Those responsible for attracting new agents to their offices have certainly been challenged by today’s real estate market. A look at the decline in NAR membership only adds to the discouragement many recruiters are feeling. So let’s regroup.

The fundamentals haven’t changed:

• Producing agents are the lifeline of a real estate office.
• Simple math can help you determine the number of agents and the amount of production needed to pay the bills (or maybe even make some money?).
• Most real estate offices are in need of more producing agents right now.

Here are some things to consider:

• More women are entering the workforce because of their husbands losing their jobs. These women are looking for flex time jobs. Check out this recent NY Times article.
• Women have historically, and do currently out number men in NAR membership. (Source: NAR 2008 Member Profile)
• The average agent has been in the business 8 years and with their firm for a median of 4 years. (Source: NAR 2008 Member Profile)
• Men and women behave differently online. Men are more transactional (they gather information and make decisions) and women more relational (they interact and communicate). This is one reason that women are more active users of social networking sites. (Source: Business Week)

Some recommendations:

• Develop a talent attraction strategy to focus on targeting women to your company. This campaign should apply to both new agents and already licensed agents.
• Use social media sites to deploy these campaigns. Facebook has some great options for local, targeted, demographic advertising for new agents.
• Become connected with existing female agents you are targeting to join your company online. Friend them, follow them, get LinkedIn with them.
• Give your office a makeover. Consider taking one of those empty offices and turning it into a play room for the kids. Working parents who are stopping by the office to drop off paperwork or other  such errands will appreciate it.
• Working mothers are very busy, but they want to feel connected and value your leadership. This doesn’t mean that you’ll see them in the office everyday however. Consider using tools like instant messaging, text messaging, live chat and video conferencing for training and meetings to stay in touch and provide support.