Amid the great agent migration, stop pitching and start diagnosing

The great agent migration is underway, for example, a Recruiting Insights report on Q1 2025 migration comparison revealed a 66 percent jump in agent moves year-over-year. A lot of agents jumped into brokerages over the past couple of years.

Some did it because they saw opportunity. Some because they were burned out. And some, if we’re being honest, because the market made it look easier than it really is.

As the market has shifted, has our messaging, strategy and recruiting processes? In most cases, the answer is no. In a skills-based market, recruiting isn’t about who has the flashiest brand or the biggest promise. It’s about answering one question for an agent:

“Can you actually help me build a better business … and a better life?”

Here’s what I’ve learned after decades of recruiting and coaching: Most recruiting conversations fail because they start with a pitch. Or worse, a general statement of “Let me know if you are ever open to a change,” or “Are you happy where you are?”

My top recruiting tip is simple, and it works at every level: Learning how to use the CURE Determining Needs Framework, developed by Cleve Gaddis, changes the recruiting conversation to a problem-solving conversation that helps us and earns us the right to invite.

CURE changes how you recruit because it forces the conversation to be about them, not you.

Agents rarely leave for the reason they say out loud. They’ll talk about splits, leads or support, but underneath, there is usually something more personal:

• “I feel stuck.”
• “I don’t have systems.”
• “I’m working too hard.”
• “My business is bleeding into my personal life.”
• “I don’t know how to get to the next level.”

And the list goes on. CURE helps you uncover that reality.

C = current situation

Great recruiting starts with context. If you skip this step, everything else is guesswork.

You want to understand what an agent’s business really looks like — not just production numbers, but how it feels to be in their business.

Questions like:

• “Tell me how you’re doing in your business.”
• “Walk me through your last 90 days: lead sources, appointments, pendings, bottlenecks.”
• “Do you believe there may be another level for you in income or production? What might that look like?”
• “What systems are working well for you right now?” and “What systems do you feel could use some improvement?”
• “How is work showing up in your personal life right now?”  and “Are you able to truly disconnect and be present?”

And one I love: “If you could snap your fingers and design a business that fits your ideal lifestyle better, what would it look like?”

The answer to that tells you a lot.

U = understanding problems

Once you understand the situation, you have to uncover the friction. This is where many leaders rush – or avoid altogether. You shouldn’t. Because problems create clarity.

Ask:

• “Looking at everything you just shared, what feels hardest to sustain right now?”
• “Where do you feel you’re working the hardest but getting the least return?”
• “What’s the one part of your business that consistently slows everything else down?”
• “If nothing changed over the next year, what would that mean for your income and your life?”
• “What do you know you should have in place by now that still isn’t there?”
• “What would have to be different for this business to feel exciting again instead of exhausting?”

In my experience, if an agent can’t articulate their problems, then how can you be part of the actual solution? This is why asking questions for deeper understanding begins to reveal that there may be areas they can now see clearly that would improve their life, production, and client experience. 

R = ramifications

This is the uncomfortable step. It’s also the most powerful. Ramifications connect today’s frustration to tomorrow’s reality.

Ask:

• “If nothing changes in the next 90 days, what happens?”
• “How does staying at this level affect your family or situation, long-term?”
• “What is the one thing that could happen that would allow you to show up differently … home, work, friends?” 
• “If things don’t improve, how much longer do you see yourself staying on this path?

This isn’t about fear. It’s about honesty. Agents don’t change until staying the same becomes more painful than doing the work.

E = edification

Only now, after listening, do I talk about solutions.

Edification is where you help an agent see what’s possible, based on who they already are.

It sounds like:

• “You’ve already built X.”
• “If we add the right systems and coaching, you can close Z.”
• “I believe you can do this.”

Sometimes you can share your own story:

“I remember doing 30 transactions on my own and thinking I couldn’t find time to hire and train an assistant. The truth was, I couldn’t afford not to. That decision is what doubled my business and gave me my life back.”

Then ask:

• “If those frustrations were removed, how would that feel?”
• “If you doubled your income, what would that change for you and your family?”

At this point, you’re no longer pitching a brokerage; you’re offering a path forward.

Here’s the reality: New broker-owners feel pressure to sound impressive. Big promises. Big presentations. Big talk. We get it. But the best recruiters I know aren’t great talkers; they’re great listeners.

This simple CURE Determining Needs Framework shifts recruiting from convincing to clarifying. It helps you recruit agents who fit, stay, and grow. And if they choose not to make a move today, they feel heard, understood, and valued and that is where meaningful relationships are built.

That’s the difference between building a brokerage that barely survives and one that actually grows.

So if you want one recruiting tip that works in any market, it’s this: Stop pitching. Start diagnosing. Use CURE, and earn the right to invite.