7 Steps to Hiring a Team Member

7 Steps to Hiring Licensed Agents

Recruiting licensed agents doesn’t need to be complicated—but it does need to be intentional. At Century 21 Heritage Group, we follow a proven system that ensures we attract, evaluate, and onboard only the most qualified and aligned prospects. This approach reduces reliance on gut instinct (which often leads us to hire people we like or who are like us, rather than who the team actually needs) and instead delivers a consistent, repeatable, and scalable hiring process.

When done poorly, recruiting is one of the costliest mistakes a team can make—not just in terms of money, but also time, training, morale, and culture. These seven steps will help you avoid that trap and build your team with confidence and clarity.

Step 1: Define the Role with a Clear Job Description

Before you post an ad or schedule an interview, you must know exactly who you’re looking for and what the role involves. A strong job description sets clear expectations, outlines key duties, and shows how the role fits into your team’s larger mission. It also communicates professionalism and structure to candidates from the start.

Tip: Refer to the Field Agent Contract as a starting point to define responsibilities and performance benchmarks.

Step 2: Write and Place an Effective Ad

A great ad attracts attention, creates curiosity, and generates qualified leads. Your ad should clearly instruct interested candidates to send their name, number, and best time to connect via email. This simple requirement immediately filters out people who don’t follow instructions.

Use multiple advertising channels, including:

Local real estate newspapers
Online classifieds (Kijiji, Indeed)
Social media campaigns
Targeted mass mailings

Remember: This is trial and error at first. Track what works best in your market so you can scale it later. Have someone other than you make the initial follow-up call and schedule all interested prospects into a group information session—not individual interviews. This filters out ego-driven applicants and sets a professional tone.

Step 3: Host a Group Information Session

This is where we flip the script: You’re interviewing them—even if they think they’re interviewing you.

Use this session to:

Introduce your story and why you built a team
Connect with their pain points (slow income, lack of support)
Present your team as the solution
Show how your model helps agents earn more net income, faster

Your goal is to create urgency and desire. The right people will feel excited to take the next steps. At the end of the session, distribute a thank-you package with instructions to complete:
A DISC-style personality profile
A basic math test
A credit check authorization (primarily to observe their comfort level)

Only candidates who complete and return the forms move forward. Everyone else receives a polite thank-you email. This keeps the process automated and emotionally neutral.

Step 4: The 24-Hour Test

Next, send a short email-based assignment that must be completed and returned within 24 hours. This tells you everything:

Are they invested in the opportunity?
Can they follow directions and hit deadlines?
Are they serious about joining a high-performance team?

Only those who respond on time continue to Step 5. Up to this point, your time commitment has been minimal—but the candidate has been putting in the effort.

Step 5: Conduct a 10–15 Minute Phone Interview

This brief call is about filtering, not selling. Use it to confirm details, assess self-awareness, and get a real sense of the person.

Ask deal-breaking questions like:

How many transactions did you complete last year?
What drives you outside of real estate?
How would you describe yourself in five words? (save this one for the end—it breaks their script)

You’re looking for clarity, speed, and self-awareness—not just charisma. If they pass this call, you move them to the next step.

Step 6: Face-to-Face Interview

This step is about presentation, professionalism, and consistency.

Do they show up prepared and on time?
Do they answer questions the same way they did on the phone?
Do they carry themselves in a way that fits your brand?

Remember: You’re not offering them a job. You’re inviting them to join a team. Set expectations clearly, including the 3-week unpaid onboarding period where they must prove themselves. Use a standardized evaluation form to stay focused and consistent.

If you have more qualified candidates than roles, a second interview will reveal who wants it most.

Step 7: Making the Offer

Invite them to a final meeting—but don’t tell them what it’s for. This gives you one last chance to observe how they show up and ask any final questions.

Then ask:

“How badly do you want to be part of this team?”

Their answer tells you everything. If it aligns, bring out the two agreements:

The Team Membership Agreement outlining roles and expectations
The Confidentiality & Protection Agreement to safeguard your systems and team

Final Thoughts

This process isn’t just about hiring—it’s about attracting and aligning the right people with your culture, your systems, and your standards. Use this system consistently, and you’ll build a team of professionals who are not only capable—but committed.