Earlier this week, we learned that recruiters and hiring managers who have a fixed mindset will often shy away from the trial and error necessary to make the recruiting process work.

Individuals with a growth mindset tend to be more resilient, persistent, and engaged in the process because they enjoy the challenge of overcoming obstacles inherent in recruiting.

Do you have a growth mindset? 

According to Carol Dweck, you have part of one:

Everyone is actually a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets, and that mixture continually evolves with experience. A “pure” growth mindset doesn’t exist, which we have to acknowledge in order to attain the benefits we seek.

Maybe a better question is: Are you doing things to nurture a growth mindset?

Saga Briggs, the managing editor of InformEd, built a research-based list of 25 things you can do to nurture your growth mindset. In my opinion, here are the best five ideas:

Cultivate a sense of purpose. Dweck’s research showed that students with a growth mindset had a greater sense of purpose. Keep the big picture in mind.

Stop seeking approval. When you prioritize approval over learning, you sacrifice your own potential for growth.

Since your mindset is not static, nurture it into a resource to help you grow.

Growing lettuce is an odd exercise.

The seeds are super small, and a $2.00 package contains hundreds of them.

You plant the seeds by gently filtering them through your fingers onto the ground and then carefully covering them with just one-fourth inch of soil.

Amazingly, they spout in a few days and dozens of new plants come up in close proximity.

At this point, the plants must be thinned to allow the strong ones to take root and then grow into a harvest.

In the end, only a few plants make it. But what those plants produce is remarkable.

Last week, NAR reported the number of realtors grew to a new high in 2020 (up 6 % from 2019).

And yet, more than 40% of real estate agents have not yet completed a transaction in 2021.

Wise hiring managers know this is nothing new—the weak agents must be thinned out to allow the strong ones to create something remarkable.

It’s the natural part of the hiring process that cannot be avoided.

It’s foolish to think the problem can be solved by not planting or planting less and hoping the few you do plant will become the winners.

As Stephen Covey once said: Most businesses operate by the law of the farm.

And they have skillful gardeners managing them.

In a recent team leader retreat, Tom Ferry outlined the top 10 reasons agents leave teams.

1. They’re burned out.
2. The environment isn’t fun or isn’t fun anymore.
3. They’ve become self-sufficient (many agents join a team to “figure-out” real estate).
4. They have bigger personal goals than the team can meet.
5. They feel like they’ve outgrown the team (I’ve learned everything I’m going to learn here…).
6. They’re not being recognized in a meaningful way.
7. The value proposition is not adding up (Others like me are earning more money and accomplishing more…).
8. They are not understood by those on the team (lack of empathy).
9. They don’t feel an emotional attachment to the team leader, others on the team, or the mission.
10. They get recruited away with a more compelling offer.

If you’re a team leader, this is your retention scorecard. Many of the things on this list are emotional issues that require your direct involvement to fix.

If you compete with teams (i.e., recruit, train, and support independent agents), these are the hot-button issues that often cause agents to step out on their own.

In both cases, the first step to building a recruiting/retention strategy is understanding the pain an agent is experiencing.

Stanford professor Carol Dweck popularized the Growth Mindset Theory by studying people who experience failure.

Some people find failure debilitating. They feel stress when it happens and tend to avoid activities that cause it.

Others experience failure as an opportunity to learn. They recognize it’s part of the training process, and it will equip them for future successes.

The first group has a Fixed Mindset and the second group has a Growth Mindset.

Recruiters and hiring managers who have a Fixed Mindset are in for a rough ride.

Why? Because the recruiting process is full of obstacles, setbacks, and failures.

With the wrong mindset, it becomes difficult to pick up the phone, send another email, and avoid procrastinating.

If you’re struggling with follow-through on your recruiting tasks, this may be the root of the problem.

Here’s the good news: Dweck’s research suggests that a Growth Mindset is something an individual can grow and foster.

If you’d like to learn more about Growth Mindset for business applications, here is a good place to start.

If you change your mindset, you’ll ultimately change your results.

In a post from the archive, Dave Mashburn reminds us of the importance of being a positive leader.

The teachers I remember, the bosses who had the most influence, and the leaders I respected and wanted to follow, were never perfect people. But they were positive people.

His belief is not just anecdotal, but backed up by research.

Dr. Barbara Fredrickson explored the idea of positivity in leadership, and its direct and powerful impact upon creativity and performance.

Be Open
Be Appreciative
Be Curious
Be Kind
Be Real – no false pretenses of positivity

Use this as a quick mental checklist to assess your interactions with your agents and staff.

If you’re a Negative Nellie, your agents may find somewhere else to hangout.

Last week, I had an opportunity to connect with a recruiting executive of a large real estate company in the Midwest.

He and his team recruited over 1000 experienced agents in last two years.

During the discussion, I asked him: What causes agents to move from one brokerage to another?

His answer was quick and decisive.

Over 80% of the time, the decision to make a change boils down to money. It must be financially advantageous for an agent to make a move. This is by far the most compelling reason to change.

Since recruiting prospects operate from this paradigm, it’s important you’re ready to talk about the financial advantages of your model.

This doesn’t mean you need to be the lowest cost option in your market, but it does mean you need to demonstrate how working in your company will put more income in your prospect’s pocket.

If you’re a low-cost provider, your value proposition is simple.

If you’re a high-support provider, you must demonstrate the value of the support you’re providing.

When making your case, it’s helpful to assign realistic dollar values to your support services and show how working inside of your system is financially advantageous.

If you are financially superior to your competitors, agents will gravitate to you.

If you are financially equal to your competitors, the other 20% of the employment equation makes a difference.

If you’re financially inferior to your competitors, you’ll be stuck with agents who can’t do math.

As many of you know, we help real estate companies recruit more effectively.

In a consulting role, we get a front row seat to the recruiting processes organizations are using and the new innovations they are trying to implement.

Here is a common framework used by the most innovative companies to get outstanding recruiting results.

Talent. Successful recruiting companies tend to have one or more talented individuals spending a lot of time and mental energy on recruiting. These individuals get executive level attention and sponsorship.

Resources. After getting a talented individual(s) focused on recruiting, high-performing companies dedicate resources (money) to the effort. Since everyone is on a budget, this usually requires freeing up resources dedicated to other projects.

Measurement. The recruiting process should be organized differently than other business systems. It operates at a different pace with a unique set of metrics that demonstrate progress. These metrics should be visible and frequently reviewed at the executive level.

Most real estate leaders agree–recruiting is the life blood of their organizations.

High performing companies convert that belief into a laser focus on recruiting priorities.

Jim Cramer does a good job of explaining diminishing returns.

Diminishing returns is a principle of economics.

This point is called the optimal result.

Systems can operate in one of three states—below optimal, optimal, and diminishing returns.

When recruiting, it’s important to think in these terms.

The optimal results come when you’re contacting the right prospects, delivering compelling messages, and executing at the right frequency.

Most hiring managers err on the side of not reaching out enough.

Others err on the side of connecting too much with unhelpful, non-personal messages (usually through the use of tech-enabled communication platforms).

The most successful hiring managers optimize by frequently bumping up against the line of diminishing returns and then pulling back.

In a post from the archive, Dave Mashburn reminds us of the importance of reframing.

Reframing has a way of dismantling defenses, exposing old myths, eliminating fears, and igniting productivity.

Often, it only requires small changes in language or perspective to accomplish large leaps in “a-ha moments” of clarity. 

Recruiting is full of opportunities to reframe—both for you and for the prospects you’re seeking to help.

Here are a couple of examples:

Initial feeling: Recruiting calls make me feel like I’m being a pest.

Reframing: Building a network and making new friends is something all professionals need to do to be successful. I’m just helping my prospects build their network!

Initial feeling: Most agents are too busy to talk to me about recruiting.

Reframing: Most agents are too busy because they have poor support systems. They need help to get past busy to productivity and balance.

You can probably think of dozens more.

As doubts and negative thoughts creep into your mind, you must reframe them into positives.

If you don’t, you’ll be just as stuck as those you’re trying to help.

It’s frustrating to spend a lot of time and effort recruiting someone only to see them fail.

But according to an extensive study of 5,000 hiring managers and more than 20,000 employees, it’s exactly what happens to 46% of new hires within 18 months of coming onboard.

How can this be avoided? 

The researchers suggested focusing on the soft traits that are most predictive of an individual’s success.

Coachability (26%): The ability to accept and implement feedback from bosses, colleagues, customers, and others.

Technical Competence (11%): Functional or technical skills required to do the job.

According to the study, lacking these traits (or a combination of these traits) accounted for 92% of the failed hires.

Think of this list as a lens through which to view your hiring process.

What you’re focused on seems to make a big difference.

Several years ago, a new neighbor moved in across the street.

When I first met him, he introduced himself by telling me his name, shaking my hand, and rubbing his bald head.

The “Hi, my name is Harry” along with the head rub was his way of helping me remember his name. I still have the image in my mind, and I never forgot his name.

When recruiting, it’s important to give your prospects a way to remember you.

Here are some ideas:

Use a body feature (I’m the red headed recruiter you met last week…)

Use a hobby (I’m the guy who does the Spartan races…)

Use an affiliation (I’m the crazy Seahawks fan…)

Use a cause (I’m the pink-clad breast cancer advocate…)

Use a rhyme (I still remember meeting Mike McCann the Real Estate Man over 10 years ago)

There are dozens more simple ways that individuals have discovered to make themselves memorable.

Find one that works for you and start using it when you connect with new prospects.

If you’re one of the managers who’s felt crippled in your ability to maintain office culture over the last year, you’re not alone.

According to author Jon Levy, most organizations are feeling the same thing.

It is clear that we are not designed to be alone.

Our levels of oxytocin, a hormone that is released during moments of togetherness — such as hugging — also increase when we enjoy a team success or even when we march in unison. Our species evolved in communities, and we survived because we worked together.

The companies that create the greatest sense of belonging are the ones that people stay at for years.

It is hard to create a sense of community and a culture of belonging at a distance, but it’s even harder when employees have dramatically different home lives and may have never even met the rest of the team.

Real estate has always been more remote than other industries, and the pendulum swung even further towards remote work in the last year.

Levy argues it may now be bumping against the limits of human nature.

If you’re one of the companies who has maintained physical offices and grew your culture based on physical connections, don’t give up quite yet.

The pendulum may soon be swinging back your way.

Seth Godin once observed there are two types of businesses.

Those that make money by being a destination and those who make money helping people get to a destination.

For example, Facebook makes money by pulling users into their site and keeping them there as long as possible.

Google makes money by pointing people to the best websites.

Which category do most real estate companies fall into?

You guessed it–the second category.

You help consumers get to their desired destination (a new home or free from owning their existing home).

This may be why some real estate companies struggle with recruiting.

Recruiting (and ultimately retention) is about being the destination.

It’s opposite to your core business and requires a different mindset.

Stop asking: How do I get talented agents to join my team?

Start asking: How to I make my team a place where talented agents come to build prosperous careers?

In a post from the archive, Dave Mashburn explains the Hawthorne Affect.

The Hawthorne Affect was discovered during a research study conducted at the Western Electric factory outside of Chicago, between 1924 and 1932.

The researchers found that carefully measuring a person’s performance, in and of itself, improves productivity.

They concluded that the employees worked harder and were more productive simply because they knew that they were being individually monitored.

They also found that being treated special by an attentive and interested supervisor also increased performance and loyalty.

Managers who understand the Hawthorne Affect have two simple levers they use to improve retention—just proactively measure an agent’s progress and pay attention to their results.

It’s not all you need to do, but building from this foundation is a great place to start.

Recruiting is hard work.

If you’re going to make the effort, it only makes sense to focus your energy on recruiting prospects who will make a meaningful contribution to your team.

Who are these prospects? It depends on your team.

Internet marketing expert Frank Kern advises his clients to use the PVP index to define a target market.

The same criteria applies to recruiting:

Personal Fulfillment: Is this recruiting prospect someone I’d enjoy working with? Do they fit my culture and support what I’m trying to a build?

Profitability: Are you and the recruiting prospect both going to make a profit by working together? From a holistic perspective (money and work-life balance), is your team the most profitable place for the prospect to work?

Having clarity on who you’re trying to recruit is the first and perhaps most important step of the recruiting process.