One of the great things about starting a new year is it gives you a clean slate to start over.  The ending of one year provides an opportunity for us to reflect on how we did in terms of achieving our personal and professional goals.  An honest reflection of how we did first requires having goals and plans to start with.

The good news is that if you didn’t have goals and plans last year, it is a new year and you now have the opportunity to create goals and plans for this year!

One important part of planning in any business, and specifically in the real estate brokerage business, is retention and acquisition of talent.  When you think about it, talent attraction impacts everything.

When it comes to your office bottom line and Return on Investment (ROI) there is nothing that makes a bigger impact than attracting and selecting quality talent.  According to Dan Schawbel, personal branding expert at Millennial Branding, “Companies adept at hiring talent have two times better profit margins that those who are less capable recruiters.”

In real estate, your ability to attract, and retain, the right group of real estate agents impacts your bottom line and your overall ability to grow your business. When thinking about Talent Attraction in your real estate business, the key is to focus on net agent count and per agent productivity.

Another way to think about Talent Attraction is to remember that it is a similar skill as success in real estate sales. Success with Talent Attraction requires setting up an organizational tool, such as a database, consistently lead generating, and holding face-to-face appointments.

At BHGRE^®, we have created the Talent Attraction Scorecard. Note that this spreadsheet is just a suggested tool, and not mandatory, but it is a tool that helps our affiliated brokers set their own Talent Attraction Goals and Plans and track results every week.  What I have found in talking to people across the country is a minimal number of brokers, or Talent Attraction Directors, consistently spend 1-hour per day on Talent Attraction.  Just like real estate sales, if you don’t consistently lead generate, you risk inconsistency in your business.

So, to anyone out there that says, “I really need to focus on recruiting this year,” I offer you a 30|30 challenge.  The idea is to spend 30 minutes per day for 30 days on Talent Attraction.  If you already spend consistent time, then add 30 minutes per day. Think of how simple that sounds.  Personally, I love a 30-day challenge at the beginning of the year. As it relates to Talent Attraction, this time of year couldn’t be better to kick-start your recruiting efforts.

I ask, “What might keep you from spending 30 minutes a day on Talent Attraction?”  What I hear from most people is they don’t know what to do, or they don’t know who to call.  For those of you that fall into this category, here are a few suggested key steps to help you get started:

1. Set up a Talent Attraction database using a CRM so you can automate your activities.
2. Make a list of 25-50 agents in your local area that you would be interested in working with and add them to your database. Create an ongoing follow-up system
3. Use your database to make phone calls, send emails, write note cards and send valuable content that is engaging.
4. Add these people to your social media channels such as FB, LinkedIn and Twitter.  Create lists and engage with their content regularly.
5. Identify 1 networking event per week that you can attend. Get involved in the real estate community – be visible!

I highly recommend using a planning tool (or create your own) such as our Talent Attraction Scorecard, to identify your EOY recruiting results, specify your 2015 net agent goal and use your conversion ratios to know the number of contacts you need to make every month and every week in order to hit your goals (once again, doesn’t this sound like real estate sales?).  The last component is to track your daily activities so you can make sure you are on track on a weekly and monthly basis to achieve your goals.

My final thoughts, if you want to start your year with a bang, I encourage the following:

1. Accept the 30|30 challenge – don’t wait get started today!
2. Create your Talent Attraction Plan – identify EOY results, net count goal for 2015 and how many appointments you need each week to hit your annual goals. 3. Identify the lead generation and marketing activities you will do each week to produce your appointments.

I am confident that spending 30 minutes a day on Talent Attraction can change your business.  I would love to hear from you.  Let me know how the 30-day challenge works for you.