Event planning is about more than just space and catering. Liane Dutton guides you through creating effective calls to action and measurable outcomes to ensure successful recruitment.
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As someone who has been an event producer for five years at a major real estate brokerage and an event marketing professional for 20 years, I can attest that planning a recruiting event can feel like a hectic endeavor.
There are many talented agents on teams and brokerages who are curious but reluctant to respond to calls for their next partnership opportunity. As a natural networking creature, the right kind of face-to-face interaction can work magic in providing an environment for discovery and adjustment between you and potential employees.
Events, training sessions, workshops, masterminds and social gatherings are proven venues where you can truly showcase your brokerage culture and clearly demonstrate the value you can bring to your brokerage business.
Recruiting agents is fundamental to the growth of your team and your brokerage, but it can be difficult, costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. To attract the ideal agents to your team or brokerage, here are some ways to attract and retain the best agents to your team using the right event strategy.
know who you’re chasing
Before you start investing in your recruiting event efforts, you need to know what you’re looking for in your ideal candidate. Use DISC or MBTI to identify the best agent profile for your team, and take the time to study their strengths to add culture to your team. Take the time to understand your target’s profile and how they can benefit most from your mediation and team effort.
Choose your ideal candidate carefully and take advantage of the opportunity to meet them in person. Use one-on-one events to learn all you can about them through coffee meetings and other no-frills but meaningful interactions. There, you can ask questions about their motivations, values, goals, and why they are in this business.
Most importantly, it also gives you an opportunity to demonstrate how you can provide value with your new partnership.
consistently exist
Less is more. When growing your audience, focus on an intimate, frequent, and consistent presence, hosting targeted conversations with quality agents you already know fit your desired profile.
Consistent monthly masterminds, quarterly meetups and workshops, and yearly big events have kept me at this particular pace in my corporate and team endeavors over the past decade, from technology to cyber to real estate. Proven ROI of 150%.
Focus on content and messaging. Top agents want to learn. Of course, everyone enjoys free cocktails, but if you can provide valuable content that showcases your knowledge and culture, you’ll get great results.
Leverage industry and local events that match your audience’s interests
One of my major accomplishments and ROI was attracting active attendees at local industry conferences and events. Adjust your interests to match those of your audience and use it for maximum exposure.
If you have a chance, please speak at these events and donate. Attend local events whenever possible, real estate related or not.
Remember that you are dealing with a unique group of people. If you really want to tap into the unicorns that fit your culture and desired profile, you need to showcase that as well. Tell them who you are by being who you are and supporting organizations that align with your belief system.
Don’t throw away the virtual (yet)
Before COVID-19, before we were all sick of Zoom, webinars offered incredible ROI for event marketers. Now, thanks to COVID-19, we’re all using Zoom day in and day out, and like magic, the tools we use are so good.
Excite your audience with virtual masterminds and social channels, and use Zoom as an opportunity to engage them and answer questions in between in-person gatherings. Maintain a digital presence using audience gathering tools through virtual polls and Slack groups.
Summary: Consider scale and scale
An important part of approaching a recruiting event is, “What is the ultimate call to action?” Some of the most successful post-event follow-ups I have conducted include, but are not limited to:
- Fillable forms (using QR codes) with hooks into learning experiences
- Invitation to another event (also using QR code)
- A brand introduction with a meeting invitation (I personally use Calendly).
Remember that events are fun, but they are expensive. You need to stay on top of planning and execution. These are great foundations for your business and for getting noticed, but you need to be agile and utilize your resources to stay within your budget.
Liane Dutton is an event marketing architect who helps brands and teams develop strategies to grow their teams and businesses.connect with her linkedin.