Business Cases Don’t Work in Recruiting: Here’s Why

Have you heard you should make a business case to persuade agents to join your company?

Making a business case means focusing the recruiting appointment on the numbers.

The strategy is to show an agent how you can help her bridge the gap between what she’s earning now and what she’d like to earn in the future.

This is typically done by saving the agent money on commission split, helping her increase her production, or both.

And on the surface, making a business case seems like a logical way to conduct a recruiting appointment.

The problem is, it rarely works. And even when it does work, it sets you up with a potential retention issue.

Business Cases Rarely Work

People make decisions based on emotion and then justify those decisions with logic.

That isn’t my opinion; it’s a scientific fact based on functional MRI scans of our brains and extensive psychological research.

Business cases rarely work in recruiting because agents don’t make the decision to switch based on a logical, careful analysis of the numbers.

They make the decision to switch (or stay) based on emotion.

That’s why you can demonstrate with 100% certainty you can save an agent money or help her make more money yet there’s still no guarantee she’ll join.

So while numbers can and should be a part of the recruiting appointment, they shouldn’t be its focus.

Instead, the focus should be on the agent’s hopes and dreams, fears and pains, and barriers and uncertainties.

The Retention Issue

Although business cases fail most of the time, they don’t fail all the time.

Some agents switch because of the numbers.

And that might have you thinking business cases have their place in recruiting.

But consider for a moment the implications of hiring an agent who is only about the numbers.

What do you think the odds are she leaves when another broker makes a better business case than you did?

I can tell you from experience the odds are high.

And the more productive the agent, the more likely it is some other broker comes along with a better business case (aka a sweet deal).

So while recruiting on the numbers might work in the short term, it presents a potential retention issue in the long-term.

Drew

P.S. - Whenever I make my case about emotion over logic, I’m always confronted with two questions:

1.) What about agents who switch because they get a deal?

2.) What about agents who switch to discount/100% companies?

I’ll address both these questions in my email next week. So, stay tuned.