Today’s RealTrending features an exclusive interview with Gary Malin, chief operating officer with Corcoran Group in New York City. Gary leads Corcoran’s senior sales executives and the recruiting and nurturing of top talent and builds alliances with key real estate entities and professionals. He shares key insights into successful brokerage recruiting and building a recruiting team.
Here is a small preview of today’s interview with Kristan. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length and clarity:
Tracey Velt: I know in a recent RealTrends BrokerPulse survey, where we survey the top brokers around the country, difficulty recruiting was the No. 3 challenge for brokers. It’s consistently been in the top five since we began the surveys. Talk to me a little bit about recruiting strategy, not necessarily just for Corcoran, but in general, what do you see as some mistakes brokers make and where do you see some opportunities?
Gary Malin: We’ve always felt having a recruiting team is absolutely critical. From way back in the days when I ran Citi Habitats, which was acquired by Realogy back in the day and folded it into Corcoran, I’ve always had an onsite recruiter.
I always felt that you need to have someone that understands your company, understands your brand, can speak fluently about you, set up meetings and be that brand champion, so we have a very good strong team.
But, you have to be careful not to hire people who look at recruiting as a job, versus ‘I live and breathe Corcoran.’
I’ve seen plenty of companies make mistakes by hiring someone to make phone calls —dialing for dollars. That doesn’t work, because the person on the other end, in many instances, likes where he or she is. The question is, what are you going to do to inspire them to think differently?
How will you convince them that this is time for change? Change is hard. When you pick up your business and move from one firm to another, even if that other firm in your estimation is still the best firm for you to be at, there’s going to be some bumps along the way.
RealTrending features the brightest minds in real estate. Weekly, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts share their success secrets, trends, and lessons learned navigating this ever-changing industry. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by Elissa Branch.