting. During our

blitz, everyone was required to report their numbers daily. As a result,

we've had a ton of activity.

One broker had many excuses on why she couldn't make her phone calls

so she asked us, "How do you keep your recruiting up when you have to

keep your business up?"

11

Another one of our brokers had adhered to that philosophy up until a year

ago. His name was Greg, and he was from Wichita, Kansas. He had his

company for several years, never got above 12 agents and was ready to

throw in the towel.

Before he gave up, he came to our one-on-one

training. I told Greg that he'd never build his

company and be profitable if his priority was in

building your own personal business. Instead of

listing and selling to build your business, spend time

recruiting. Everyone is faced with this issue and it's

usually a big challenge for brokers.

Many say "I have to pay my bills first. I have to list and sell now or I'm not

going to make it."

That's like having a sales agent say "I can't go full time as a real estate

agent because I need my other job to pay the bills. When I get good at

real estate I'll leave my other job." When brokers use that excuse, they

never ever get to a point where they're profitable.

It's now a year later and Greg has hired 39 more agents, 14 in the last 30

days. Now, he doesn't even have to worry about listing and selling

because he's focused on building his business and is diligent about

making his daily calls. All of the work he's done in the last year positioned

him well.

12

Understand The Purpose of Your Calls

Regardless of how long you've been in business, you must make calls on a

daily basis to build relationships and grow your business. Above all, don't

spend each time asking, "When can we get together?" Instead, ask things

like "How is your business going?" Or, comment on a listing they got. As

long as you focus on questions like this, they'll be much less likely to avoid

you.

Finally, know what the purpose of your call is. If the

purpose of your call, time after time, is to get an

appointment, you're going to get frustrated. If the

purpose is to build a relationship and determine if

the time is right for the agent to come in and meet

with you, it's much easier. It's rejection-free because

it's not about you; it's about them.

One final note: It's not a matter of luck. It's when preparation meets

opportunity. If you're constantly prepared and positioned, when the

opportunity comes about, you'll get lucky.

13

#3 Thou Shalt Qualify Your Hit List

The Key Idea: When working with brokers, one of the

first things we do is ask them how many agents are

on their hit list. What many brokers tend to think is

that a hit list is a very small group of good agents

that they want to recruit. Many think a hit list should

be made of 10-12 agents. This isn't what a hit list is.

A hit list is a large group of agents that you would like to do business with

sometime in the future. Just like an agent, you wouldn't pick just 10 homes

in a community and decide you're going to focus on getting those listed.

Instead, you pick a large group of homes to market to. The same should

be true of brokers.

How to Take Action:

You should have a list of 200 - 350 agents you can market to. It doesn't

have to necessarily be someone who will join their organization now, but

perhaps down the road. The list should constantly evolve and grow.

What to Look for in a List

First, your list should be large enough. Secondly, you should have data

that allows you to look at the production of the people you're considering

because you want to make sure they fit your criteria. For example, If

you're a ReMax broker that doesn't offer training and you just want agents

who can pay their bill each year, you should take a look at how much

income they've generated in the last month. If they've only generated

$3,000 or $4,000, this isn't someone you want to consider.

14

But, qualifications aren't just monetary. You should also decide: Are they a

good fit for your company? Do they complement the culture of your

company?

Real World Example

One of the people I'm coaching sent me a photo of

who they're trying to recruit. Normally, we'll look at

these photos and be able to determine the

individual's hot buttons and the best way to get them

on board. The broker told me the prospective agent was arrogant,

people don't like working with him, and won't agree to meet with her. But,

he does a lot of business.

The answer was simple - Although he's doing a lot of business, if he's a jerk,

take him off the list. As a broker, you have a lot of people you're talking to.

Recruiting gives you options and you don't have to choose someone that

doesn't fit with your company culture.

Ask yourself: Who do you want in your organization? What kind of people

are you looking for?

Don't just find a bunch of names and start calling them. Instead, spend

some time doing research. Decide which agents will be a good fit for your

culture and production. And remember to be patient - sometimes, it takes

years for agents to move to a new company.

Here's how to think about it:

If you get an $8 million producer that's the jerk, who is he going to prevent

you from getting? If you bring him on, who will be eliminated? Even if he is

an $8 million producer, if it keeps you from getting two good $4-million

producers or four $2-million producers, you've lost.

15

One of the things we always point out to brokers is

that an $8-million producer is nothing more than four

$2-million producers, and they're easier to get - don't

be thrown off by the volume.

Think like a realtor - this is part of the qualification. If an agent's production

doesn't qualify for the threshold you need to be recruiting to, decide if it's

a person you want to work with and if they're going to fit with the culture

of the company? If not, it's okay. Not everyone needs to work with your

company.

16

#4 Thou Shalt Make it About the Agent

The Key Idea: "Get before you give." It's the very

opposite of what you've learned your entire life. In

fact, we've learned from the time we were

children to give before we get. This is the one time

you really need to reverse this and think like a

realtor.

How to Take Action:

Instead of diving right into sales mode during a consultation, make it

about the agent. Find out:

• What's important to them?

• Why is it important to them?

• What are their fears?

• What are their dreams?

• What are their frustrations?

Then, you'll determine from that what you and your organization can give

back to them. Ask yourself "What unique things do I have in my company

that will serve their needs?" By answering this, you can tailor your

presentation accordingly.

Most importantly, do not give a presentation before you have the

information you need from the candidate. Don't jump right into sales and

don't overwhelm them with information because it may not even impact

what their decision would be.

Make it your goal to determine if an agent is right for your company.

17

Take time to learn about their life and career, then decide if you really

have the organization they're looking for. One of the most typical

situations is that a company offers a lot of support services like an

administrative team, marketing support, and lead generation. Since these

services take money to implement, they're typically not the same

organization that offers the highest split or the lowest fee. If you have an

agent that's #1 in the marketplace, they may not care about the services

you offer, and instead, just on the compensation structure.

At this point, the agent is no longer a good fit

for that company. The best thing the broker

can do is to tell them that. The organization

was built on support and the broker is looking

for agents that need these tools. You have to

be willing to turn them away and let them go.

If you can truly master the art of wanting to help people make the right

decision for their real estate career, you'll hire more agents. Agents can

sense this. You're no longer trying to sell them on joining your company,

but instead, trying to find what's right for them.

18

#5 Thou Shalt Know Your Stats

The Key Idea: There are a lot of brokers that don't

know enough about their own company to be

compelling. One of the hardest things we run into in

our workshops is getting people to acknowledge and

embrace how their company is unique.

To start, we ask them to list 10-12 things that set them apart in their market

and many say that's very hard to do. As a broker, here's what you should

know about your company:

• How am I unique?

• How am I different?

• What is the result of that?

• What is my per-person productivity?

How to Take Action:

Know your stats, know the results, and know the answer to the question,

"What am I providing unlike anyone else in my marketplace to give

people these results?"

Real World Example

A broker approached me and told me he had 30 walk-ins a month. He'd

never promoted it and wasn't talking about it. In fact, he'd never even

stopped to look at it.

There are a couple brokers from the Phoenix area that handed several

leads to their agents and weren't taking the proper time to promote it. It's

one of the foundation things we do with brokers and something that

everyone needs to implement in their recruiting strategy.

19

Treat it as a brainstorming session and think of the

answers to these questions:

• What do you provide your agents?

• What is your per-person production?

We take a look at the raw materials and statistics, which is how we help

you formulate strategy and attract agents that are the best fit for your

company. Once you know what you've got, you can understand which

agents are ideal for you.

20

#6 Thou Shalt Know Your Competition

The Key Idea: Know your competition. As a

recruiter, I have a book that is filled with

information about our competition. Whenever I

interview someone who has been with other

companies, or when we hired experienced

agents, we had them bring in the information

they've gathered at their prior location.

When we hired experienced agents, we told them to bring in the

materials from their last job so if someone else from their company joined

us in the future, we'd have a copy of the information for them. Many

brokers have no idea what the policy is regarding releasing listings or sales

information, but having this information can be very helpful.

How to Take Action:

Prepare For the Interview

This is something that's commonly overlooked. Instead of properly

preparing for the interview, brokers tend to get into their office just a few

minutes before the agent arrives. Brokers wouldn't do this with buyers or

sellers, so they definitely shouldn't do it with recruits.

15 - 30 minutes before the interview, look at the competition:

• What is their market share?

• What systems and services do they provide?

• Review their policies. How much do you know about the company?

21

If you can know as much about your competition as you know about your

organization, it will help you have a much better approach to your own

company.

Real World Example

There was a company in our marketplace that

didn't have a front desk staff, so agents had to

field phone calls. Whenever someone came in

from that company, I'd ask them what their

support was like. I already knew the answer, but

it was a lot more powerful for me to ask

because I knew it was an issue that drove a lot

of agents out of the company.

The needs and pain points change from market to market and from

agent to agent, so it's important to know what's meaningful to them.

Normally, the three main areas are:

• Support

• Leads

• Training

Since the market crashed a few years ago, these are the big ones. When

the market was strong, it wasn't as important to have marketing support,

lead generation, or training because it was all there in front of agents. But,

as the market shifts, the needs of the agent shift as well. As a broker, you

need to know what those needs are and how you compare to the

competition. You should also know which of your competitors aren't

providing these services.

Bottom line: Agents who are comfortable don't move.

22

Learn as much as you can about the competition -

most importantly, where they are vulnerable.

This can include things like:

• How are leads being distributed?

• Is an agent getting their leads?

• How does a competition handle lead distribution?

o This one is a hot point - in today's market, there are fewer

leads coming in, so this is something that could cause them

pain.

This is how you crush the competition - if they're comfortable, they're not

going to move.

Bring it out. Exploit it. Make it as painful as possible.

23

#7 Thou Shalt Focus on the Process

We see this misconception most commonly during conferences and

conventions. Brokers attend these, listen to the speakers, and hear about

the different systems that different people have. Then, they'll try to do

everything so they can get the same results that person has.

The Key Idea: What they don't realize is that, when

speaking at conferences, we have 15 minutes to

share a powerful idea or story. In the real world, it

doesn't work that way - there's an entire process

behind it.

That's why we implemented the 10 commandments.

How to Take Action:

Focus on the Process

When you see someone who's doing a great job of recruiting, it's because

they have an entire system in place. Everything works if you do it, but it

also works best when you're doing everything consistently - not just one

little thing.

Real World Example

We have a training here in Chicago called "101 Training." When brokers go

through this 3-day training, we take them through the 10 Commandments.

Those who put it in place when they leave will hire between 15 and 25

experienced agents in 6 months. Do we have people that don't have

those results? Yes. When we look back to discover why it didn't work, it's

usually because they didn't put them all in place.

24

The results aren't hard to get, as long as you follow the process. A big part

of this is the accountability. There's so much to learn when getting started,

but it is a process. Stick with it and you'll have results - everyone does.

It's a system. It's proven. It works. The people who follow it closely have

great results. It doesn't matter if you've had good results in the past. In

fact, most people that come to Chicago are coming here because the

10 Commandments are the last hope. They've tried everything and if it

doesn't work, they'll be shutting down their business.

25

#8 Thou Shalt Market Consistently

The Key Idea: Marketing makes your presentation

much easier because it's your opportunity to be in

front of the agent consistently.

How to Take Action:

Put something in your agents' hands a minimum of one time each month

that expresses things like how unique your office is, what type of results

your people are getting, and why they should consider working at your

company.

Keep in constant contact; let them know you have an interest in them.

Get it in their mind that, when the time is right, you're the first person they

need to talk to.

Make it Specific, Unique, and Compelling

Email can supplement your marketing strategy, but shouldn't be your main

focus. Although it's inexpensive, it's just too easy to delete. In addition, mail

something to their home. This helps put another form of communication in

front of their face, while building an advocate through a family member.

If the family member sees the person is currently unhappy in their job but

are staying with it, this shows them that they have other choices.

Ideas for marketing materials:

• Postcards

• Phone calls

• Personal notes

• Brochures

26

• A recruiting website - This is a great tool when you use it correctly.

Make sure you put the URL on everything - your business card,

brochures, and the signature at the end of your email.

Send the Right Message

When sending out marketing materials, make

sure you convey the right message. Your

message should always be for agents to join your

team. Don't pass out a link to your personal

website. Instead, your image in the marketplace

should position you as a leader and the person

building the company.

In many cases, the broker is the #1 agent in the company, but that

shouldn't be the message you send to agents. Commit to building a

profitable organization, then use this image on the message you convey

to your audience. It's essential you look like the person building the

organization; not just owning the business.

27

#9 Thou Shalt Become a Master Closer

The Key Idea: A master closer is a person who

makes others feel good about making the decision

they've already decided to make.

Just as you can't convince someone to buy a house they don't want, you

can't convince someone to join your team. A master closer does

everything we've talked about. They've attracted people who are good

for their company, listened, and identified what's important to them.

They've been able to line up that person's needs with what they have to

offer as a company.

If you're doing everything right, that person sitting in front of you should

make the decision they want to be with your company. A master closer is

just the reinforcement that makes them feel good about their decision.

How to Take Action:

Make it a Call to Action

The biggest mistake that brokers make is to get to the end of the interview

and not ask the agent to join their company. Why? Too many are afraid

to ask for it.

Just as you do in listing and selling, watch for the signs. When you get to

the very end of the meeting, assume the person will say yes. A master

closer knows the signs - they've seen them. At this point, they will ask the

person to join their team.

28

Stick out your hand and say "It's going to be a

pleasure working with you every day." At this

point, they have two options - to shake your

hand or pull away. Then, you'll know what their

intention is.

29

# 10 The Final Commandment

One last time, let's go over the path to becoming a Master Recruiter:

#1 Develop Recruiting Mindset

#2 Qualify Your Hit List

#3 Identify Strengths and Competitor Weaknesses

#4 Implement a Consistent Marketing Campaign

#5 Begin Making Phone Calls

#6 Set 3 Interviews Per Week

#7 Recruit an Agent

#8 Hire Judy and Kathy

#9 Get a Zannee.com Recruiting Website

Doing each of these things will put you well on your way to becoming a

master recruiter.

30

Questions or Comments About this Report?

Email Judy at judy@judyladeur.com or visit her

website at JudyLadeurInternational.com. You can

also email Kathy Baker at kathy@kathybaker.net.