Here is our picture of the ideal sales associate hiring process for new agents. For brokers, hiring is always on your horizon. If nothing more than to replace the natural attrition within the real estate industry. New agents bring in a vitality and energy. As long as you have a good accountability structure, with yourself or someone else, they can be a great asset. New agents also tap into new sources of revenue for you. They are moldable to go after specific market share in your service area.
For teams, Sales Associates should be brought on when you have too many leads and they are starting to fall through the cracks. You should also start looking at bringing them on as your active listing inventory grows. A good rule of thumb is one buyer’s agent for every 5-10 listings a month your team is taking. Your team should be doing as many buy sides as listing sides annually with you only handling your VIP buyers. The rule of thumb for listing partners is one for every 20 listings a month you are bringing on. Here is the process we like to use as a baseline for hiring Sales Associates.
Step One – Have a Well Written Ad.
Set expectations right up front. The right Sales Associate for your team are essential to your growth. You want to attract the right people who are comfortable with the commission only model and fit into your team’s dynamic and brand. Here’s an example of an ad we have used in the past with leads with the “why” we do what we do.
Step Two – The 3 Minute Video
One of the key skills with a Sales Associate is the ability is to present well. We have found starting with resume’s is a time consuming process and may weed out a candidate that would be a great fit for you. Instead, end your ad with a request for them to send you a video that is under three minutes. Ask them to answer the question “Why do you think you would be a perfect fit for our team?” Where you have them send it is up to you. If you are really active on one social channel, use that. If not, have them text it to you. Video and social media are important elements in today’s real estate world.
Step Three – Your Interview
We suggest you ask the Sales Associate candidate about them, their background and get to know the human side of them. You interview is about comfort, your gut instinct and whether you feel this person is a good fit for your team.
Step Four – Set-up Admin Set-up and Background Check
If you feel good about them, have them set up a time with your admin to get all their paperwork done for your team, brokerage and brand. Prior to that appointment, have your admin do a deep dive into their social media. If they don’t exist, that is a red flag. If their posts are contrary to the team’s image, that is also a red flag. Your admin will also want to pull their license info and other regulatory items prior to their meeting with them.
Step Five – Onboarding
For our Private Clients, we offer to do an onboarding planning session with them. We have hired hundreds of Sales Associates and know what to look for in attitude, demeanor and skills. We also have a pretty good handle on our Clients unique needs and personality. With our sales associate hiring process, we start with our core three assessments. The first is our Luxury Archetype assessment. The second is our Core Values assessment. The third is our Strength assessment. We will go over all the results in their onboarding business planning meeting. We will also make sure to reassure them that they have made an excellent choice by affiliating with you and your team.
Sales associates are the multipliers for your team. They are your leverage to more income and more time for you to spend with the people and activities you love. Hiring the right ones are amazing. Hiring the wrong ones will suck you into a vortex of time wasting activities.
