Recruited?

BIC: "Hi, this is ____ from  ___ agency, calling to talk to you about our firm."

Agent: "Oh."

BIC: "Hoping that we can connect for coffee and talk about your career a bit."

Agent:"I am happy where I'm at.  And very busy today with yada yada yada."

...

You had this conversation?  If so, take it as an honor.  Something about you and your work performance in real estate was good enough to get you noticed.

I have been on the receiving end of some of these calls.  I have to admit, I was often rude, short, and dismissive.  Basically, I communicated, "I am busy! Now leave me alone." I missed some important opportunities with that response.

I have also made the call, plenty of times.  I screwed it up on that side of the phone, too.  Failed to lay the proper ground work, made the wrong pitch, often called at the wrong time.

So what's a productive agent to do when they receive the recruiting call from another agency?  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Karma: treat a fellow professional poorly in our industry and it will usually come back to bite you. Hard.  That BIC on the phone may be in the middle of resolving your co-brokered, disputed transaction in six months or sitting beside you on an association committee or serving in your favorite charity group. Oops.  It never hurts to be courteous. 
• BICs have feelings, too ... and memories. Remember how drained you felt after making five consecutive FSBO calls, all of whom were not thrilled to hear your voice?   BICs have to prospect just like you.  A big measure of their performance is recruiting the best talent in the market.  Even if you are not going to leave your current firm, be glad someone respects your performance.  What better time to build a bridge for a future need than on the current call you just received from a competing manager? 
• Things Change:  the firm you may never, ever, not-under-any-circumstances leave might be totally different when you show up tomorrow at 9.  Managers retire, close colleagues move to new opportunities, office assignments shuffle and commission plans change.  Even if you don't make a move, your company might be entirely different next year.  In this market, it probably will be.
• Create Options:  wise people make back-up plans.  If your current company quickly went sour, where would you go?  It is far better to take your time with that decision than to be forced to address the unknown with limited time.  The very brightest agents know exactly where they would go before they need to make the change.  In fact, they usually have already built a relationship with another manager as preparation for that rainy day.  

So don't be annoyed when that BIC rings your number.  Perhaps a better response would be, "I'm glad you made the call."