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ERA Real Estate Launches ‘ERA TopRecruiter’ System to Provide Brokers with Critical Business-Building Tool
Program Proven Effective at Recruiting New and Experienced Real Estate Agents
PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Nov. 11, 2010) — ERA Franchise Systems LLC, a franchising leader in the residential real estate industry, has launched ERA TopRecruiterSM, a unique and innovative new recruiting system designed to help ERA® franchisees attract and retain productive sales associates while also addressing the obstacles that prevent many brokers from recruiting. ERA Real Estate launched the proprietary program at its 2010 President’s Circle Business Forum in late October, following a four-month broker pilot program used to fine-tune and test components of the system.
“Finding qualified agents is always a challenge, but it has become a critical issue for brokers in the current real estate market,” said Charlie Young, president and chief executive officer of ERA Franchise Systems LLC. “At ERA Real Estate, we are keenly attuned to the needs of our brokers. We heard loud and clear that recruiting top talent is a priority. ERA TopRecruiterSM is a one-of-kind system that addresses the needs of large and small brokers alike. Our four-month pilot program exceeded expectations in every category, from the number of leads received and appointments made to actual agents hired.”
ERA TopRecruiterSM provides a comprehensive approach to recruiting tools for brokers seeking new agents ranging from novices to seasoned veterans. In addition to the ERA TopRecruiterSM tools for analyzing recruiting needs, planning and tracking recruiting progress and learning successful recruiting practices, ERA Real Estate offers a customized recruiting website, SmarterCareer.com, for brokers to use as their home base in recruiting sales associates. The SmarterCareer.com site includes a number of components for agents such as a Confidential Business Assessment (CBATM), an interactive business plan generator, an online marketing audio course and other business-building resources. The success of the SmarterCareer.com portion of the ERA TopRecruiterSM program was measured during the pilot phase, which included 18 franchisees from across the ERA network. This tool generated a six fold increase in leads for participating brokers and more than doubled the number of total agents hired.
“The brokers participating in the pilot saw an immediate impact and we are now rolling ERA TopRecruiterSM out to our entire franchise system,” says Debbie McGriff, vice president, Business Development, ERA Franchise Systems LLC. “We support our brokers with personal coaching, peer-to-peer sharing and virtual training. With ERA TopRecruiterSM, we address the hurdles brokers face in regard to recruiting as well as providing effective and proven tools to help in the recruiting process.”
Four-Component Process: Analyze, Plan, Develop, Track
ERA TopRecruiterSM provides a flexible process with four key components designed to enable brokers to target their recruiting based on existing skill sets. Through the system, ERA franchisees have access to the ERA Resource Center, which provides scripts, templates, forms, job descriptions and more, and to the ERA Learning Exchange, which offers coaching and virtual classes designed to hone broker recruiting and retention skills.
The four key components to the ERA TopRecruiterSM program are as follows:
- Analyze Your Office: The program provides brokers with specialized, online tools to help them see the positive business impact of recruiting.
- Create Your Plan: ERA TopRecruiterSM offers actionable planning tools for hiring prospects and growing a real estate agency. The Planning/Tracking Tool creates goals for brokers to work toward. It breaks down specific actions in the recruiting cycle and allows brokers to reach their goals step by step. This information is then archived in the system for reference later.
- Develop Your Skills: ERA TopRecruiterSM provides all the tools and training franchises need to sharpen their recruiting skills, including tips for interviewing and selling the advantages of their brokerages.
- Track Your Growth: The ERA TopRecruiterSM enables brokers to keep active records of recruiting activities.
Longtime ERA broker, Eddie Wilder, president of ERA Wilder Realty, Chapin S.C., is a successful user of this system. “Meeting the needs of real estate agents today is critical to the growth and relevance of our company,” said Wilder. “The ERA TopRecruiterSM Program has shown us that in this shifting economy, we also needed to shift our thinking about how we communicate our value and how we listen to what is important to the agents we recruit. This system will allow us to continue to increase our market share and help develop the strongest team of professionals anywhere.”
About ERA Franchise Systems LLC
ERA Franchise Systems LLC is an innovative franchising leader in the residential real estate industry with more than 35 years experience in developing consumer-oriented products and services. Since 1977, ERA Real Estate has teamed with the Muscular Dystrophy Association in its fight against neuromuscular diseases, raising more than $30 million. The ERA® network includes approximately 30,000 brokers and sales associates and approximately 2,500 offices throughout the United States and 41 countries and territories. Each office is independently owned and operated. ERA Franchise Systems LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. ERA Franchise Systems LLC information is available at: ERA.com.
