Brokers, are you spending too much time spent managing and not enough time recruiting?

I hear it all the time, "Jon, I can't find time to recruit agents with all of the managerial issues I am dealing with." Most brokers I talk to want the time management "magic pill."

Before we talk about the solution, let's look at the truth. Can you really manage time? Of course not, but you can most certainly manage your decisions. Time management is simply based on an attitude and the choices you make.

1. Time blocking: Scheduling a certain activity during a specific time, quite basic and I know you have all heard this one before. If not, start doing it today.

   Challenges: The phone rings, you check your email, or someone interrupts you with a great problem on one of their transactions and wants you to come be the 'Deal Doctor." You dash out of your office with your Superman cape in tow to fix the deal. You're not committed to your schedule. Oh, wait a minute, it's really not your schedule because management is about reacting to everyone else's problems? Not true -- but we've all been there before.

2. Vision: Create a picture in your mind and on paper of who or what your organization is going to be in the future (stated and realized in the present tense), inclusive of your principles and values. Now you have a real meaning for the recruiting activities you are doing every day.

   Challenges: Very few leaders have a clearly articulated vision statement. Do you have a clear vision? If not, how can you commit to activities without a purpose and picture of what your work will create for you? This is where the recruiting activities become a grind. No vision equals no inspiration in the work that you do.

3. Skills: Work on your telephone, interview, and coaching skills. You must be good at all three to be a GREAT recruiter.

   Challenges: You have areas in your skill-sets that need to be improved or enhanced or maybe you feel that the old maintenance style of management will drive profitability. You're like most people and move to the activity that is most comfortable; deal doctoring, and it monopolizes all of your time. You go through the daily grind and are exhausted from fixing deals and agent problems. No recruiting takes place.

It's no mystery, we all know that recruiting is the lifeblood of our business, but it's not getting done. The greatest reason I hear is a lack of time, but here's the truth; it's typically a lack of commitment, lack of skills, and leadership styles that disable by being a helper instead of empowering agents to self-discovery.

Validation is the big issue, not time management. You can experience immediate validation by fixing a deal or listening to someone's problems, but validation for your recruiting work takes time. I'm not telling you to ignore your agents. I'm simply suggesting that you empower them by allowing them to go through their own discovery processes while leading a culture that supports. If you continually help people, you will become a helper. If you empower and inspire people you will become a leader, which one sounds better to you?

You have one main objective as a leader in the real estate industry, and that is to recruit agents. Stop being a helper and start being a leader, create a vision, build your skill-sets, and commit to the activities and time that is necessary to get the job done. You see, it's really about managing you, not time.

Published: May 29, 2006

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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.