Broker-owners traditionally think about recruiting as something they do to find agents.

Make the calls. Send the emails. Attend networking events. Schedule recruiting appointments. Present the brokerage.

Those activities remain important.

But there is another recruiting force that can be even more compelling: existing agents visibly improving their businesses.

When agents become more intentional, confident, connected, and consistent, people around them notice.

Other agents may ask what changed.

Past colleagues may become curious about the brokerage.

Friends in the industry may begin paying attention to the programs, coaching, technology, and leadership behind that improvement.

That creates what can become a powerful brokerage growth cycle:

Coach agents well. Help them improve. Let their experience strengthen the recruiting story. Then repeat.

About the Author: Michael Darmanin

Michael Darmanin is the Chief Executive Officer of Sellstate Realty Systems Network, Inc. With a background in engineering, commerce, and marketing, he leads Sellstate’s focus on innovation, broker growth, and technology systems designed to support franchisees, brokers, and agents. His focus includes helping brokerage leaders build scalable businesses by investing in people, relationships, technology, and repeatable growth systems.

Why Visible Agent Growth Matters for Recruiting

Recruiting claims are easy to make.

Almost every brokerage can say it offers support, training, technology, and culture.

Prospective agents therefore face a difficult question: which brokerage will actually help me?

The behavior and experiences of current agents can help answer it.

Imagine two recruiting conversations.

In one, a broker tells an agent, “We have excellent coaching.”

In the other, an agent says to a colleague, “I started following a new relationship-building system a few weeks ago. I am reconnecting with people I haven’t spoken with in years, having more meaningful conversations, and becoming much more disciplined about staying in touch.”

The second conversation can naturally create curiosity.

The difference is evidence.

The brokerage is not only describing a resource. Someone is experiencing it.

Programs Can Give Coaching More Structure

Coaching is most useful when agents can translate ideas into actions.

Motivational conversations can feel good temporarily, but sustainable improvement usually requires something agents can actually implement.

That is why structured programs can be valuable.

A program can create a defined period of focus, specific activities, accountability, repetition, and measurable progress.

BUILT is an example within the Sellstate environment.

BUILT focuses on relationship-building and helping participants become more intentional about the people already in their sphere. Rather than treating every person as a transaction opportunity, the approach emphasizes strengthening relationships and creating more consistent engagement with the people agents already know.

Those activities may lead to referral opportunities, but no referral, transaction, income, or business result is guaranteed. Results depend on the participant, implementation, existing relationships, local market conditions, and many other factors.

The larger point is that structured coaching can change behavior.

And behavior is visible.

The Referral Principle Applies to Recruiting Too

Agents understand referrals because referrals are fundamental to real estate.

A satisfied client can tell another person about an agent.

The same principle can apply inside the profession.

An agent who feels that a brokerage is genuinely helping them may tell another agent about that experience.

That does not necessarily happen through formal recruiting.

It may happen during lunch.

It may happen after a transaction closes.

It may happen at an association event when another agent asks, “What are you doing differently lately?”

Those conversations matter because they are organic.

They begin with curiosity rather than a recruiting pitch.

A brokerage that helps create more positive agent experiences creates more opportunities for those conversations to happen.

Coaching Can Turn Agents Into Credible Advocates

There is an important distinction between asking agents to recruit their friends and building a brokerage that agents naturally want to recommend.

The second is much stronger.

When agents believe they are receiving meaningful value, they become credible advocates because their recommendation is based on personal experience.

Coaching can contribute to that experience.

The agent might talk about accountability that finally helped create consistency. A veteran producer might appreciate learning a different approach to their database. Another agent might value a program that helped them reconnect with relationships they had neglected.

Different agents may value different things.

Collectively, those stories become part of the brokerage brand.

Recruiting and Coaching Follow Similar Conversations

There is another reason these two activities belong together: good recruiting and good coaching often require remarkably similar skills.

A recruiter needs to understand where an agent is today, where the agent wants to go, what obstacles exist, and whether the brokerage can help.

A coach needs to understand exactly the same things.

Neither conversation should start with the brokerage.

It should start with the agent.

What does the person want?

What is working?

What is not working?

Where does the person feel stuck?

What would meaningful improvement look like?

Once leaders begin approaching recruiting this way, the recruiting conversation itself can feel more valuable.

Instead of simply explaining commission plans and technology, the broker begins helping the prospective agent think critically about their business.

That is already a form of coaching.

Recruiting Can Begin Before an Agent Joins

This creates an opportunity that many brokerages overlook.

Prospective agents do not always need to experience the brokerage value proposition only after they change companies.

Educational events, workshops, business-planning sessions, relationship-building programs, and other appropriate resources can introduce agents to the brokerage’s approach to development.

The objective should not be to give away everything or disguise recruiting as something else.

It should be to provide genuine value.

An agent who experiences thoughtful leadership before making a brokerage decision gains a clearer picture of what the organization might be like after joining.

That can make future recruiting conversations more meaningful.

Coaching Successful Agents Creates a Different Kind of Recruiting Story

Developing agents provide one type of success story.

High-performing agents provide another.

Experienced producers often have sophisticated businesses. When they remain engaged in coaching, it signals that development is not remedial.

It is cultural.

A brokerage where productive agents continue learning sends a message that improvement does not stop at a certain transaction count.

This can be especially relevant when recruiting other established agents.

Experienced professionals may be less interested in basic sales training and more interested in advanced business development, leadership, database strategy, referral growth, systems, and efficiency.

A coaching environment should be broad enough to support both ends of the production spectrum.

Coaching Developing Agents Demonstrates Opportunity

Developing agents may need more foundational help.

When the brokerage helps those agents establish better habits, stronger relationships, improved follow-up, and a clearer business plan, it demonstrates another valuable proposition:

You do not have to arrive fully developed to receive meaningful support.

That can strengthen recruiting among newer agents and experienced agents who feel their business has plateaued.

Again, coaching should never be presented as a guarantee of financial success.

The brokerage provides the environment and resources.

The agent still has to execute.

But helping agents create a better process can itself be valuable.

Create a Coaching-to-Recruiting Flywheel

The most powerful outcome occurs when coaching and recruiting stop operating in separate departments or separate parts of the broker’s week.

Agent development strengthens the agent experience.

A stronger agent experience creates better stories.

Better stories create more conversations.

More conversations create recruiting opportunities.

New agents enter an environment where coaching is already part of the culture.

Then the cycle begins again.

That is a recruiting flywheel.

It is not dependent on a single campaign.

It is powered by the value the brokerage creates for its own people.

How Sellstate Can Support This Approach

Sellstate’s model provides franchisees access to technology, training, business resources, and programs designed to support broker and agent development.

BUILT is one example of how structured programming can reinforce relationship-focused business development.

For brokers, the broader opportunity is to use resources like these not only as an internal benefit, but as part of a genuine culture of improvement.

When agents experience that culture, recruiting conversations can become easier because the brokerage has something concrete to discuss.

A franchise system does not guarantee agent recruitment, retention, referrals, transactions, profitability, or other results. Outcomes vary based on leadership, execution, market conditions, individual effort, and other factors. Prospective franchisees should review the applicable Franchise Disclosure Document and conduct appropriate due diligence before making an investment decision.

The Bottom Line: Help Agents Become the Story

Brokerages spend considerable time figuring out what to say to prospective agents.

Sometimes the better strategy is to create something worth talking about.

Coach people well.

Give successful agents a reason to keep improving.

Give developing agents a path to become stronger.

Provide systems that encourage relationships, accountability, and consistent business-building activity.

Then let the experience of the agents reinforce the recruiting message.

The strongest recruiting story may not be what the broker says.

It may be what another agent notices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can coaching help a brokerage recruit agents?

Coaching can strengthen the brokerage’s value proposition by giving current agents meaningful development experiences. When other professionals see or hear about those experiences, it can create organic recruiting interest.

Can current agents help recruit other agents?

Yes. Existing agents can be credible advocates when they genuinely value their brokerage experience. The goal should be creating an organization worth recommending rather than simply asking agents to recruit acquaintances.

What types of agents benefit from coaching?

Both developing and successful agents can benefit. Their needs differ, but coaching can address areas such as relationships, accountability, business planning, leadership, systems, referrals, time management, and growth.

How are recruiting and coaching similar?

Both involve understanding an agent’s goals, identifying challenges, building trust, and helping the person evaluate a path forward. Coaching develops existing agents, while recruiting introduces prospective agents to the environment that could support their development.

Can programs like BUILT guarantee more referrals?

No. BUILT is designed to help participants strengthen relationships and create referral opportunities through more intentional activity, but specific referrals, transactions, income, or other business results are not guaranteed.

Why can coaching be more credible than a recruiting presentation?

A recruiting presentation explains what the brokerage says it provides. Current agents’ experiences can demonstrate how those resources are actually used, which may make the brokerage’s value proposition more tangible to prospective agents.

Build a Brokerage Agents Want to Talk About

If you are considering brokerage ownership and want to learn more about Sellstate’s systems, technology, training, and agent-development resources, download the Sellstate Franchise Guide.