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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®








 Hiring Personnel
Recruiting Salespeople





  


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 		  Unlikely Places to Look for Real Estate Salespeople

Selling skills in another field often transfer well in real estate.
  • Retail salespeople. They may appreciate the flexibility of real estate.
  • Retirees. Approximately 75 percent of baby boomers say that they expect to continue to take early retirement and continue working part time, according to Edward Kerschner, chief investment strategist for UBS Paine Webber. And since a 2001 study by Sales and Marketing Management Magazine found that salespeople over 55 were more successful than their 25-to-39 year-old counterparts, hiring these boomers may boost your sales.
  • Minorities. The pool of African American, Hispanic, and Asian American workers will grow more rapidly between 1998 and 2008 than the workforce as a whole, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Children of your sales associates. They understand what's involved in the business. —Nestor Weigan Jr., J.P. Weigand &Sons, Witchita, Kan.

TIP: Visit other open houses in your market to talk with salespeople and see if they might be a good match for your company.

Pro or Newbie?

There's no right answer to this question. The best choice for you depends on your current staff, your ability and willingness to train, and your client base.

Newbie pros
  • Arrive free of bad habits so you can teach them your philosophy, culture, and way of conducting business.
  • Will often work on lower commission splits, which means more dollars to the office on closed sales.
  • Often bring a new sense of enthusiasm to the office.

Newbie cons
  • Require more training, handholding, and management time.
  • Are more of a gamble. You spend time and resources training them, and they may find real estate isn't for them.
  • Won't earn much income, at least initially. It usually takes time to bring a newbie up to a profitable production level.
  • May be a turnoff to more experienced associates you want to attract or retain.

Pro pros
  • Are productive almost immediately
  • May bring a new sphere of influence or a new market you're trying to penetrate.
  • Can set a new pace in the company and motivate others.
  • May bring fresh techniques and ideas.

Pro cons
  • Expect a higher commission split.
  • May have ways of working that don't fit in with your other associates.
  • May be difficult to retrain in your system, philosophy, and culture.
  • Require more services and are likely to be more demanding of support staff.
  • Are often much tougher to recruit.

Adapted from Recruiting Sales Associates, 2nd Edition, Ken Reyhons, CRB, CRS, Real Estate Brokerage Council of the REALTORS National Marketing Institute, 1990

Advanced: Tips for Recruiting the Seasoned Professional >