Want More Referrals? Tell Others Your Goals

by | Jul 1, 2025

You’ve probably noticed how fundraisers communicate their goals and keep you updated on the progress of a campaign.

It could be one of those poster-sized thermometers you’d see at a community fundraiser, or something more digital like you’d see on a GoFundMe page.

Fundraisers have learned something basic about human nature:

If you communicate your goals, others will feel compelled to help you reach them.

The same principle can be used to recruit.

When you’re meeting an agent in your company or another potential referral source, let them know about your recruiting goal.

My goal is to add five talented, experienced agents to our team this year.

Is there anyone you’ve connected with recently whom I should be talking with about joining our office?

This request is even more powerful if you ask right after you helped them solve a problem or make progress toward one of their goals.

At this point, the need for reciprocity kicks in, and suddenly, you have someone assisting you in reaching your objective.

 

The Simple Psychology of Real Estate Recruiting [2nd Edition]

Unlock the secrets of effective real estate recruiting. Revised to include actionable frameworks for sharper execution and to help you turn psychological theory into a repeatable recruiting system.

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How to Get it Right by Being Wrong

There are several well-documented strategies researchers have discovered, but the easiest one to implement quickly is using a structured interview process. Develop a common set of questions for your interviews and record the answers candidates provide (take notes). And then try to hold back judgment until after the interview and when you’ve had time to review your notes.

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For most recruiters and hiring managers, recruiting is a complex, end-to-end process containing a bunch of the individual tasks all of which they’re not going to enjoy. Those who push through unpleasant tasks not only find success but also find more satisfaction in the parts of the recruiting process they do enjoy.