Home Agent Recruiting & Retention Best Practices: Smart Campaigns and Mass Email

Agent Recruiting & Retention Best Practices: Smart Campaigns and Mass Email

By Brokerkit Product
• 3 articles

Bulk Email Best Practices

Bulk Email is one of the most used tools in Brokerkit, and for good reason - there’s no faster way to reach hundreds, if not thousands, of agents with a few clicks. Unfortunately, all too often, the approach used is ineffective. Long, over-produced emails with no thought given to the subject or audience don’t do much to help you. Instead, try employing a few of these best practices to increase your open and response rate. Narrow Your Audience More than anything, keep your audience narrowed and your messages targeted. Few things affect your open rate more than if your message resonates with its intended audience, and “real estate agent” is not common enough ground to ensure your email gets attention. Spamming your local agent population with irrelevant content is a surefire way to generate unsubscribes and get your email blocked. If enough people block you, Gmail and other services will start automatically redirecting your emails to spam. Use your advanced search options to limit your range by production, company, status, or whatever helps you target a specific group. Subject Lines Matter I’ve met two types of people in sales - those who start their day by deleting every email they don’t need to care about and those who let them all pile up and just cherry-pick the ones they need. The common denominator is the subject line - it’s the only thing they read to determine what’s worth their attention and the most important factor in getting your message read. Take a moment and look at your inbox. Consider the messages that attract your attention and those you delete outright. A direct appeal, call to action, or enticement works great, but don’t slip into gimmicks. Good examples include: - “Just wanted to say thanks…” targeting all cooperating agents from the last three months. - “How much did you pay your broker this year?” targeting high split offices. - “Are you getting the support you need?” targeting 100% brokerages. - “Reserve your spot for the Mega Agent Roundtable” targeting mid-tier agents. - “Networking Happy Hour - FREE DRINKS! The Crows Nest, 3/15 @ 6” Short and Simple Newspaper journalists are trained to pack all the most vital information into the first sentence, the supporting information in the second, and the details in the third. They do this because they know most people will only read the headline and, at best, the first paragraph. Once we have someone’s attention, you’ve got maybe a paragraph to capitalize on it. Let them know who you are, why you’re contacting them, and what you want right away. Or better yet, say it with an image - drop in a flier to the event or program you’re promoting, with simple text like “Hey FirstName - we’re having a listing mastery seminar on the 5th. Think you can make it?” Understand Your Medium Recruiting and real estate emails have an industry-wide 20% open rate. We can improve that with good targeting and well-written subject lines, but only so much. This means bulk email is not a great way to set appointments or start conversations. That’s not to say you shouldn’t ask - just understand that it’s better for generating awareness and interest, sending event invitations, or providing value to future recruits. Take Advantage of Variables While not always needed on fliers, listing announcements, and general mass marketing, using the variable to dynamically insert someone’s name or company is a powerful tool to make your email look personalized. Just keep your content in mind - you’ll never make a market-wide open house announcement look personal simply by adding a name. Provide Value Think about your friends and family for a moment. I’m willing to bet there’s someone who rarely calls, and when they do, you know it’s important enough to answer. I’m also willing to bet there’s someone who calls constantly, and you know you can dodge it without consequence. Nothing burns through goodwill like constantly hammering a prospect with “just checking in” and “touching base.” If you’re going to send agents something, send something worth their time. Event invitations, training materials, and market updates. Even if you’re just sending a link to an interesting article - it doesn’t need to be a particularly good excuse to reach out as long as it’s something with more merit than “just wanted to reach out.” It’s Not All About Recruiting Most agents are happy enough where they’re at - for now. As a recruiter, your job is to keep their opinion of your brokerage high until that changes and be the one in contact when they’re ready for a change. If your only message is “join us,” that’s going to wear thin with content agents fast. Instead, increase your standing and brand awareness by mixing in announcements about charitable initiatives, community events, training and networking opportunities, or fliers celebrating agent accomplishments. You don’t need to work nearly as hard to prove how great your brokerage is if they’ve seen proof of it for months. Schedule your emails A very good way to gain control over communication is to schedule emails, so you can be sure your emails still sending when taking time off. You can select date, time and time zone that is most convenient to you; if you change your mind, you can cancel the scheduled email and it won't be sent. Use scheduled emails as it is convenient for you, it will always help you to control your communication.

Last updated on Dec 14, 2025

Smart Campaign Best Practices

Smart Campaigns are one of the most powerful tools in Brokerkit, but we often find clients don’t know how to best utilize them. If you feel lost on what to say or who to target, here’s some good news - you’re probably overthinking it. Effective Smart Campaigns aren't complex and highly produced - they're simple, targeted, and personal. 📝 Note: This guide does not cover the technical aspects of setting up a Smart Campaign. Click here to learn how to set up and apply your first Smart Campaign. Specific Always Beats General While setting up one campaign and assigning all your leads in mass might be appealing, it's simply not effective. You’ll rarely find a message that resonates with every agent in your market - every agent has different needs and motivations, and an effective recruiter has dozens of focused campaigns built and ready to target those needs. If you’re targeting new agents, focus on a fear they share: "How long will it take for me to get paid?” If you’re promoting your office’s culture, advertise upcoming charitable work and invite people to events. If you’re going after mid-tier agents, promote agent services and coaching that’ll help them reach the next level. Hitting a couple of hundred agents with a meaningful message will always net you more than hitting thousands with a generic message. Keep it Simple I mentioned “dozens” in the last tip, but don’t panic - you’re not going to be building long, complex campaigns. On average, an effective campaign has 8 to 10 touches. Don’t overthink it - keep your messages short to ensure they’re read. While there are plenty of times when graphics are helpful, don’t overproduce them - it’s more important that the message appears to have been written specifically for them. While you can certainly build a multi-month or multi-year campaign, it’s rare that you’ll see a return on all the work it takes to create them. The longer your campaign, the more general you have to be, and the more you’ll have to plan around how people might have responded to earlier touches. Personalize It Using someone’s name is Sales 101, but it’s especially important with your Smart Campaigns. If you’re keeping your message simple and specific, using someone’s name is the cherry on top to make your message look like it was directed at them and them alone. Variables are your best friend - they’ll dynamically insert the name of whichever lead the message is going to. Remember that you should never put notes in the name field. While “John (AKA Bubba, Mary’s buyer's agent)” seems useful now, it’ll be embarrassing when the variable inserts that message in a text. End on a Question If you want responses and engagement, you have to ask for them. “Are you free next week? Do you think you can attend? Have a few minutes for a call?” Don’t ask multiple questions - you’ll be lucky to get even one answered, and that just means you have more to keep the conversation going. Also, don’t try to do too much - your goal is to get an appointment, not to evaluate or sign someone via text. Keep Your Medium in Mind The industry average recruiting and real estate email open-rate is around 20%. The average open rate of texts is over 95%. If you don’t believe those stats, ask anyone in your office how many unread emails they have versus unread texts - there’s no comparison. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use emails as part of your Smart Campaign, just that you need to understand the differences between the two and how you use them. Texts are best used for appointment setting and starting a conversation. As we mentioned, keeping them short, personal, and ending on a question ensures a high response rate. Conversely, lengthy and impersonal texts will backfire - you’ll end up annoying your local agent population and getting your number blocked. Emails are better used for marketing and brand awareness. Since questions will often go unanswered, use them to celebrate aspects of your brokerage that fit the pitch of your campaign. If you’re marketing to new agents about how to get their first deal, the email should be a flyer celebrating a recruit for landing a contract in record time. If you’re targeting experience agents, the email can be a flyer celebrating an already high-producing agent who managed to boost their production by over 30% last year. Also, all emails should be either informational or conversational in style. Informational emails are HTML newsletter-style emails and are great for inviting someone to an event like a career night or training. Conversational-style emails are short text-based messages with 2-3 sentences where you end with a question. These work best at getting replies and starting a conversation, which is the primary purpose of an outbound recruiting campaign. The Fortune in the Follow-Up Your outbound recruiting campaigns are to start a conversation with an agent. Only expect a few folks to raise their hand and want to join your brokerage immediately. You will need to build a relationship with them over time so they know, like, and trust you, and you are the one to call when they are ready to make a move. If someone mentions they are happy where they are, don't give up! You have started the conversation, which is the first step in building a relationship. If now is not the right time for them, give yourself a task to follow up later to check back on them and keep doing so. 80% of recruiting is conversing with various agents and catching folks at the right time, where they have a compelling event that catalyzes change.

Last updated on Dec 14, 2025

Ideas and Templates for Recruiting

Everyone’s market, agent population, and competition are different. Just like no campaign resonates with every agent, there’s no campaign idea that works in every market, so use these as a jumping-off point. Add your own language and adjust them to fit your prospects. All of these campaigns are fairly short and are meant to be delivered within 10 to 14 days. You can stretch a campaign out to cover a longer span, but that isn’t always necessary. If someone isn’t responding to your approach, the answer isn’t to keep them on a multi-month campaign that hammers the same point. Rather, you should have several short campaigns built where you can change up your angle of attack as needed and see what connects. If you haven’t yet, click here to read up on how to build and apply your first Smart Campaign. And as you apply and edit these campaigns, keep all the best practices we’ve covered in mind to ensure a high response rate. Brokerkit has also added a Campaign Library where users can share campaigns within their organization and to all Brokerkit users. To access this, select your name at the top right from the Brokerkit home page, and click on Smart Campaigns. Select Campaign Library, and from there, you can select a library and copy relevant campaigns. Untitled.png Note: that according to our provider regulations, every message you send must clearly identify you as the sender as well as opt out language. This regulations apply to SMS and MMS messages for Brokerkit and Multiplexer phone number. Campaign Examples In-school/Considering School - Step 1 - Text - “Hey FirstName, I heard you were getting into real estate. Congrats! Do you need any study guides or help with test prep? - MyName with XYZ Realty” - Step 2 - Email - Flier celebrating a recent recruit for landing a deal shortly after joining. Use the contract date rather than the closing date to make it seem more impressive, and include the property and price point only if it’s noteworthy. - Step 3 - Email - Flier for your career night with a title like “Starting At Success: How to avoid the most common pitfalls when starting your career in real estate,” with an Eventbrite link leading to registration. - Step 4 - Text - “Hey FirstName, we’re hosting a career night on what to expect and plan for when you’re first getting into real estate next week. Think you can make it?” Most people don’t delete texts, so unless your marketing rules require it, there's no need to include your name and brokerage on second and third texts. Doing so looks odd and overly formal, and we want the prospect to see you as a friend and resource. This campaign assumes you have something of value to give a prospect who’s in or considering school. If it is possible, make it something they have to physically come in and pick up - not something you can email. This also assumes you have some sort of regular, weekly prospecting event - adjust according to your needs. Use Eventbrite or a similar service to schedule your career nights whenever possible. This way, your campaigns are always up to date, and prospects have the option of signing up for future sessions if they aren’t immediately available. Newly Licensed and First-Year Agents - Step 1 - Text- “Hey FirstName, congrats on getting your license! How have things been going so far? - YourName with XYZ Realty” - Step 2 - Email - Flier celebrating a recent recruit for landing a deal shortly after completing training. Use the contract date rather than the closing date to make it seem more impressive, and include the property/price point if it’s noteworthy. - Step 3 - Email - Flier for your career night with a title like “Hit the Ground Running: How to land your first deal in 30 days or less” with an Eventbrite link leading to registration. - Step 4 - Text - “Hey FirstName, are you free to grab coffee next week? I’d love to sit down and share what’s working for a lot of our agents.” Almost a carbon-copy of the last campaign, but instead of focusing on “how am I going to pass,” we’re targeting “when am I going to get paid?” You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel - small changes to existing marketing materials can provide you with an entirely different angle. Experienced Agent - Step 1 - Text- “Hey FirstName - YourName with XYZ Realty. I was going over production and it looks like you had a great 2018. Are you on pace to beat that this year?” - Step 2 - Email - Flier celebrating a top producer in your office who managed to increase their production/total listings/team size by X% over last year. Use whichever figures are most impressive. - Step 3 - Email - Flier for a seminar on “Reaching the Next Level: How to break out of your sales rut and achieve more” hosted by you or a top agent in your office, aimed at bringing over already producing agents. Run these types of meetings periodically and include an Eventbrite link. - Step 4 - Text - “Hey FirstName - can I ask a favor? We put a lot of effort into making sure our agents have what they need to win, and I’d love some outside perspective on any challenges you might be facing. Is there anything you feel is slowing your down that a brokerage could help more with?” - Step 5 - Email - Short flier advertising one of your top agents with a testimonial of why they like your office and how it’s helped them achieve more. Experienced agents know the score - they expect to be recruited and often won’t respond if they’re happy where they are. However, getting them to open up about what they want from their brokerage - coaching, transaction support, tools to build their own team, etc - lays out the problem you need to solve to win them over. Never be negative about where they are currently, and never assume you know their motivations. Most will want more money, but plenty will want to increase their average price point or grow a team so they don’t have to work as many deals and have a better work/life balance. Everyone’s "why" is different, and each one gives you a different opportunity to sign them. Charitable/Community Event Campaign - Step 1 - Text - “Hey FirstName - YourName with XYZ Realty. We’re collecting canned goods for the local food bank. Just wondering, do you have anything you’d be willing to donate?” - Step 2 - Email - Send a flier announcing the food drive. Use local charity logos and pictures of your team if you have them, and include your address and number to “schedule” donations. - Step 3 - Text - “Hey FirstName - just wanted to shoot you an update. We’re up to 150 lbs of canned food. It’s been great seeing all the agents come together over this to really help our community.” - **Step 4 - Bulk Email -**Tag everyone who donated and send them a Bulk Email. Use photos of your team with the total donation or at the drop-off, and thank them for their contribution. Follow up with a thank-you call and transition into business and recruiting. You’ll have to fudge the numbers in Text #2 since you’re writing it in advance, so pick something that’s impressive yet possible - 50 coats, 30 volunteers, 150lbs of canned food, or whatever seems reasonable, given your number of agents and the task at hand. New agents can bring their donations in and see the office. If you’re asking for food or clothing donations from a more experienced agent, offer to meet them somewhere and buy them coffee for their trouble. Either way is an easy transition into an informal appointment. This sort of campaign works around anything - food and coat drives, Habitat for Humanity builds and local park builds, litter cleanup and community rehab. Aside from the direct and obvious good you’re doing for people, charitable works are a great way to strengthen office culture, get positive exposure in your community, and pull more agents into the fold. Advertise What You Already Offer There are tons of campaigns you can build that capitalize on what you're already providing. A few ideas of who you can target: - Agents at franchises with high splits, letting them know what they’re leaving on the table. - Agents at 100% and fee-only brokerages, advertising the services and coaching you provide that they likely don’t. - Agents working in low-price point areas with seminars on how to expand their farm area and branch out into higher-priced property. - Mid-tier and high price point agents regarding your relocation program to expand their reach and give them an easier source of deals. - Agents who want great office culture, advertising your team outings for a bowling night or happy hour. - Agents who want to own or expand their rental inventory, advertising your property management division and its team-member discounts. As long as you understand the basics of how to construct a campaign and don’t try to over complicate it, there’s really no limit to how you can approach your prospects. 📨 If you need help brainstorming your next campaign or already have a great idea that’s working for you, we’d love to hear it! Send your ideas to support@getbrokerkit.com.

Last updated on Jan 17, 2026