All recruiters make and take phone calls. Most of the time, these phone calls are considered "conversations". If you speaking to a prospect for the sake of recruiting that person to your company, it is considered a "recruiting conversation." Are we all on the same page? Good, moving along...

If you engage the prospect in a conversation about your company, this is still considered a "recruiting conversation." You can discuss all topics regarding that person's interest in your company, their situation with their current company, their personal reasons for making a move (or not). I think we can all agree on this as well. Go ahead, ask questions, engage the prospect in conversation about their career in real estate, where they want it to go, how much effort they are willing to put forth for their own success. This is after all a conversation, meaning there is a "give" and "take" involved.

Recruiting conversations are NOT the time to gossip about their neighbors, friends or relatives. I understand that recruiting requires building a relationship with a prospect, I am not saying you should not engage the prospect on a personal level. I think it is wonderful that a prospect would be open to carrying the conversation further, but as a recruiter, you need to keep control of the conversations you have with your prospects.

Do not allow them to engage you in gossip, as that will bring you closer to recruiting an agent, but will instead drive you further from your goal of recruiting them. I am also saying that gossip is unprofessional, especially if it is regarding one of your current agents, to a prospect... As for me, if a prospect goes a "little" off the topic of the purpose of my call, I may wander a little, but I won't stoop to gossip level. Gossip can hurt your reputation, and make you lose credibility in the same circles you are trying to recruit in.

If you want to be a successful recruiter in the real estate industry, treat all of the agents in your market area with respect, and maintain your professional reputation during all conversations. You never know if the person you are trying to recruit, may know (and actually like) the person you are spilling the beans to :)