How to Recruit Younger Agents

I’ve lost count of the number of times someone’s told me, “I need to recruit younger agents.”

Maybe you want to recruit younger agents too.

And I get it.

You have agents who are retiring and you want to replace them with agents who could stay at your company for decades.

You know millennial buyers represent an enormous opportunity and you want agents who can relate to them.

You want greater diversity in your company to boost the culture and encourage the exchange of ideas between generations.

But how do you recruit those younger agents?

Recruiting is Sales

First, let me say way too much is made of the differences between generations when it comes to recruiting.

Recruiting is sales. And in sales, you find a problem and then offer a solution to it. Period.

Yes, some of the tactics you use to recruit younger agents may differ slightly from the tactics you use to recruit “older” agents.

But creating an account on Snapchat, updating your company website with a “fresher look”, and starting a bunch of new technology initiatives isn’t going to get younger agents to line up at your door.

You must first focus on the strategy of finding problems and offering solutions before you worry about the secondary issue of tactics.

Finding Problems

I’m a millennial and I started selling real estate when I was 23 years old. I’ve lived the challenges of a younger agent:

• The traditional advice of working your sphere doesn’t work when your sphere is a bunch of people who are too young/broke/nomad to buy homes

• Even if people in your sphere are buying, they’re first-time buyers who require twice the work for half the money

• And good luck with, “you list, you last” when all your friends who own homes just bought them a year or two ago

• Plus, you have little-to-no savings to invest in marketing and little-to-no business experience to fall back on

Now, do those challenges apply to every younger agent?

No.

And I don’t mean to imply younger agents face a more difficult road to success than any other agents.

I’m simply saying a younger agent often faces a different set of problems than a “typical” agent.

Providing Solutions

Here’s the good news. You can recruit younger agents with solutions you offer right now.

You just need to tweak your messaging about those solutions so it’s directed at the younger agents’ problems.

If you…

• Teach or coach your agents to find low-cost ways to generate leads outside their spheres

• Provide your agents leads free or for a referral fee (or have agents who want to refer business)

• Match new or newer agents up with mentors to help get them started

• Teach your agents basic business and marketing skills

You have solutions in place you can use to recruit younger agents. And that list is far from complete.

I’m sure you could come up with even more solutions you offer that would solve younger agents’ problems.

So, find your solutions, message them toward younger agents, and then experiment to see which tactics produce the best results.

P.S. - Not sure how to find younger agents? Here are some suggestions:

• Ask your current agents if they have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. who might be interested in a career in real estate

• Check if your local Association has a young professionals group

• Search LinkedIn

• Ask your current agents for referrals of younger agents

• Attend networking events, real estate or otherwise, and strike up conversations with talented young people