Is being a realtor a career, a business or a job for you?
What does success mean to you?
What skills do you see as important to your success? Strong personality, social skills, ability to communicate and negotiate are skills that good realtors possess. I think we can all agree that these are absolutely great traits that make us good at the people portion of what we do. This is only a part of what makes us successful. All of these questions about being a successful business start with you. We are professionals seeking to be taken more seriously and it comes down to what we bring to the table. Are we simply people selling real estate or are we a real estate business striving to hit our targets and show our unique values. Your skill set is what will draw your clients as well as referrals.
Today’s consumers are savvy enough that they know our product before they meet us.
With real estate changing every day, how are you going to set yourself apart from the competition? Flyer’s, mail outs, cold calling and door knocking are steps agents have taken to draw new business, at least that is until the web came into play. Today we have very little printed that is worth anything to a consumer as we can have the answers to what they need instantly on the internet. Before a buyer ever hits your open house or call you about your listing, they already know the specs and simply want the physical touch to the product. Give the consumer a reason to look for you. Find your specialty and if you don’t know what that is, you’d better find it. Today’s consumers are savvy enough that they know our product before they meet us. What are we offering that they don’t know? Our knowledge and skills.
Have we ever stopped to think what we are worth? What value do we bring to our client that would make them use us and refer their friends and families? These are questions that we need to answer if we want to pursue a successful real estate business. Professions such as accountants and lawyers get compensated very well for what they do. Take it one step further, why are some lawyers and accountants successful while others struggle? It is all about what they bring to the table and the reputation and branding they have created for themself and their business. If we want to be recognized on par with these professions, we need to established our self and create worth for our services.
The perception is that our industry makes too much money for what we do. We should be compensated accordingly as we handle a significant financial responsibility for our clients. In most circumstances, this financial responsibility is far greater than what a lawyer or accountant would handle. If we want to get compensated like other professional we need to think and act like professionals.