Cold emailing remains to be one of the most effective ways of getting the attention of real estate agents who are keen on joining a new company. This is the reason why many HR personnel in brokerages are preoccupied with sending out templated emails to passive applicants. However, the response rate to this kind of outreach can be pretty low, only ranging from 5 to 20 percent.
If your numbers are on the tail end of this statistic, don't worry. Just like every other product or process, your real estate recruiting email templates can be tweaked and improved to showcase better results. You can start by checking if your emailing process or the email template itself features the following mistakes:
Spelling errors. Before sharing the email template to other HR personnel, check it first for spelling and grammar errors. Misspelled or misused words, convoluted sentence construction, and other types of writing errors indicate that the email was written in a rushed manner or did not undergo proper checking. These rookie errors won't help your company make a good impression on your prospective applicants. At the same time, double-check the receiver's details before sending out the email. It'll be difficult to get the recipient to read the email if it's addressed to the wrong person.
Boring subject line. The subject line in your recruitment email must be able to catch the attention of the reader. Ideally, the subject should give a good idea of what the email is about and let the recipient know that the email truly is for them. Some experts even recommend putting the receiver's name on the subject, as this can improve open rates by up to 20 percent. Remember to avoid click-bait subjects, though, and keep the subject within the 36-character limit.
Long, Winding Message
Hardly anyone has the time to read through long emails, especially if the sender is someone they don't know well enough. A recruitment email might be the first form of outreach that a passive applicant will get from your company. Understandably, the applicant will want an email that's short and straight to the point, one that won't take up much of their time.
Lack of Common Ground
Your email has a better chance of being read if the recipient knows you well enough. If you have a work-related social media account, you can try searching for the passive applicant, liking one of their posts, or even adding them to your list of contacts. By doing these, you're making yourself more familiar to the receiver and giving your email a better chance of being opened.
Too Much Personal Information
At the same time, it's not a good idea to get too familiar with a prospective real estate agent. You can be easily misinterpreted if you mention a lot of personal details about the recipient in your email. Establish a common ground but keep to details that can be brought up in a professional setting.
Too Much Focus On the Company
It's imperative that you introduce your company and the position you have an to the passive applicant. However, it's a good idea to remember that the email is meant to draw a response from the receiver, and you can't do that by simply talking about the company you are representing. Make the email about the applicant by including details that the applicant will probably be interested in, such as what they can gain by joining your brokerage or what makes them a perfect fit for the job.
Vague Closing Statements
End the email with a clear call to action. What are you expecting the receiver to do? Should they email back, click a link where they can send their application, follow your company on social media, or call a number and schedule a meeting with your recruitment officers? A call to action prompts the receiver to take the next step and get in touch with your company to express their interest in the position you are hiring for.
Lack of Follow-Up Efforts
Your company's recruitment efforts shouldn't end after you hit send. After a few days, follow up on your passive applicants by sending them another email. This puts your email on the top of their list of unopened messages, or it can remind them that they haven't responded to you yet. Aside from sending another email, you can also call or message the recipient to check if they've read your message.
Not Keeping Track of Your Numbers
Last but not the least, you should keep track of the emails that you send. Check how many of them are being opened or responded to and take note of the elements common to these emails. You can use this information to revise your template recruitment email and refine its components to the ones that elicit positive responses from your prospective applicants.
Sending out high-quality recruitment emails-ones that are free of these 9 mistakes-is definitely more time-consuming compared to mass sending templated ones. Once the process starts to yield more positive results, though, you'll know that it's worth the effort.