I read a great book recently – Mandy Johnson’s Winning The War For Talent. In my opinion, it is a must-read for any leader who wants to build a winning team. It is guaranteed to make you think.
One point Mandy makes is that when you write an advertisement for a real estate career, be sure to sell the benefits of the career.
While this might seem obvious to those trained in selling, this thinking does not seem to make the transition into most sales career advertisements. Most talk about the company, what’s expected of the applicant, with very little mention of what the career offers the candidate. It appears that we ‘sell the benefits’ when selling to consumers, but we fail to ‘sell the benefits’ to potential employees.
Old fashioned advertisements were fine when there were fewer jobs than candidates, when it was an “employers’ market”, but times have changed. Today’s candidates have many positions to choose from and so it is important that we tell them what’s in it for them should they choose real estate as a career.
More than money
It is a mistake to think that money is the sole attractor of good candidates. This might have worked on Baby Boomers, but it does not work on Generation Y. They want a quality life, a quality career, and benefits that exceed money. This does not mean they are lazy. In my book it means they are discerning and I respect that.
Benefits of a Real Estate Career
Real estate is a great career. To my thinking there is none better. If you are as enthusiastic about real estate sales as a career as I am, you will have no trouble coming up with a list of benefits.
- Selling dreams: most people have the dream of owning their own small piece of their country. People don’t dream about vacuum cleaners, but they do dream about owning property.
- Satisfaction: is there anything more professionally satisfying than helping somebody to own their own home or to sell one?
- Time is your own: you do not have to sign on or off in real estate sales. Apart from having to attend some compulsory team meetings, you say how your time is allocated. Sales offers freedom that cannot be found in most other careers.
There are three benefits and there are many more. Think about what you offer and why it is good for your candidates.
In Cameron Crowe’s film, Jerry Maguire, the character played by Cuba Gooding Jnr makes Tom Cruise’s character scream, “Show me the money”. When you write your next recruiting advertisement substitute ‘money’ for ‘benefits’.
SHOW ME THE BENEFITS.
You will write a more enticing ad.