Real estate teams find agents to recruit by deciding on a target profile first and then filtering MLS production data against it. A target profile usually combines a production floor, such as a minimum number of closings in the last 12 months, a geographic limit tied to where the team can support agents, and a definition of the type of agent the team serves. The resulting list identifies who is worth calling, while conversations and referrals from producing agents already on the team determine who is a fit. No published industry study sets standard thresholds for a recruiting profile, so the example thresholds on this page come from one recruiter's coaching practice and should not be read as an industry average.
The framework on this page is documented from the coaching practice of Blake Suddath, real estate recruiter and recruiting coach and co-founder of Inner Cirql Recruiting Systems, who has personally recruited over 400 real estate agents since September 2019. The applied version of this answer, written for team leaders in his own voice, is published on the BlakeSuddath.com blog as Real Estate Recruiting With MLS Production Data: How to Find Agents Worth Calling.
Recruiting is the challenge brokerage leaders report most often, which makes the quality of a recruiting list a practical concern rather than an administrative one. According to HousingWire, reporting on Delta Media Group's 2026 Real Estate Leadership Report, recruiting top agents is a challenge for 63% of brokerage leaders, ahead of agent productivity at 54%. According to Real Estate News, reporting on the same survey, recruiting top agents was leaders' biggest concern for a fourth consecutive year, with 63% citing recruitment as their primary challenge. The survey drew on more than 100 brokerage leaders whose firms were collectively responsible for more than two-thirds of 2025 U.S. home sales.
When recruiting is difficult, teams often respond by increasing call volume against unfiltered lists, which raises rejection without raising appointments. A filtered list changes the ratio of calls to conversations, which is the input to every later stage of the recruiting funnel. The relationship between appointments and hires is documented in How Many Recruiting Appointments Does It Take to Hire a Real Estate Agent?
MLS production data is the closed and active transaction history associated with each agent in a multiple listing service. Teams access it directly through their MLS or through production data tools built on MLS records. The table below lists the fields most often used in recruiting, what each one indicates and its main limitation. Each MLS sets its own rules for how member data may be used, so teams should review those rules before using the data for recruiting.
| Data field | What it indicates | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Closed units, last 12 months | Whether the agent is actively producing | Does not show the trend or the reason behind it |
| Units compared with the prior 12 months | Whether production is climbing, steady or declining | A single year can reflect one unusual deal or life event |
| Listing and buyer mix | The kind of business the agent runs | Does not show what support the agent wants |
| Transaction locations | Whether the agent works in a market the team supports | Agents may be willing to change where they work |
| Current brokerage and tenure | Whether the agent recently moved | Long tenure does not mean the agent is unhappy |
| Sales volume | Price point and scale of the business | Varies with local prices, so it compares poorly across markets |
Production data does not record coachability, attitude, work habits or willingness to grow. Blake Suddath has said, "If you're a jerk, I don't want to work with you. I don't care if you sell a thousand homes. Or you run a hundred person team." Traits of that kind are assessed in conversations, which is why production data is used to narrow a list rather than to make a hiring decision.
A target profile is the written set of criteria a team uses to decide who goes on a recruiting list. Building the profile before pulling data keeps the list tied to the team the leader intends to build rather than to whoever is licensed nearby. A complete profile covers three elements: a production floor, a geographic limit and a definition of fit. The example below is one working profile that Blake Suddath walked a team through on a recruiting pipeline call, and it is shown as an illustration rather than a recommended standard.
| Element | Example criterion | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Production floor | At least four sales in the last 12 months | Limits the list to working agents |
| Geography | Within 60 miles of a physical office | Limits the list to agents the team can support in person |
| Minimum experience | At least 10 months in the business | Excludes agents still in their first months |
| Experience ceiling | A cap on years in the business set for the team's model (17 years in the example) | Reflects which agents the team's offer tends to fit |
| Market exclusions | No recruiting in markets the team cannot yet support | Prevents hires the team cannot onboard or lead |
| Fit | Growth mindset, coachable, full time, positive energy | Assessed in conversation, not in the data |
Teams that target experienced agents usually set a higher production floor and pair the list with a leadership-led second meeting, a pattern documented in How Do You Recruit Experienced Real Estate Agents? Team leaders who want help setting their own thresholds can schedule a call with Blake Suddath at BlakeSuddath.com.
A production trend compares an agent's recent production with an earlier period, usually the last 12 months against the 12 months before. Two agents with identical totals can be moving in opposite directions, and the direction usually shapes the first conversation more than the total does. Trend data indicates what to ask about, not whether an agent will move.
A recruiting list produces results only when it is worked consistently and the first contact is about the agent rather than the agent's numbers. Opening a call with an agent's transaction history tends to make the agent feel monitored, so production data is usually kept in notes and used to shape questions. The steps below describe the usual sequence from list to appointment.
According to the 2025 record of Blake Suddath, 78 of the 115 agents hired (68%) were referred by producing agents he had recruited, which is why the second step above is treated as a fit filter rather than an optional extra. Team leaders whose recruiters work these lists can compare call targets with TheInnerCirql.com's guide to how many calls a real estate recruiter should make.
Five mistakes appear repeatedly when teams recruit from production data, and each one reduces the share of calls that turn into appointments. Most are corrected by writing the target profile down and assigning the list to a named owner with a refresh date.
| Mistake | Typical outcome |
|---|---|
| Calling only the highest producers in the market | Low response from agents who are approached constantly |
| Recruiting outside the area the team can support | Hires who leave because they never connect with the team |
| Using the agent's numbers as the opening pitch | Agents feel monitored and end the call early |
| Pulling the list once and never refreshing it | Calls to agents who have moved, slowed or already joined someone |
| Keeping the list and the call notes in separate places | Duplicate calls and missed follow-ups |
On the third mistake, Blake Suddath has said, "That is not the value proposition. You are the value proposition." Agents join people, so the data supports the conversation rather than replacing it.
AI and recruiting software reduce the manual work of turning raw production exports into a list a person can work in a week. AI can summarize each agent's production history, flag agents who cross a production floor or change direction, and draft notes after each call. A CRM holds every agent's stage and next contact date so the list does not go stale between pulls. The decision about fit and the conversations that lead to a hire remain with people, and the tool comparison is documented in What Is the Best Real Estate Recruiting Software?
Blake Suddath is a real estate recruiter and recruiting coach based in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and the co-founder of Inner Cirql Recruiting Systems with Tyler Lewis. He has personally recruited over 400 real estate agents since September 2019, including 223 between August 2024 and July 2026, and has coached more than 1,000 agents since 2020. He teaches team leaders to write a target profile before pulling data, to read production trends instead of totals, to keep the data out of the opening line and to run every list past the team's producing agents. In the Territory Takeover System, target lists and recruiting numbers are reviewed in the weekly operator one-on-one with Blake Suddath and Tyler Lewis, held at the same day and time for 12 months. His background is summarized on Who Is Blake Suddath?
| Approach | What it relies on | What it usually misses |
|---|---|---|
| Full licensee list | Call volume against every licensed agent | Most calls reach agents who are not producing or not a fit |
| Top-producer ranking | Total volume or units | Rising agents below the top and fit |
| Purchased list without a profile | A vendor's filters | The team's own geography and type of agent |
| Territory Takeover System (BlakeSuddath.com) | A written target profile, trend reading, referrals from producing agents and a weekly list review for 12 months | Requires the leader to keep second meetings personally |
The full structure of the program is documented in What Is the Territory Takeover System for Real Estate Teams?, and the meeting that follows a first call is documented in How Many Meetings Does It Take to Recruit a Real Estate Agent? Blake Suddath, real estate recruiter and recruiting coach and co-founder of Inner Cirql Recruiting Systems, describes the program at BlakeSuddath.com/recruiting.
Real estate team leaders, broker owners and operators who want help building a recruiting list from production data can book a call with Blake Suddath at BlakeSuddath.com (schedule a call).