Agents Not Joining After Recruiting Appointments? Here’s a Possible Explanation

Tell me if this sounds familiar…

You’re getting recruiting appointments with productive agents. They’re solid candidates for your company and you feel the appointments are going well.

But the agents aren’t joining.

Why? What are you doing wrong?

It could have something to do with your presentation. Or with the way you close. It could even be your commission plans.

But, it’s also possible agents aren’t joining because you’ve recently transitioned from passive recruiter to active recruiter.

The Passive Recruiter

When you’re a passive recruiter, it means most of the agents you hire approach you first.

Maybe those agents reach out because of referrals from your current agents. Maybe they reach out because of your reputation, brand, or market share.

Either way, agents who make the approach aren’t difficult to hire. The fact they’re asking to meet means they’re motivated, the timing is right, and they’re already open to joining your company.

That’s why I hear most passive recruiters say, “If I can get in front of agents, I can hire them.”

The Active Recruiter

When you’re an active recruiter, it means you make the approach with most of the agents you hire. It also means you hear “no” a lot more than you hear “yes”.

That’s because, when you make the approach, you don’t know ahead of the appointment if the timing is right for the agent. You don’t know how much the agent knows about you or your company. You also don’t know how motivated that agent is to make a switch.

And so most of your recruiting appointments will result in a “no”.

The Transition from Passive to Active

If you’ve recently made the transition from passive recruiter to active recruiter, you did it because you realized you could not grow your company by waiting for agents to approach you.

But what you might not have realized is how frustrating it can be when you first become active.

As a passive recruiter, you were accustomed to hearing “yes” from prospects. Now that you’re hearing “no” more often, it’s easy to lose confidence and second-guess your abilities.

The key is to remain patient.

When agents tell you “no”, they rarely mean “never”. Instead, what they often mean is “not right now”.

And that’s why consistent follow up with the agents you've interviewed is critical.

While most agents won’t join after the first meeting, most will eventually join if you stay in touch over time.

Keep an eye out for my post next week. In it, I’ll share some of the most effective follow-up strategies for turning a "no" today into a "yes" tomorrow.

P.S. – Your best recruiting opportunities are with the agents you've already interviewed. They wouldn't have met with you unless they were open, at some level, to making a move.

If you don't have a list of past interviewees, put one together today. Then, next week you can use the follow up strategies I share to get back in touch with those prospects.