New agents are critical to your business plan being capable of delivering profitability, mortgage capture and finally, injecting vital energy into your environment. Right now everyone wants to get into the business. Why the need for focus on attracting new agents?

Simple. If you don't have a plan in place today, while new agents are knocking down your door to get into the business, then you might not be able to attract new agents in the future. Don't let your behavior be a product of the booming market. Let your future results be a product of your actions today.

So where do you find new agents? Here are a few ideas:

• Constantly run an advertisement for agents

How does the public know that you hire new agents? How do they know that you sell homes? Advertisement is the simple answer. It makes sense, doesn't it? Run an advertisement for new agents every day. You will find that a few experienced agents will actually call on this ad, too.

• Host career events

I personally managed a first year branch manager who held eight career events a month. He started in an empty start-up office with zero agents. How many agents did he have at the end of the year in that office? He had 95! I think career events work. Due to the rapid growth of the office, experienced agents started to call because they wanted to be a part of something that was on a strong growth trajectory.

• Implement closing surveys

Does your company mail out customer service surveys after closings? If not, you need to change that immediately. On the customer survey you need to have a box that they can check. The question is quite simple. "Have you considered a career in real estate" In some large companies I have found that nearly 20 percent of the agents were past clients. What if people joined your company as an agent because of the great experience they had with your company?

• Work real estate schools

Create a relationship with the local real estate school so that you can do a presentation to the future licensees.

• Attain the pass list

Many states will provide you with a list of people that pass the state licensing examination. Harvest those names and numbers then get them into your database immediately.

• Create a list of new members

Get the name of every new member application to your local board of Realtors. By the time you receive this list enough time has passed where the agent has determined if the company they chose is as good as they thought it would be. These are still new agents and may not be having the experience that they expected. Meet with them and determine if there's a value match.

These are just a few ways to find and attract new agents.

Published: June 24, 2005

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Jon Cheplak, ABR,GRI,CRS,CRB,CLHMS is the Founder of The Real Estate Recruiters, The Management and Recruiting Solutions Experts. Jon consults, coaches, and hosts retreats for brokers, owners, and managers internationally, supporting leaders in their growth and profitability strategies and tactics. He can be reached at 775-846-5748 or email him at recruit@therealestaterecruiters.com. Visit his website at www.therealestaterecruiters.com.