Yes, recruitment is the lifeblood of your business. But all the time and resources you put into recruiting will be wasted if you don’t focus on retention as well. So we sat down with three CENTURY 21® retention leaders to better understand how to keep your affiliated agents satisfied and still affiliated with us. What follows are the 3 keys to making your retention rate shine.
PJ Louis, VP and GM at CENTURY 21 AllPoints Realty got us started with an understanding of the task at hand. In his experience, he’s found that roughly 25% of agents will go wherever they get the best cut. Another 25% are diehards and won’t leave unless they have to. This leaves 50% who are motivated by a wide range of factors, in varying degrees, depending on the individual. Things like money, support, leads, leadership, relationships, location, and the brand.
KEY 1: get personal
You can’t keep agents happy unless you know what matters to them. And that means getting to know them on a personal level. The relationships you build with your affiliated agents and new recruits are the most important factor in not only ensuring they stay but also in seeing them reach their potential.
Lisa Klutz, Regional Recruiting Coaching Manager, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, put it simply, “You have to show you care… that you’re looking out for their best interests, and you want them to achieve their goals. And that requires knowing what those goals and aspirations are.”
You have to find the time for little things like thank-you notes and birthdays, company cookouts, and happy hours. Personal relationships weave the agents into your business. They feel like they are a part of the family — and it’s harder to leave your family than your job.
KEY 2: get started early
Retention doesn’t start on the agent’s first day. It starts the moment they say they’re in. And the experience of onboarding is your first and most powerful opportunity to introduce them to their new home. Impressions made here tend to stick, good or bad.
At CENTURY 21 AllPoints Realty, they’ve got onboarding down to a science. And it shows in their 97% retention rate. (Yes, you read that right!) Every new affiliated agent gets a dedicated onboarding person who works with them one-on-one. In a matter of hours, the agent is completely set up in the system, with passwords and access to a voluminous range of tools and learning opportunities. Business cards, announcement mailers, and emails are all proofed and ready. The brokerage’s onboarding person sets up their social media and helps transfer all their data into the C21® CRM. The recruitment team also has an onboarding person who works with the new agent to develop a business plan with goals, and a roadmap to achieve them. And in the process, begins the personal engagement and relationship building discussed in KEY 1.
KEY 3: get powerful brand support
The job of recruitment and retention becomes a lot easier when you have “the most recognized and most respected brand in the real estate industry*” in your corner. As Liz Danielson, Director of Recruiting, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, put it, “We don’t just offer the reputation and the advertising. We bring some of the most advanced tools in the industry to help our affiliated brokers and agents excel. We offer thousands of virtual and in-person opportunities for learning and improvement. And we make available professional coaching to our affiliated brokers on the best practices for both recruitment and retention.” The brand attracts potential agents, but the tools and resources help the broker keep them around and producing.
Every brokerage is unique. But they all need to recruit AND retain agents if they want to grow. These three keys give little attention to the oft-neglected retention side of the coin. Retain them if you want to see growth and success in even the toughest of markets.