Skip to Contents

4 Secrets to Recruiting Real Estate Agents to Boost Profitability

Recruitment stands as a critical lever for real estate brokerage owners aiming to strengthen their market position and enhance profitability. Yet, many leaders face mounting challenges in attracting and retaining top-tier real estate agents amidst an increasingly competitive landscape.

Drawing on extensive experience as real estate recruiting consultants, we outline a proven, strategic approach—the Multi-Channeled Recruiting System—that aligns leadership strengths, core values, and differentiated branding to attract ideal candidates with precision and consistency.

1. Start with Your Current Position: Aligning Core Values and Inherent Strengths

Core Values: The Backbone of Agent Retention

Sustainable recruitment begins with a foundation of shared core values. Industry attrition rates routinely exceed 7–8% annually when common values are absent, creating costly churn as agents move between brokerages rather than exiting the industry due to retirement or relocation.

At RE Luxe Leaders®, we emphasize population management—balancing recruitment and retention. High recruiter activity alone does not guarantee stability; leadership that cultivates deep loyalty often achieves better agent retention even with fewer hires.

Completing a Core Values assessment for leadership and agents reveals the tipping point for attracting candidates aligned with your brokerage culture. Typically, shared values exceeding 50% alignment provide a compelling magnetic force for new talent.

Inherent Strengths: Leveraging Leadership Personality for Recruiting Success

Recruitment effectiveness is shaped predominantly by leadership personality—approximately 80%—with brokerage offerings comprising the remaining 20%. Understanding and positioning your inherent strengths underpin crafting an authentic, differentiated recruitment message that resonates with top agents.

2. Develop a System Focused on Your Local Agent Pool

The “pool” refers to agents currently working or residing within a 20-minute radius of your office—a pragmatic boundary given agents’ commuting preferences and affinity for local affiliation. Designing recruiting strategies centered on this pool ensures efficiency and maximizes conversion potential.

Multi-Channel Outreach Tactics

Social Media:
- LinkedIn: Professional content focused on growth, industry data, and announcements.
- Facebook: Culture-centric posts showcasing leadership personality and agent experiences.
- Twitter: Market insights and business-building tips linking back to other channels.
- Instagram: Visual storytelling emphasizing office culture and community engagement.
- YouTube: Video testimonials and training previews highlighting team value.
Email: Consistent messaging campaigns emphasizing your brokerage’s Unique Value Propositions (UVPs), announcements of new team members, training opportunities, and cultural narratives.
Phone Calls: Quarterly voicemails inviting agents to events, maintaining personal connection.
Events: Structured quarterly mix of two social and two educational events to build relationships and demonstrate value.
Direct Mail (“Snail Mail”): Periodic postcards designed around UVPs sent quarterly to reinforce presence tangibly.

3. Precision Targeting: Engage Your Top 250 Agents with a Coordinated System

From within your agent pool, identify your top 250 target agents—those who hold strategic value based on performance, potential, or market influence. Personalized engagement every 90 days across multiple channels fosters sustained interest and relationship-building.

Engagement Cadence and Channels

Social Media: Maintain professional posts with amplification through paid advertisements and targeted Facebook and Instagram re-directs.
Email: Deliver branding messages, personalized communications aligned with situational relevance, training invitations, and welcome announcements.
Direct Phone Calls: Leaders make personal quarterly calls to nurture relationships at a high-touch level.
Voicemail & Text: Quarterly automated messages and texts from leadership maintain presence with a personal tone.
Events: Continued mix of social and educational events designed exclusively for targeted agents.
Direct Mail: UVP-focused postcards sent on a six-week interval to reinforce your brokerage’s distinct advantages.

4. Systematize Referrals and Cooperative Agent Relationships

Referrals from co-op agents and current team members remain a potent, underutilized recruiting source. Formalize outreach through:

Personalized calls to co-op agents to acknowledge partnership and encourage referrals.
Timely congratulatory cards or emails regarding new listings in your market area to demonstrate attentiveness and professionalism.
Leadership recognition of agent referrals to reinforce a culture of appreciation and reciprocity.

Additional Strategies: Campaigns to Enhance Multi-Channeled Recruiting Effectiveness

New Agent Outreach: Partner with local real estate schools to promote mentorship programs, accelerating recruitment pipelines.
Competitive Recruiting Tactics: Capitalize strategically on every opportunity a new recruit creates within competitors’ offices.
Robust Onboarding Program: Implement a comprehensive 60-day onboarding process designed to instigate referrals and integrate recruits swiftly.
Brand-Specific Blitz Campaigns: Within 10 days of a recruit joining, execute targeted campaigns aimed at their former office to consolidate gains.

Concluding Perspective: Recruitment as a Strategic Imperative

For established brokerage leaders committed to elevating profitability and building lasting legacy, recruitment is not a tactical afterthought but a strategic imperative requiring discipline, consistency, and alignment with core organizational values and strengths.

Applying the multi-faceted system detailed herein enables precise targeting, relationship cultivation, and sustainable growth—key pillars in maintaining competitive advantage in luxury and high-volume real estate markets.

For brokerage leaders ready to transition beyond conventional recruiting challenges, our Private Client coaching and Recruiting Master Class offer the strategic depth required to execute these principles with clarity and confidence.

Book a confidential strategy call with RE Luxe Leaders™ to explore tailored solutions addressing your unique recruitment challenges and growth ambitions.

Explore additional authoritative insights and tools for elite brokerage leadership:

For ongoing, real-time commentary from our Founding and Managing Partner, Chris Pollinger, follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.