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Assessing Personnel Needs
Advanced-Beyond Job Descriptions: Job Matching for Real Estate Sales
Recruitment Planning
Advanced: What Top Performers Want from You
Recruiting Salespeople
Advanced: Tips for Recruiting the Seasoned Professional
Recruiting Support Personnel
Advanced: The Family and Medical Leave Act
The Interviewing Process
Advanced: Behavioral Interviewing
Tips for Selecting a Psychological Test
Structuring Compensation
Advanced: Compensation Tips for Management Personnel | | Recruiting really has two aspects. What qualities and skills do you want in your salespeople? And what services and benefits do top-level salespeople expect from you?
Recognizing Top Performers
Of course, you want the best. But what does that entail? A survey of top salespeople by Caliper Inc., a human resource consulting company in Princeton, N.J., found that these were the qualities that made the difference.
Ego strength. A healthy self-esteem and the ability to bounce back from rejection.
A sense of urgency. A competitiveness that makes you want to get things done quickly.
Ego drive. A desire to persuade people of your point of view that gets the sale closed.
Assertiveness. A willingness to take the lead in a transaction and firmly get your point across. Not to be confused with the aggressive, "used-car" image of a salesperson.
Risk taking. The ability to innovate and try new alternatives and not worry too much if you're wrong sometimes.
Sociability. A skill at building relationships and a friendly, talkative disposition.
Abstract reasoning capabilities. The ability to sell a client on an idea, not just a house.
Skepticism. A little suspicion may help keep top performers alert and asking questions throughout the transaction.
Creativity. The ability to find solutions to the inevitable problems and roadblocks of any sale.
Empathy. A skill to sense another's need and how your product can meet it.
Adapted from Sales and Marketing Management. "The 10 Traits of Top Salespeople," Erika Rasmusson, August 1999.
TIP: It's also critical to hire salespeople with qualities that help your company reach its strategic goals. For example, if you plan to position your company as one with the best service in your market, give extra weight to service orientation in hiring. If your principal strategy is to dominate the listing market in your area, focus on assertiveness and ego drive.
7 More Qualities of Top Salespeople
A survey of real estate recruiters sponsored by the Real Estate Brokerage Manager's Council found that the following qualities lead to sales success:
- A strong work ethic.
- A sales temperament
- Maturity
- Responsibility
- Investment in a career
- Organizational ability
- Vitality
TIP: Be sure that you look for new recruits that will work well with your existing staff, especially your most calculable associates and support personnel. If you're seriously considering a candidate, you may want to have one or two key associates talk with them first. Julie Nelson, CRB, Nelson REALTORS, Maryville, Tenn.
3 Factors That Don't Matter in Sales
Too often, say the authors of How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer (McGraw Hill, 2001), brokers focus on the wrong things in making their hiring decisions.
Age. Youth does not create longevity with the company, nor does greater age guarantee reliability. Hire the most appropriate person for the job, regardless of age.
Education. Although 45 percent of REALTORS hold a B.A. or higher degree according to the 2001 National Association of REALTORS Member Profile, intelligence and the ability to learn are more important to success than a diploma.
Experience. Choosing a job applicant with experience will save some time initially but may end up yielding only a mediocre performer who just has to unlearn bad habits.
10 Sources of Great Salespeople
Career nights and general-interest jobs fairs--Outline company benefits to potential recruits; uncover top candidates and invite them to private interviews.
Current sales staff--Offer monetary incentives (bonuses, travel vouchers, gift certificates) to those who introduce top colleagues they meet in the field.
Past clients--During transactions, watch for qualities you're looking for in a salesperson. Send recruiting materials and follow up with an invitation for a discussion.
Salespeople from other fields--Watch for vendors who have already mastered skills like prospecting, qualifying, answering objections, and closing.
Relocating real estate salespeople--Reach out to newcomers in your market who were previously in real estate in other cities.
Real estate schools--Maintain close contact with local real estate schools or offer to teach there; volunteer to do a question and answers session on what it's like to sell real estate during a class as a way to introduce yourself and your company.
Cooperating salespeople--See how these salespeople perform in transactions and then follow up.
Advertising--Run display ads to promote your company and real estate as a career. Target new recruits, career-changers, and other salespeople.
Daily life--Make yourself visible at parties and industry and community events and keep an eye out for prospective recruits.
Adapted from Recruiting Sales Associates, 2nd Edition, Ken Reyhons, CRB, CRS, Real Estate Brokerage Council of the REALTORS National Marketing Institute, 1990.
TIP: Use your company's Web site as a recruiting tool. Include a section encouraging users to learn more about working with you and give them a way to request your recruitment materials. -Carol Johnson, The Recruiting Network, Schaumburg, Ill., in Real Estate Broker's Insider, October 1, 2001.
TIP: If your company hires new sales associates, consider obtaining lists of people sitting for the state real estate licensing examination and contacting them. Alex Vidal, Prudential Florida WCI Realty, Plantation, Fla., in Real Estate Brokerage Insider, October 2001.
Finding and Identifying the Best> | |
Keep It Legal
Avoid discriminating against job candidates over 40 years old for no other reason than age; it's a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Keep It Ethical
Don't discriminate in employment practices based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. (Article 10)
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