To make it in this business, you must differentiate yourself from the long line-up of competitive agents out there. Due to an increasing number of real estate professionals, this is not a simple task. However, by adding a few new skills and enhancing your current competencies, you can be sure that you’re headed in the right direction. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Become a negotiations expert. Negotiation is one of the most important facets of real estate. As a realtor, negotiation skill is one of the first things that you should possess and develop. One way of leveraging negotiation skill is by mastering a list price strategy. A scientific experimental research, done by business experts Eric Cardella and Michael Seiler, has proven that list price strategy has a strong effect on negotiations, specifically in reaching an optimum final price. According to the study, a listing price that is actually higher than the rounded actual price tends to result in the highest final price and vice-versa. This means that to actually reach the optimum price for your client, you should be able to play around the listing price, whether it is above or below the actual rounded price. And, as the study suggested, you can do that through sound negotiations.
- Practice smarter marketing. Aside from negotiation, another aspect of the real estate business that will need your focus, is marketing, specially self-marketing. Marketing a property is an entirely different undertaking than marketing yourself. In self-marketing, the product is none other than you, the agent. You should promote yourself as a credible, competitive, and better agent by having knowledge and confidence about your business and the industry.
- Become a networker. Moreover, you should learn to look for a specific audience group to which you will start marketing yourself. This increases the chance that you’ll achieve that “well-known” community status. The ultimate key in succeeding as a networker is finding the right particular group of people to build relationships with. Start with the demographic in which you most likely belong or with whom you already have inherent connections. If, for example, you have children, make yourself the nexus of connections for parents. This does not only enhance your reputation, but also allows you to uncover new prospects and for them to discover you!
- Build your expertise. Choose the house type that best interests you to build a wealth of knowledge expertise on. Whether its condominiums, townhouses, vacation houses, or even bungalows, the important thing is that you become an expert on a particular house type. But, that’s not to say that you will have to forgo the opportunity to learn about other areas, because flexibility is still an important quality to possess.
- Become a leading realtor in the online real estate industry. Is there really an online real estate industry? Yes, there definitely is. The boom of ecommerce has led to the creation of a real estate industry that exists today. Not all agents are successful at operating an online presence; hence, you can position yourself as a leading agent in this sphere.
In the end, a better understanding of how success transpires in this business is what will make you standout. Learning things before others do and adapting to change will bring you to the front and center. We encourage you to take on new challenges as real estate trends evolve over time.