2015 PROSPECTING
Become a Recruiter’s Relocation Touring Partner
Most very successful real estate agents prefer working with sellers as opposed to buyers. This has to do with the number of sellers that can be converted to closings versus the number of buyers that will convert to sales. This is called the prospect “Conversion Rate.” History shows that the typical conversion rate with listings is much higher than the conversion rate with buyers. If an agent does a great job marketing a home for the seller, the home will most likely sell, especially given the recent improvement in market conditions. Thus, the conversion rate is very high.
The same cannot be said about doing a great job with a buyer prospect. An agent can do everything right, work tirelessly for a buyer, only to have the buyer attend an open house and buy from another agent or see a For-Sale-By-Owner and buy direct, cutting the agent out of the picture. Sadly, the conversion rate with buyers is usually very low. Many agents find they can sell most of their listings, yet have to work with 10-15 buyers before one of them buys.
The exclusive listing focus may be a flawed strategically. Consider the following; if an agent can identify a stream of highly qualified buyers that are committed to making a decision to buy now, the likelihood of a very high conversion rate would be very high. The key is to develop strategies that are designed to provide a great group of buyer prospects. Every agent recognizes the advantages of referrals because buyers that are referred by someone in an agent’s sphere of influence are much more likely to buy from the agent. But, very few agents are aware of and exploit Relocation Opportunities. You see, most companies have relationships with big real estate firms and their relocation departments so this opportunity appears to be closed.
What if you could come in the back door by identifying highly qualified buyers that are moving to your area for career opportunities? This may not be as difficult as you may think. Surprisingly, most small to mid-sized companies don’t recruit that many people so the need for a big HR department isn’t necessary. The key is to identify the small to mid-sized companies that are recruiting right now. Most of these companies will use online jobsites such as craigslist or monster.com. By searching these sites for companies that are recruiting highly skilled, management professionals looking for jobs in your area, you will create an entirely new source of strong buyer prospects.
Here’s how this program works.
- Pretend you’re looking for any professional or high-paying job and look online for the specific geographic area of interest.
- Make a list of the companies that are recruiting in your area and contact them to identify the person that is handling the hiring for the high-level opening.
- Contact the hiring manager and offer to be the company’s personal tour host for prospective hires that are coming from out of town.
- Remind the hiring manager that no one is more qualified to present the area in a positive light than you are. This will entice recruits to want to accept the position being offered.
- When the company has a great job candidate, go out of your way to impress them with the quality of life in your area.
- If the candidate is selected, they are most likely to buy or rent a home from you.
- Be sure that you are included as part of the process with every candidate that is trying make the final cut.
The approach above can also be used as part of the process for Independent Recruiters and Corporate Headhunters. You can solve a tricky problem for this profession. Recruiters and Headhunters are only paid if the job candidate is offered the position and accepts. You can co-partner with the Recruiting Professional, by selling great job candidates on the area as a critical part of the process. Best of all, the conversion rate with this group may even be higher than your conversion rate with sellers.