There were 97 successful broker/owners in the room when I asked this question recently, “What are your 3 biggest challenges running your business today?” With only a handful of exceptions, 98% of the respondents identified recruiting.

As we discussed recruiting, what became clear was that what worked years ago will not work effectively today. Here's what we learned:

Management is ill prepared to recruit Gen X agents

Most real estate managers are still locked into the old model of sales recruiting. It’s fishing. They hire them and then they try to clean them up.

You do not want to simply move agents from one office to another. The last thing you need is other people's headaches. With the enormous turnover ratio in our industry, that approach has obviously fared poorly. It’s a revolving door that has cost our industry billions in lost revenues.

What you want is new blood. You need business-minded people who are self-motivated, driven by goals, committed to their families and are prepared to invest in their success.

Therein lies the challenge. In order to attract that caliber individual, your company must be able to demonstrate an atmosphere that fosters success, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit, is conducive to growth and follows a pattern of high standards coupled with teamwork. Recognition is as important to many GenX’ers as is money. They know that money will come to them as a direct result of doing the things that matter and that also make a difference.

If you want to hire a good GenX’er you may have to kiss a few toads before you hit on a princess or prince. However, if you educate the interviewer to learn the mind of their target audience, take the time to hire the right individual out of the gate and then offer on-the-job training so that every opportunity for success is afforded to them, you’ll watch that person become a hitter in no time flat. The GenX’ers youthful exuberance and joy in putting minds together for solutions is a winning combination. Not to mention their love and embracing of all things technical…

The Gen X individual will interview you as well as being interviewed. They will want to see evidence of the above. They demand to know what may be the opportunities in the position they are seeking. Brokers must look at their company with a critical eye before they launch an all out recruiting effort only to find that what they are getting is what they have always gotten.

Some Valuable Do’s and Don’ts for hiring the GenX’er:

• Don’t evade or exaggerate on questions about earning potential in the first call
• Don’t use hyperbole to describe the job
• Don’t expect them to have the same values and perspectives as the old guard
• Don’t insist on rigid corporate structure
• Don’t micromanage
• Don’t discourage questions just because no one has ever raised the issue before
• Do challenge them (They love team contests.)
• Do create an atmosphere where fun is encouraged, and time with one's peers is valued

Published: August 15, 2001

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Marylyn B. Schwartz, CSP, is a noted expert in real estate and corporate sales training, team development, customer care and diversity issues. She is president of TEAMWEAVERS and was a trainer for the Floyd Wickman Courses©, Sweathogs® program for over five years. Marylyn is also an author and Business/Life Coach. Contact her at , or visit her website at MarylynBSchwartz.com.