In a recent Inman survey of more that 800 agents, culture was cited as the factor that most distinguishes a company from its competitors.

When agents were asked what they value most in a real estate company, here are the top five responses:

1.    Culture (30.4%)
2.    Brand/Name Recognition (24.1%)
3.    Technology and Education (20.7%)
4.    Commission Structure (15.0%)
5.    Other (9.8%)

There are a few recruiting and retention lessons we can take away from this survey.

Resist cutting commissions.  This survey confirms that commission structure alone is not the most important factor agents use when deciding where to affiliate.  You don’t have to cut commissions to compete.
 
Offer more value.  The factors that beat commission structure show what’s valuable to agents.  You can charge more, but you have to offer more value in exchange.

Sell culture experientially.  Most real estate companies say they have a great culture, so it’s hard for agents to determine if yours is really better.  To help them, do less “telling” and more experiencing. Culture must be experienced firsthand to leave a mark.

Don’t ignore what agents are telling you. Almost 75% of agents say they want culture, brand, and tech.  If you’re not strong in all three of three areas, you need to get stronger.
 
When you’re developing your recruiting messaging, it’s helpful to have a data driven framework from which to work.

This is a good start.