For the last few weeks, we’ve been discussing the psychology of execution. From a recruiting perspective, it’s important to start with this critical foundation.

But, great execution is not enough.

To be a successful hiring manager you’ll need more than just great execution. You’ll also need an understanding of what causes people to become motivated and take action in the recruiting process.

This will multiply your results substantially, and it’s the fun part of recruiting! Your candidates will enjoy this as well because all humans love to be understood.

To tackle this topic in the coming weeks, we’ll break the discussion into three parts—the psychology of attraction, the psychology of persuasion, and the psychology of community.

For those of you who attended the Edge Conference, don’t give up on these topics. While there will be some review, we’ll also cover new information you won’t want to miss.

To start our next part of the journey, let’s first explore the psychology of attraction.

What is Attraction?

It’s difficult to define. We know it when we see it. We feel it when it happens.

Attraction is a powerful force mysteriously drawing an individual to a focal point. If this focal point is your business, it makes recruiting and retention much easier.

Talented individuals will be attracted to people, teams, and organizations they believe will enable them to flourish. They’ll stay with an organization (retention) that delivers on that promise.

Using Attraction to Recruit

Since attraction is such a mysterious force, can it be harnessed for use in the recruiting process?

Researchers have taught us attraction is more predictable than you might expect.

Marketers have taught us attraction can be used to steer an individual’s behaviors.

The recruiting profession (both inside and outside of the real estate industry) is just starting to learn to use the psychology of attraction to improve their results.

If you master these techniques, you’ll not only serve your candidates more successfully, but you’ll also become more effective at hiring the best agents in your marketplace.

The Power of Familiarity

Before wrapping up today, we’ll cover one quick attraction technique you can start using right away.

Let’s suppose you send your son off to college next fall. Is there a way to predict whom he’ll be attracted to when he arrives (in developing friendships)?

Researchers at MIT have studied this topic and found there’s one factor that is remarkably determinate in attracting new friends. It’s familiarity.

Those who reside in close physical proximity and interact frequently tend to be attracted to each other. This trumps characteristics such as physical appearance, academic interests, and social awareness.

For real estate recruiting, the familiarity principle has several obvious applications.

Be physically visible in your community. Most real estate companies have a physical presence in a community (offices, yard signage, wearing nametags, etc.). Maximize this exposure. The more familiar a person is with your office and brand, the more attraction they’ll feel to your organization.

Frequently connect face-to-face with candidates. Since online activity is so common, you may be tempted to reduce face-to-face connections. This is a mistake. Your candidates will be attracted to those to which they share physical proximity. Be proactive to make sure these connections happen.

Use a personal picture in your correspondence. You can’t meet with candidates face-to-face all the time, but you can “show your face” in various types of correspondence. Make sure you’re using a recent and realistic picture (no glamour shots) of yourself. You want candidates to recognize you when they see you in person!

Attractiveness is something built over time through a series of small purposeful actions. If it’s done right, your candidates won’t fully know what’s happening. They just know, for some reason, they really like you.

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