Earlier this week, one of my favorite hiring managers told me about an experienced agent she is pursuing:

This guy is amazing.  He’s only been in real estate for three years, operates as a solo agent, and had $11M in production last year.

This is the age-old story of someone who steps into the real estate industry and quickly builds a substantial business.

If you only listened to the real estate press, you’d think this just doesn’t happen anymore.

But it does happen.  And it will continue to happen for the foreseeable future.

Of course, it’s more difficult than ever for “normal” new agents to get traction in today’s market conditions.

But extraordinary new agents are entering the real estate industry every day and will be the next generation of high-performers.

The leaders who can identify and hire them will tap into a hidden source of talent that most of their competitors will miss.

How do you capture this source of talent?

Stop hiring new agents like you did when the industry was producing 6 million transactions per year.  Order takers are no longer needed.

Start being selective and strategic about who you hire.  Here are some ideas:

Look for high-performing clones. Identify and study those in your marketplace who started in the last three years and are growing quickly.  What characteristics do they have in common?

Be willing to play the numbers game.These agents are not in the top 20%.  They are in the top 1%.  Are you willing to source 100 prospects to find a high performer?

Go deep in the pipeline. Talented individuals recognize an opportunity early (usually with the help of someone they know) and then focus like a laser beam to capture it.  The early stage helpers reap the rewards.

Use selection assessment.It’s not easy to select high-performers.  A good selection assessment will help you uncover the hidden talents and overcome personal biases.

I liked what Gary Keller said yesterday:

I’ve had people ask me, ‘Is it a good time to get into real estate?’ I go, ‘Yeah, it’s a great time to get into real estate.’  There are more people sitting on the sideline than you can imagine.

Opportunity always exists for the right person.  Your job is to find the right person.