From 4 to 250 Agents: How This Zillow Flex Partner Scaled Using Humaniz
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“We went from 4 agents to 250 in four years — and Humaniz is a huge part of how we’re doing it now.” – Winston Murray, Principal Broker
The Challenge: Recruiting at Scale Without Burning Out the Team
Winston Murray runs a fast-growing independent brokerage, The Works, across six markets in the Pacific Northwest. As a Zillow Flex partner, his team gets high volumes of inbound buyer leads — but those leads are only as valuable as the agents who can work them.
“As the market shifted, we knew growth was the only path forward. We needed to recruit — consistently, intelligently, and at scale.”
Before Humaniz, recruiting meant a patchwork of agent referrals, outbound cold calls, and a lot of manual follow-up. Winston’s team simply didn’t have 40 hours a week to spend sourcing, qualifying, and booking interviews with licensed agents. The result? Missed opportunities, slow growth, and a stressed ops team.
The Solution: Humaniz Recruiting Automation
In 2023, Winston partnered with Humaniz to scale agent recruiting across his markets. Using Humaniz’s real estate-specific automation platform, his team now:
Runs targeted campaigns by zip code coverage (aligned with Zillow Flex heat maps)
Instantly qualifies and books interviews with high-intent agents
“Humaniz filters out the noise. The people we meet are serious. And we don’t waste time chasing the wrong agents.”
The Results: Smarter Growth, Higher Conversions
Agent count jump: From 4–5 agents/month → Now 16–20/month, aiming for 25–30
Appointment-to-hire conversion:50% of agents who book meetings join
Talent quality: 70% of recruits have 4+ years of experience
Cost efficiency:“Cheaper than our internal referral bonus — and more consistent.”
“We were doing 4–5 a month before. Now we’re bringing on nearly 20 — and that’s just Humaniz leads.”
Operational Readiness = Sustainable Scale
Growth is only good if you’re ready to support it. Winston’s team doubled down on systems and agent enablement to ensure retention stayed high:
90-day ramp for new agents (even zero-close agents)
Virtual brokerage model with 8–10 hrs/week of live coaching
Full-service support: TC, listing media, social marketing, and principal broker coaching
“We’re not just adding people to add people. We’re adding because we have real business for them. Money’s calling — and we need agents to pick up the phone.”
Advice for Brokerage Owners
If you’re relying on third-party lead sources (like Zillow, Realtor.com, HomeLight, etc.), Winston’s advice is clear:
“You can’t grow lead volume without growing your agent count. And your agents can’t keep up without systems that support them.”
“I’d recommend Humaniz to anyone who dares to grow — and needs more of the right agents to do it.”
Final Word
Humaniz helped Winston’s team unlock a whole new level of recruiting — without adding headcount or burning out staff. With high-volume lead sources, strong onboarding, and a clear agent value proposition, they’re not just growing — they’re leading.
Ready to grow like Winston?
Book a demo with Humaniz and see how automated recruiting can scale your team — without the chaos.
