Earlier this week, RE/MAX reported their second quarter earnings and issued a press release concerning growth forecast for the remainder of the year.

Like most press releases, it puts a positive spin on the news and paints a bright future.

But buried in the report was the admission that their agent count in the U.S. had dropped 2.6% over the last year.

How does a company like RE/MAX respond to a declining agent count?

According to their CEO Steve Joyce, they focus on recruiting:

We’ve set our sights on improving growth…[by] continuing to increase our firm’s agent count.

They even detailed one of their core recruiting initiatives.

One such initiative is a pilot program designed to attract teams of six or more agents.

Through the program, teams will have free access to expanded education and technology specifically designed for teams.

Here are a few takeaways:

a.  Professional operators know that a reduced agent count directly corelates to a reduced number of transactions.

b.  Producing agents are in high demand and companies are sharpening their value propositions to recruit them.

c.  You can’t win by just playing defense. Retention is critical, but it’s only part of the solution.

When the going gets tough, the tough double down on recruiting.