Best is a strong word. After working with 2,900+ brokerages and tracking 12,809 booked appointments, the method that consistently outperforms every alternative is paid attraction funnels. Here's why.
What "best" measures
Best = highest cost-per-recruit efficiency, highest producing-agent quality, highest scalability without proportional time cost. By all three measures, attraction funnels win against cold outreach, recruiters, agencies, and Indeed.
The numbers that prove it
Funnel CPA: $300–$1,500 per producing recruit. Recruiter equivalent: $20K–$60K. Indeed: heavy filtering required, mostly new licensees. Agency: $4K/month for tire-kickers. Funnels win at every metric that matters.
Why it stays best
The pixel compounds over time. Each ad cycle gets cheaper per producing recruit. Recruiters don't get cheaper; they get more expensive as tenure goes up. The funnel improves. Every alternative degrades.
Key Takeaways
- Best = cost, quality, scalability — funnels win all three.
- Funnel CPA $300–$1,500 vs. recruiter $20K–$60K per recruit.
- Indeed mostly returns new licensees, not producing agents.
- Pixel compounds; recruiters don't.
- Funnels keep improving while alternatives degrade.