This is the final article in our series covering broker recruitment strategies. This article explores how a broker solicits licensees as preferred hires for growing an office staff using direct mail recruitment.

The first article covered the creation and maintenance of a broker’s recruiting plan and goals, the second article covered broker solicitation considerations which vary depending on the type of hire sought, and the third article covered the broker’s interview process.

Direct mail benefits

After setting a hiring goal, drafting a plan of action and establishing minimum standards for recruiting agents, an employing broker is now ready to solicit new hires.

The recruiting goal forces you as the broker to identify:

  • how many agents you want to hire;
  • what qualities you are looking for in an agent;
  • how much time you are willing to commit to training new agents; and
  • who you are going to solicit.

USPS mail is properly used as part of a broker’s direct marketing campaign for locating licensed agents. Direct marketing is a means of bulk advertising classically sent to owners and tenants within an agent’s FARMing community. It is a mass shot-gun approach to reaching multiples of people in specific neighborhoods, a percentage of which respond as intended.

A broker also uses direct mail marketing to reach out to potential clients. However, they need to consider using direct mail in their recruiting process to recruit potential hires of licensed agents and broker-associates for their office.

The best types of hires to approach – target – using direct mail are licensed individuals, which fall into several categories such as newly licensed agents, experienced agents and broker-associates, independent brokers, and inactive licensees.

Direct mail is tangible and persistent. It has staying power and lasts much longer than an email which is more ephemeral. A printed letter may sit on an individual’s desk or counter for days or weeks, unlike an email which is out of sight and fast out of mind.

In addition to having a longer-lasting impact, physical mail also elicits stronger emotional responses than information received by email. Physical advertisements produce stronger memory retention compared to digital ads whether email or online, and increase desirability and value for the service in the person who receives it, according to a recent study from Temple University and the U.S. Postal Service.

Your cost for producing direct mail depends on:

  • the cost of printed materials you send;
  • quantity sent; and
  • postage.

It’s good practice to track your direct mail efforts. This includes:

  • how much you’re spending on the cost of your solicitation campaign –printing, mailing service, and postage;
  • which category of licensees you target; and
  • who responds to your solicitations.

Related article:

All about direct mail marketing

Steps for direct mail solicitation of agents

To begin recruiting DRE licensees using direct mail, a broker needs to have access to:

  • the names of local agents and broker-associates they will consider for hire;
  • the licensee’s USPS mailing address;
  • a template of copy for crafting a letter of solicitation; and
  • a mail service when needed to manage the mailing.

CalPaces provides member brokers with all the above information so brokers can easily recruit new talent.

Using the Recruit Local Licensees feature found on your Calpaces broker homepage, you may search by city, ZIP code or region for local agents, broker-associates and independent brokers to solicit for hire. The Recruit Local Licensees feature is a compilation of all DRE licensees and is updated monthly from DRE records.

You can also adjust the parameters of this search to find newly licensed sales agents and broker-associates, including those licensed for:

  • one year;
  • 9 months;
  • 6 months; and
  • 3 months.

On concluding your search, you receive a list of licensees in your desired area which includes their name, DRE license number, expiration date of their license and their physical mailing address.

Once you have your list of potential recruits for your mailing, use our new agent recruiting letter provided with your CalPaces membership as a recruiting template for developing printed material in your direct mailing campaigns.

Use a FARM letter template for recruiting new agents to your brokerage. Or FARM letter templates for recruiting experienced agents.

To use a FARM letter template, you only need to enter your company name and address, the recipient’s name and address, a few positive qualities about your company you wish to highlight and your contact details.

Another CalPaces feature includes a Print Labels option to easily print names and addresses of the potential recruits on peel-off labels to place on the envelopes containing your recruiting letter. Otherwise, you expend a lot of time labeling manually.

Also, the Download List button allows you to download the name list you create giving you a spreadsheet for tracking responses to the mailing.

When you receive a response to your mail, you must send the prospect a copy of the Agent Interview Sheet. [See RPI Form 500]

The prospect prepares the Agent Interview Sheet by entering information on their background, education and real estate-related activities then returns it to you. You then review the interview sheet information and determine whether a personal interview is merited. [See RPI Form 500]

Related article:

Form-of-the-Week: Agent Interview Sheet and Sales Agent and Broker-Associate Employment Agreements — Forms 500, 505 and 506

Join CalPaces today

CalPaces is a Broker Appreciation Program offered by firsttuesday for brokers with 10 or more licensed employees. The primary goal of CalPaces always has been – 45 years and counting – to encourage high levels of agent education in their specialty.

Broker members with CalPaces pay nothing for the service. No sign-up fees, no annual fees — an absolutely free service with multiple reasons for becoming a member.

Related article:

The value in having a list of local agents

Recruitment alternatives fall short

Some alternatives for recruiting include:

  • cold calling potential recruits;
  • sending cold emails;
  • using coaching services which provide business plans for brokers; and
  • waiting for recruits to contact you (i.e., do nothing).

Cold calling is your solicitation of agents and broker-associates you have had no prior interaction with. As telemarketing, it is expensive in terms of time spent for every actual conversation you have with an interested prospect.

Sending cold emails is like telemarketing but has a far lower response rate. Here, time is spent gathering email addresses for the licensee you want to contact.

Direct mail, while expensive, requires little time and effort compared to telemarketing and gathering email addresses. However, printed material has a long shelf life. Direct mail either stays with the recipient or is retained in their memory far longer than a digital or telephonic solicitation.

Be proactive and do not wait for talented licensees to contact you.  Consider joining CalPaces and actively recruit — and grow your office — today!

Call 951.781.7300 or visit CalPaces.com.

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