Broker of the Month

Jon Modene

CEO
RE/MAX Masters
Toledo, Ohio

Interview

How many agents do you currently have working on your team? What are your short and long term recruiting goals?

RE/MAX Masters currently has a team of 55 agents in two offices. We don’t have a numerical recruiting goal, but a goal to recruit quality people. Our objective is to increase profitability and we can do that only if we have good people.

What is the key differentiator about your company that you present to candidates you are interested in recruiting?

We offer a mentoring system of training instead of the traditional classroom training. New agents work with established agents as part of a small team during their initial training. They also receive technical training from RE/MAX and have access to ongoing training through the company’s satellite and online training programs. But we believe that mentor-based training simply works better. With structured training programs about 80 per cent of new agents have washed out or failed. Most brokers will start off a new recruit by saying, “Here’s a desk, a phone and a phonebook – now get to work.” We burn through people like crazy in this business using that method. So we’ve broken that paradigm and made a commitment to not participate anymore. Let’s face it, those 20 per cent that do stick would do it anyway – it’s not because of the classroom instruction they receive.

We say to new recruits, “We’re going to give you actual field training in the real world with real houses and real people.” I know most of my competitors don’t do it that way, but real world training always works better.

What is your primary selection criteria when looking to recruit a new agent?

I look for people with prior sales experience and an outgoing personality. If a person has these two things, I can work with them. In the interview I tell them the three things they must do if they are going to work with us: “Pay your bills, keep your word and maintain the integrity of the company.”

Can you describe how you are using the Real Estate Simulator and the outcomes you have seen so far?

We have been using the Real Estate Simulator for about seven months with phenomenal results. I find it to be a great screening device for our industry especially for determining a candidate’s sales experience and personality. It’s also a great product because it helps to give people a realistic view of what we do and what skill set is required. For example, we can determine how well a person will be at juggling priorities and dealing with people who are not always honest and see if they handle the situation well or if they get frustrated. I find that the people who pass the simulator and are excited basically pre-select themselves. But even if someone does poorly on the simulator as long as they have common sense and a good personality, we can help them.

What would you recommend to a broker or manager who is interested in recruiting, selecting and training stronger agents?

Take a look at your recruiting goals and ask if you are going after quantity or quality. We are dedicated to being good each and every day and to increasing quality and service – not just numbers. The Real Estate Simulator is a tool that allows us to sort so that we get the right people working for us. We want people who are enthusiastic and fun and the simulator is a fun, easy way to measure those qualities. I plan to use the simulator in more ways in the future and would recommend it to any broker