Eric Kidhardt
Eric Kidhardt’s official title is Performance and Growth Consultant for Corcoran’s Affiliate Network. But he’s also so much more.
“My personal mission is to help our new affiliates be successful and to shepherd the Corcoran brand into new markets,” he said. “It’s the best job I could ask for.”
And it’s a job he’s uniquely qualified for, having been a top producing agent himself in New York City and having previously grown his own team. Today, Kidhardt is dedicated to ensuring new Corcoran affiliates are successful in growing their business. He was generous enough to take some time to sit down with us to share the best practices around getting new affiliates up and running, including recruitment tactics and generating leads.
Always be prospecting and more
Agents are conditioned to think about finding new clients all the time. But Kidhardt says the same is true for broker-owners.
“Managers get bogged down with the tasks of setting up and running an office. I always ask: when do you set aside time to prospect for new hires? If you don’t already, try time-blocking every day so you don’t miss an opportunity.”
Fortunately, Corcoran provides affiliates with an entire menu of recruiting assets that can be fully customizable. While any broker-owner can create these kinds of tools, Corcoran delivers them directly to each new affiliate:
- A presentation to highlight the value proposition of the brand and to introduce the systems and platforms offered to agents
- A suite of email campaigns in which brokers can enroll prospects for an educational journey and to stay top of mind
- Social media assets to plug-and-play with the affiliate owners’ new social profiles. These are designed to also be used in print campaigns
- iProspect, which is a tool to help brokers research agents fed by MLS data, ties into a backend CRM to streamline research and follow-up
Corcoran also offers a five-week deep dive course that brokers can take, which walks them through recruiting and generating leads for agents. There is a weekly virtual open house that prospective agents can attend to learn more about the opportunity. Kidhardt will even make personal calls to prospects to help affiliates tell the brand story.
But what about retention? Kidhardt says retention is just re-recruiting your agents. He advises affiliates to carry on with the same kind of practices — stay in touch, understand their needs, and celebrate their wins.
Agent productivity is the metric of success, and there are prescriptive ways to enhance the growth of each agent’s business. That’s why Kidhardt is there to help brokers assess and suggest the right educational and training options that can help agents get to the next level.
You need to be the blueprint
When first meeting with new affiliates, Kidhardt is often asked for a map or blueprint to get started. While Corcoran does provide a comprehensive tech stack and robust resources, Kidhardt reminds affiliates to keep it personal. After all, that’s the most important part of the brand.
“Corcoran’s culture is what sets it apart,” he explained. “We say, ‘Live Who You Are,’ and that’s not just a tagline. Corcoran’s is an elastic culture in which there is room for everybody to find exactly what they’re looking for. I love to see it evolve and take shape from market to market.”