Being picky about who you hire?

Anthony: 

Are you being picky about who you bring into your company, really interviewing, really qualifying, making sure they’re the right candidate, making sure that they’re right personality type. Making sure they’re all perfect in every single way so that they can do nothing but sell and do everything you tell them. Well, if that’s what you’re doing, you’re doing it wrong. I have news for you, my friends. Talking to team leaders and broker-owners mostly here. Guys, I have news for you. I did this for about six years, big mistake. About three years ago, four years ago, I started just saying, you know what, if they’re a good person, I want them in my company. I don’t care if they’re a D, an I, an S, a C. I don’t care if their schedule is perfect. I don’t care if they have a part-time job because they’re trying to transition into the business. That’s when our business exploded.

Last week, I was at Inman and I was out to dinner with some awesome people. I have great teams across the country, great companies across the country. There was about 12 of us and I heard a lot of this talk and I listened to it. I finally jumped in and I said, “Hey, guys, I got news for you. You’re doing it wrong. Do you want to grow your company? Do you want to grow your sales in an unstoppable fashion? Not be so dependent on you because agents bring in so many of their own sales. Stop being so picky. Stop worrying about every little thing about somebody you’re trying to hire and give people a chance. That’s something that I really changed right around three or four years ago. It was the right change and then it exploded our business.

I’ll tell you something. Part of the reason I did that wasn’t just because we got coaching and we grew. It even started before that, it was really because I started realizing time and again that there were agents that would surprise me. Sometimes I would bring an agent on and I’d be like, “This agent is going to kill it.” I mean, this person is just a hard charger. Every day they show up, they’re taking notes, they’re in the front row and then they wouldn’t sell anything. Then their wife or husband would lose their job and they’d be like, “I got to go get a job, I need health insurance.” Then there’d be people that come in and maybe they were a little more meek. Maybe they were a little more laid back and I used to be a little more picky. I also used to follow some of the preachers out there, coaches, they said, “Well, if you want good agents, good buyer agents”, the buyer agent talk, “If you want good buyer agents, you have to make sure they’re D and I personalities, dominant and influencers.

I started bringing on any personality and then they would surprise me. I remember this one woman in particular who just a great person, still with us today. I met with her on a Saturday morning about six years ago and a really nice person. I was definitely happy to meet her but I was like, “I don’t know if she’s aggressive enough. I don’t know if she’ll get after it.” I had hesitations that people get, right? She sent me a note, a handwritten note and she said, “Anthony, if you bring me onto your team, into your company, I will do a great job and you’ll be happy you did. Please, give me a chance.” It was something to that effect. Well, I have news for you guys. She’s in the upper echelon of our agents in the company. She’s an awesome person, we all love her and I’m thrilled to have her with us.

I learned a lesson with her. I learned a lesson and other examples like that. I’ve also learned lessons in the opposite way so I have news for you, if you want to grow your business, just bring in great people. Just bring in great people. That’s all you got to do. When I say great, I should also be careful with that because some people will be trying to find the perfect citizen, it doesn’t jaywalk across the street. Just bring in nice people, that’s it. Polite people, hungry to learn, that’s all. If you do that, your business will explode so don’t be so picky. Give people a chance. Everyone wants a chance. Give people a chance and watch what happens to your business. That’s my message today, folks. Go out there and crush it in real estate. Have a great week guys.