So much thought and energy is invested in how to recruit experienced agents; a basic prospecting call, postcards, visiting open house, cross-sale calls, transaction acknowledgment calls, and much, much more. And then, the fatal assumption most brokers make, driving their entire recruiting initiative and message around how their company stacks up against the competition and the delivery of feature/benefit. You know the one, the "feature dump" recruiting strategy, the most antiquated way to recruit today's experienced agent.

Here's the most critical question I see brokers fail to consider. "How does the experience recruit evaluate me during the recruiting process?" If you had the real answer, not your typical assumptions, wouldn't experienced agent recruiting be easier?!?! Let's get into answering the question with some observations of the experienced agent. You are dealing with some of the most demanding agents in the business. You have to be prepared to communicate your value proposition effectively and deliver a compelling message. To be successful in recruiting experienced agents, you must have a vast array of knowledge and excellent skills. I don't mean prospecting, interviewing, objection handling, and closing skills in recruiting, I'm referring basic real estate knowledge and skill-sets.

"Wait a minute Jon, you're moving away from the incredible features and benefits our company has to offer, we have spent so much time and energy developing, and I've spent so much time learning, practicing, and applying the benefits in my recruiting efforts. And by the way, I have the basic real estate knowledge and skill-sets." Ok, so earlier I misspoke. The basic real estate knowledge and skill-sets won't get it done. They'll get you by in recruiting new agents, along with some decent core agents, but the top producer? It won't happen. In most cases, these high expectation agents aren't measuring you against their broker or the other brokers in the market. Then who or what do you have to measure up to?

Productive agents have invested in their career along the way and many continue to. They invest in software, marketing, and different levels of coaching and training. I don't know too many good agents that got where they're at today by accident. They follow the training and use the tools they have invested in that get results and continue to look for ways to constantly increase their business. Here's a great example. The internet/online world is an area an agent is constantly trying to stay relevant in. So what do they do? They search for, find, and connect with the most competent coach or trainer to support them in dominating online. They grab onto Michael Russer's, aka Mr. Internet, Online Dominance Program, apply the principles, and their business results reflect the skills they acquire. This is just one example of how the experienced agent continues to increase their real estate IQ and business outcome.

"Well of course they do Jon, that's common sense." Great so we agree on that point. Staying in this vein the question I pose, "Are you increasing your skills in these areas too or are your agents passing you up in their knowledge and skills?" Are your agents continuing to explore the most progressive ways of doing business and advanced training while you are stagnant in your expertise as a leader, someone that has a responsibility to transfer value to agents on a consistent basis? I see it all the time and it's a recipe for disaster. Here's some proof. A question I ask constantly, whether one-on-one, or in front of hundreds of brokers, "How do you lead/manage your top agents?" The answer I get time and time again, "I leave them alone." Where is the value in that type of relationship between you and your top agents? The bottom line, they are comparing your value against the training, support and tools they have acquired on their own, outside of their current company. How do you measure up? Here's the good news, you'll encounter few competitors when recruiting experienced agents (sure everyone is going after experienced agents, but I'm talking about true competitors, skilled experienced agent recruiters). The agents you are trying to recruit are good, so your skills need to be sharp to compete. The impact they will have on your company wil

Jon Cheplak is a speaker, author, and strategic leadership consultant. He is the President and Founder of The Real Recruiter www.therealrecruiter.com and can be reached at jon@therealrecruiter.com or at 775.846.5748.