Recruiting is a Contact Sport
Copyright 2006 Exceptional Leadership, Inc.
There are many ways to go about finding prospective agents. Some
of them are active methods, while others are passive. Active
recruiting methods are things like Personal Observation,
Personal Prospecting, Public Speaking, Agent Referrals,
Networking, and Centers of Influence, while passive methods
include internet recruiting, newspaper advertising and direct
mail campaigns.
Passive and active recruiting will both produce results, however
they differ in efficiency and effectiveness - and understanding
those differences will make all the difference to you and your
results. Passive methods are easy to implement, but they attract
1) "tire kickers", 2) people looking for a job, and 3) people
simply looking for a way to make money. Please understand, these
methods do produce results and can uncover fantastic people who
become great agents, but generally the quality of results is
poor. When these methods are implemented, plenty of activity is
generated, but few prospects become agents and fewer still go on
to do well.
Active methods, on the other hand, take more time on the front
end, but because they are so much more effective, end up being
much more efficient. They are so much more effective because
interviews are only generated with people who have an interest
in working with you and also share your purpose. They're often
coming on board because they identify with you and what you
stand for, they see it as a good opportunity to build a future,
and they see the opportunity as one which offers unlimited
financial growth. Not only are active methods more effective,
but agents who are recruited through active methods historically
are better producers.
Why Active Recruiting is More Effective
* A key to a successful recruiting program is to effectively
identify candidates with an "owner" mindset. Candidates with an
owner mindset are better at taking initiative while candidates
with an employee mindset are better at taking instruction.
Candidates with an owner mindset are self-starters who recognize
the correlation between their success and the amount of effort
they put forth -- in fact, they thrive on it. They take
initiative, they think independently and they tend to succeed
when they're given the freedom to do things their own way. These
are the kind of candidates that make up the foundation of any
winning sales force. Active recruiting allows you to better
identify candidates right from the start who are inclined to be
owners rather than employees.
* People who respond to recruitment advertising are generally
looking for something better than what they have. Either they're
unhappy with their current situation or they have no job at all.
Now... think about whether you'd rather have a prospective agent
who is happy and productive where they are or someone who is
unhappy and maybe even unproductive where they are? Most
territory builders would always prefer a candidate who is
already productive and happy. They want someone who has a
positive attitude and good work habits. By seeking out
candidates who are closer to your ideal with respect to
productivity, attitude and drive, you end up with agents who are
productive, positive and successful
* Ever get frustrated with the production of your agents and
wonder how to motivate them? This is a prevalent challenge
within the industry. The cause for this issue comes from how the
agents were recruited. Not only are many agents recruited
through passive efforts, but, often the manager doesn't
communicate what they're passionate about. Without a worthwhile
purpose, it's pretty difficult to attract and keep the right
kind of people - people who are happy, energetic and highly
productive. In case you doubt the validity of this observation
about the power of personal attraction, look over your agents
and see who the highest producers are and/or the ones who are
most responsive. Typically they're the agents you personally
recruited rather than the agents you "inherited". When you
actively recruit, you create the opportunity to let a candidate
see what you're about - what matters to you. You end up
attracting like-minded people.
Active recruiting allows you to attract the kind of people you
want on your team, allows you to interview only those people who
are likely to succeed, and allows you to build a team of loyal,
professional, hard-working, responsive and successful agents.
Break out of the internet/advertising routine and start powering
up your recruiting and your success!