As many of you know it is important to distinguish between your personal and company Twitter accounts. For those of you with company accounts, here are some easy-to-follow tips on how to effectively align your tweets with what your followers (i.e. consumers) are expecting.

In other news, if you feel like everything is centered on your community these days, you’re not alone. In addition to some recent localized advertising and marketing offerings, which we’ve mentioned in previous blogs, a new partnership between CNN and Outside.in, an aggregator of local blogs, is providing hyper-local news and weather information on the media giant’s website. We should expect to see other partnerships arise with Outside.in in the near future. Just think of what a service like this could do to your own website or blog!

Looking for a way to keep folks engaged? Encourage the adoption of iPhones. Although the percentage of users may be small as compared to smart phones in general, iPhone users tend to be much more engaged on mobile platforms, including news outlets. What a great way to ensure your agents are “in the know.”

Speaking of engagement, a reporter from AdWeek recently noticed a sharp decrease in the use of taglines from major brands, which he thinks is a disgrace to the industry because consumers become less engaged in brands. We agree it’s important to define a brand with specific words and communicate these with your consumers, whether that means a tagline or not. You should think about what those words are for your brand and how consumers can know what you stand for.

We have talked a lot about greening the home over the past weeks, but what about greening the things you already have in your home by creatively recycling them? Mashable offers eight ways to repurpose technologies. My personal favorite: turning an old computer into an aquarium. These tips could also work in the office!

Lastly, for all of those who doubted the success of the iPad, Apple this week announced it has sold 1 million devices so far. Not bad for just a month on the market!

The audience wasn’t exactly jumping up and down after this presentation. From a recovery stand point, about as positive as the group could muster was an L shaped recovery with no upswing for the next few years. Alex Perriello shared forecasted 2010 NAR numbers that predict sides will be up 5.4% over 2009 and average price up 3.2%. Short sales and foreclosures will continue to keep their strangle hold on the market.

There was a noticeable change is the reaction of not only the industry leaders but the general audience to the discussion about the future market conditions. There seems to be an acceptance that the market of 2005-2007 is gone. The industry is not going to somehow magically travel back in time and get those days back. Instead, we have to turn a corner and let go of the expectations we once had. Reset those expectations, focus on servicing today’s buyers and sellers, and move forward.

On a moving forward note, the audience was encouraged to lobby the government to consider extending the first time home buyers tax credit program. There is a general feeling that the government is so consumed with health care right now that they’ve forgotten the looming expiration of this program. Trulia has even started a petition and is gathering signatures in support of the extension.

Other hot topics included:

• social media
• talent attraction (or recruiting for those of you who haven’t been drinking the BHGRE kool aid!)
• cost cutting (Gino Blefari recited a long list of cost cuts Intero has made over the last year)
• distressed properties and
• measuring ROI on marketing.

The folks at RISMedia work really hard at putting this event together and as usual did a great job! Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth and said hello. It was great to see you. In good times and not so good times, this is still the best industry with the best people you’ll find anywhere!

With so many applicants the importance of making the right hiring decision has become more critical than ever before. Companies can no longer afford the costs involved in putting the wrong person in a position. This adds extraordinary pressure to the person responsible for recruiting. This is no different in our industry. The supply of candidates is certainly less then it was five years ago, but the cost of hiring an agent that doesn’t work out has definitely gone up. If this agent loses just one opportunity for a sale per month, each month for 6 months for example, the consequences for that office is staggering.

Often times, recruiters are also charged with retention. Compensation and opportunity have historically been two of the key drivers of retention. In the corporate world today, these two motivators have been replaced with an attitude of “if they don’t like it here, they can go somewhere else, there are plenty of other people who want a job.”

In the real estate industry, we don’t have the margins to rely on compensation as a retention tool and when the market was good most agents were too busy to think of leaving. Now, in both a corporate environment and in real estate we have to find other ways to retain good talent.

My takeaways from the event were rather grim. In a nutshell, the messages that resonated for me were that the jobs lost during this economic downturn are not coming back. We have seen a structural change in the job market. Companies who need to protect their bottom lines in order to survive are having to do so at the sacrifice of their employees. Raises, bonuses, paid expenses, promotions, and other incentives have become nonexistent or at least very limited. Employees are expected to be happy just to have a job.

I asked one of the speakers how he felt these changes in corporate America would effect our ability to attract and retain talent in the real estate industry. It was a very interesting conversation. He felt we were between a rock and a hard spot. In terms of attracting new talent, the freedom and flexibility of the independent contractor would grow in appeal. But the downside would be the uncertainty of the housing market.

I know two things for certain:

1. We need to attract and retain the best talent to our profession, and;
2. We will not be able to do this the same way we have done in the past.

The question is, how will we attract and retain talent in the real estate industry moving forward? The answer, is something we we working on every single day.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The lockboxes were hung on the doors with care,
In hopes that a Realtor soon would be there.

The agents were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of next year danced in their heads;

The broker still at work, putting on his thinking cap,
Time to recruit-no time to nap!

When out in the parking lot there arose such a clatter,
He sprang from his desk to see what was the matter.

Away to the window he flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

His newest agent was tip toeing her way through the snow
She gave a squeal as her heel slipped out from below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But her new found buyers and never ending cheer.

She regained her balance, she was quick,
Pulled out her purchase agreement and handed them a Bic.

More rapid than eagles the new agents they came,
A year of recruiting and teaching new ones the game;

“No, Prospects! No, Clients! No, Sellers or Buyers!
Work, FSBO’s! Hold Opens! Call family! Send Flyers!

To the top of the ranks! To the top of them all!
Now recruit away! Recruit away! Recruit them all!”

Those new recruits will learn how to fly,
They will be top agents and aim for the sky,

The happy broker will keep their success in sight,
“HAPPY RECRUITING TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT.”

What key attributes attract top professionals in the real estate business? Sales agents will rarely verbalize them, but observation and experience in the industry bears out the importance of the following:

• A Distinctive and Professional Image
• Market Dominance
• Effective Business Technologies
• A Competitive and Evolving Compensation Plan
• A Relevant Management Style
• A Sound Organizational Structure
• Strong Administrative Support
• Career Advancement Opportunities
• Effective Sales Agent Marketing Tools
• High Standards for Productivity
• A Strong Emphasis on Business Ethics

Our success in attracting great talent into our organizations is testament (or not) to the public perception of the company. But how can we accurately measure success in this critical area?

Talent Attraction Analysis

A Talent Attraction Analysis is developed in order to assess how your organization is faring in “attracting” and retaining strong agents. A Talent Attraction Analysis is a concentrated history of hiring and retention performance over the Last Twelve Months (LTM) and Prior Last Twelve Months (PLTM) periods. It also assesses the talent attraction performance of a company/office as a separate ‘profit center’ unto itself.

Possible views include a year-to-year analysis of talent attraction and retention upon Adjusted Gross Commission Income (AGCI), or the performance of ‘new’ agents as opposed to experienced agents hired over time. It is also critical to track the AGCI lost via agent terminations in order to calculate year over year Net AGCI gain or loss from the combined effects of talent attraction and retention.

The importance of measuring the effectiveness of your talent attraction efforts cannot be overstated. Often in our industry, companies struggle to grow due to failure in establishing clear metrics to track their progress. Asking the right questions about your Talent Attraction program will lead to a better analysis. The types of questions include, but are not limited to the following:

1. How many new hires did the company attract during a given time period?
2. How productive are the new hires during the early months of affiliation?
3. Are we seeing success in attracting both new and experienced agents?
4. Are we measuring new and experienced results as two discrete measurements?
5. Are we tracking part time vs. full time agents hired? (…hopefully your agents are all full time!)
6. Have we calculated the Gross Commission Income (GCI) added to the company as a direct result of the Talent Attraction program?
7. Are we tracking revenue lost (and reasons for leaving) due to attrition of agents from the company?
8. Have we calculated the Net GCI resulting from hiring and terminations combined in order to view Talent Attraction as its‘ own separate profit center?

The following is a sample Talent Attraction Analysis constructed to demonstrate the concepts mentioned above. Many other views are possible.

Recently, I was contacted by Todd Shyiak who told me he had launched a new business and wanted to share the details with me. He pushed all my hot buttons when he told me his service would help brokers attract experienced agents and had a very measureable success rate and return on investment (two things that are usually missing from vendor pitches). With that, we set up a call to discuss.

Here’s Todd’s description of his service:

“Cogent Step Recruiting brings Strategic RPO to the real estate industry. This professional, outsourced approach provides dedicated recruiting professionals to Brokers; applying proven process driven recruiting strategies with the experience, resources and expertise to meet a Broker’s recruiting demands today and long term.”

RPO stands for recruiting process outsourcing. Corporations all over the world use this as a common practice to source talent. Hire a third party, share with them your vision of your desired talent and send them to work to find potential candidates for your review.

More and more demands are being put on the local office manager to be the recruiter, trainer, coach, mentor, cheerleader, book keeper, etc. etc. etc. Being a jack of all trades usually means you get to be the master of none. One of the key areas that suffer is attracting talent, particularly experienced agents. Managers report they have the best intentions, but run out of time each day.

This is where Cogent Step Recruiting comes in. For a very reasonable fee they take over your entire strategy for you. And their compensation is directly tied to how many agents you hire.

It’s worth taking a look at.

“Systems are inherently more efficient than non systems” – Aristotle

As a real estate leader, think about all of the systems that you employ on a daily basis.

a.    Recruiting
b.    Interviewing
c.    Retention
d.    Marketing
e.    Finance
f.     Online services
g.    Lead generation
h.    Referrals
i.     Legal
j.     Advertising
k.    Communications
l.     Public relations
m.   Seller services
n.    Buyer services
o.    Coaching

This list goes on forever, so complete it for yourself as it relates to your specific situation.

A real estate operation is essentially nothing more than an amalgamation of ‘systems’ which can be developed, underdeveloped, or completely undeveloped by leadership.  So, if you find yourself having difficulty achieving a specific goal, or dealing with a persistent cultural problem in your organization, look for ‘gaps’ in your systems.

“A system is perfectly designed to get the results that it gets” – Outward Bound

This is an absolutely fascinating concept. Consider the example that follows, but keep in mind that this idea applies to virtually everything that we do.

If you have hired three (or whatever number) agents per year for the past three years or more, your system is perfectly designed to achieve that result!

Sometimes people feel that they ‘just don’t have the knack,’ or ‘It’s not their style’… when in reality it is an “undeveloped system” that is causing the problem. This is GREAT NEWS, because systems are within our control and can be changed, improved and even replaced!

“We are all either the beneficiaries of, or the slaves to our systems (habits),
which are changeable” – Bob Albanese

But why don’t people change their systems? Most often it is because we rely upon our habits, likes and dislikes when it comes to choosing how to approach our daily leadership activities.

Please read the statement below out loud, slowly, and allow it to ‘sink in’.

“We have systems…either by design, or by default!” – Bob Albanese

This concept is really a break through when you consider it! There is really no choice about our having systems. The only real choice is whether we are going take control of them, or abdicate control to unconscious chance. If we do not take control, whatever happens by default becomes our system.

So, we can create systems by conscious design or forfeit control of them to fate.  Which one makes more sense to you?

1. Use competitors’ recruiting letters as part of your interview package.

Last week during the RISMedia Leadership Conference in NYC, I spoke on a panel about recruiting. A member of the audience asked the panel what she should do when her agents bring her copies of letters they are getting from other brokerages asking them to join their offices. Many of you have probably told agents to use those letters on their listing presentations as testimonials. Why not take that advice and use the letters as part of your presentation when interviewing potential new agents to join your office? Nothing demonstrates your ability to develop successful agents more clearly than the desire of your competitors to have your agents work at their offices!

2. Know your “days to first contract” stats.

We focus on market stats like average days on market and listing to sales ratio. Why not add a new stat to the mix? How about tracking how many days to the first written contract for your new agents in your company? Imagine speaking to a potential new agent who is interviewing at other offices and being able to share that, on average, new agents in your office write their first contract within 30 days of starting with your company. Encourage them to ask your competitors what their average number of days to first contract is. I bet they won’t know.

3. Trust your instincts.

The funnel of potential new agents getting into the business is not as robust as we experienced a few years ago. This means we need to be more choosy, not less. Trust your instincts. If the candidate doesn’t feel right to you, chances are they are not going to feel right to your current agents.

Tomorrow, I’m speaking at RISMedia’s 19th Annual Leadership Conference in New York City. The topic is: “Weeding Out Bad Recruits: 5 Ways to Recruit More Effectively.” I think we need to focus more on weeding out bad recruiters then recruits.

Here are my thoughts on 5 Ways to Recruit More Effectively.

1. Know Your Audience: Your messaging needs to change for the various candidates you are interviewing. Know the difference between the hot buttons of a Gen Y and those of a Boomer.
2. Hang Out Where Your Candidates Hang Out: And that’s online. Employ social media and other online strategies in your attraction plans.
3. Have Success Systems: The days of “here’s your phone and your desk” are gone. What’s your 90-day system for new agents look like? How long before new agents in your office write their first contract? Potential agents considering joining your company want to know how you will coach them through those critical first 3 months. They know that the habits and knowledge learned then will set the stage for future successes.
4. Have A Distinct Company Culture and Be Able to Share It: What’s the personality of your company?
5. Set Clear Mutual Expectations and Deliver: This goes both ways. Here’s what I expect from you and here’s what you can expect from me.

There’s nothing quite like September in New York City! Thanks to all the folks at RISMedia for including me in your wonderful conference.

I was speaking with a broker the other day who was sharing his frustrations with attracting and retaining “younger” agents. It was his opinion that Gen Y and Gen X candidates don’t understand what it takes to be successful in our industry and aren’t willing to work hard. In his opinion, these behavior traits combined with the current market conditions has led him to the conclusion that recruiting younger agents isn’t worth the effort. He then proceeded to ask me what I thought of his conclusions.

I disagreed.

Attracting Gen X and Gen Y agents is not only worth the effort, but critical to the success of any brokerage. Here are my thoughts…

• Professional sports teams have managers and coaches. The reason for this is because these are two different jobs. In most real estate offices, the leader has to wear many hats. If you want to attract and retain Gen X and Gen Y agents you have to wear your coaching hat, not your manager’s hat.

Here are some examples of the differences between messages that managers give versus messages that coaches give.

• Manager’s message: “This business this difficult, you’ll have to be willing to work hard and there will be no guarantee of the money you will make.”
• Coach’s message: “If you focus on the right activities, you’ll see the results and I’ll work with you every step of the way.”

• Manager’s message: “You’ll have to be patient, it takes time to get established in this business. It is not going to happen overnight.”
• Coach’s message: “You can do it. You are doing all the right things. Keep focused.”

• Manager’s message: “This is a down market, we’ll just have to wait it out.”
• Coach’s message: “People buy and sell houses in all market conditions. Let’s discuss your prospecting strategies.”

Gen X and Gen Y personalities are looking for positive reinforcement backed up by game plans and specific to do’s. This is coaching. A great coach can lead their team to accomplish amazing things. Too often, younger people in real estate feel managed, not coached. They don’t feel they are getting any direction and “coaching” from their office managers.

On your next new agent interview or interaction with one of your existing Gen X or Gen Y agents, think about the messages you are communicating. Are you communicating like a manager or a coach?