It’s frustrating to get to the end of the recruiting process, make a fabulous offer to your recruiting prospect, and hear them say: I’ve decided to stay with my current broker.
This a common and understandable objection because agents often feel a sense of loyalty and want to give their existing broker a second chance.
Mark Johnson recently addressed this issue in one of our Recruit365 networking discussions and offered this strategy.
When faced with this objection, use the P.A.I.D. framework to address the issue:
Pause: Take a breath and don’t interrupt. Let them fully express their sentiment. This shows you’re listening and respectful.
Acknowledge: Validate their feelings and position. Show empathy and understanding for their loyalty.
I completely understand that. Loyalty is important in this business. OR That’s fair. It makes sense that you’d want to see if things improve.
Isolate: Gently try to pinpoint the underlying reasons for their potential dissatisfaction or what they hope will change.
Out of curiosity, what are the key areas you’re hoping to see improvement in during this second chance? AND What would a successful outcome of this second chance look like for you?
Discover: Now, subtly introduce potential benefits of your firm without being pushy. Focus on their needs identified in the “Isolate” step.
That’s helpful to know. Many agents who eventually join us were hoping for [mention a benefit your firm offers that aligns with their potential pain point, e.g., more personalized marketing support, a stronger lead generation system, better training]. Is that something that’s important to you?
Finally, close the discussion with an offer to reconnect in the future.
While you’re giving things another go, would you be open to a quick conversation sometime about how our [mention a specific program or resource] has helped agents like you achieve [mention a relevant outcome]? No pressure at all.
As you know, the second chances often don’t work for your recruiting prospects–it’s hard for the broker to change their stripes.
Your job is to lay the groundwork for their next move.
