How to Use Email to Recruit Real Estate Agents

Email is an effective way to generate recruiting appointments. But, most of the time it’s used incorrectly and can actually do more harm than good.

If you’re considering using email to recruit real estate agents, here are the best ways to do it.

#1 – Co-op recruiting emails

You might’ve heard of a co-op note. It’s when you send a handwritten note to an agent who did a deal with someone from your brokerage. It’s effective but time-consuming and not everyone has the best penmanship.

Co-op emails don’t have the same personal touch of a handwritten note, but they’re far less time intensive and you can use a template for most of the message. The idea is to congratulate the agent on the sale and invite them to a recruiting appointment.

But, before you send a co-op email, check with your agent first. They might’ve had a rough transaction or feel like the other agent isn’t a good fit for your brokerage.

#2 – Personal recruiting emails

Depending on the size of your office and the number of transactions your agents close, you might not be able to rely entirely on co-op emails to recruit. That’s where personal emails come in.

The most effective personal email is one sent to a potential recruit who was referred to you by one of your agents. We recommend calling the referral first, but if you don’t get them on the phone, that’s when you’d send a personal email.

Another effective use of a personal email is when someone on your recruiting prospect list closes a transaction. Much like the co-op email, the idea is to congratulate them on the sale and see if they would be interested in a recruiting appointment.

Finally, you can also send cold emails to potential recruits (these are one-to-one emails).

Personal emails can be written or you can record a personal video if you’re comfortable with that medium. Video emails tend to have a better open rate because people are curious what’s in the video.

#3 – Blast recruiting emails

We saved this one for last because it’s the most common method of sending recruiting emails but it’s also rarely done well. Most recruiting blast emails are poorly written, have little to no personalization, and are sent to every agent in the market.

There are two effective strategies for using blast recruiting emails. The first is to send a combination of educational and recruiting emails. So, you might send seven or eight educational emails before sending a recruiting email.

The idea is to get people in the habit of opening your emails, provide them some value, and prevent them from unsubscribing or sending a spam complaint when you send a recruiting message.

The second effective strategy for sending blast recruiting emails is to segment your list and send targeted messages to those segments. Here are some examples of segments:

·    Agents with increasing, declining, and/or flat production over the last 12 months

·      Agents within certain production ranges

·      Agents with certain amounts of experience (or lack thereof)

·      Team leaders and/or team members

·      Agents with a specific company or companies you feel would be receptive to a targeted message (avoid saying anything negative about their companies if you go this route)

If you don’t have experience with copywriting or writing sales messages, consider hiring a freelancer. Good freelancers will pay for themselves over the long run.