Post to SinFongChanRE.Wixsite.com on 13/3/2018 8:28 AM
Commenting on Tips for Potential and Budding Real Estate Professionals”
My wife answered the door knock. There were a young man and a young lady at the door from a real estate agency, wanting to know more about the neighbourhood; or to be more precise, these are rookie real estate representatives wanting to map out the profile of the residents in the area, so that they can do “target marketing” in the future.
We are always cautious about strangers knocking on our door, and so my wife just talked with them at the entrance with the door half-close.
It brought back a lot of memories of the time when I was a agent's representative. I was probably fitter then, because I used to walk a lot, dropping brochures in letter boxes, knocking on doors trying to meet the house owners and hopefully score a listing or two.
After a few minutes of conversation, I offered them to come into the house. It was a rather warm day, and a glass of cold water or drink would help to relieve their thirst.
In order not to reveal too much of the identity of these young people, I shall call them X and Y respectively.
X and Y have totally different characters. X has a smiling face, spoke very little, but attentive. I consider X as underdressed for a real estate professional, and may not present or project the right image to potential clients.
Y is chatty, in fact a bit over chatty. This approach may be alright to deal with younger people, but not so for some senior house owners. Y was very enthusiastic, and got excited after knowing that I was a former Malaysian who had been in the real estate industry for a long time. Y started to drop names and mentioned previous unpleasant work experience.
I did give X and Y some valuable pointers about how to be an ethical real estate professional. For the benefits of my readers, I want to share some valuable information just in case you or someone you know are interested in joining the real estate industry.
1. Respect Client’s Privacy - Do Not Drop Names
The world is a small place. If an agent or agent’s representative understands the concept of 6-degree of separation, they should never drop names in any conversation unless it is relevant and important to do so.
How do I know that the same agent or representative will not go round talking about me, and my property?
2. Know The Clients - Win Their Confidence
Before meeting a potential client, it is important to find out through initial contact about the cultural background of the potential client. This is a multicultural country, and greeting potential clients in their culture can be a good ice-breaker. However, it must be overdone, because one must not be pretentious. Cultural differences can be a good starting point to talk about how people live in the community.
Discussions of the similarity and differences in lifestyle, qualifications, family makeup, etc. are topics that can put the clients at ease, and it is the first step to win their confidence. The technique in conducting such conversation is beyond the scope of a blog.
3. Know The Markets - Real Estate Markets
Is it enough to know just the local real estate market? The word local can be ambiguous, because it can mean a suburb, a state or even the whole country. It all boils down to the client’s knowledge level.
It is a good exercise to spend time going through the real estate news section each day or week to keep abreast of the industry. Clients especially property owners are keen to find out more from the professional what the real estate market is like outside their own properties. If there are documented evidence to substantiate the claim, the owners will be very impressed, and will consider the agent present more favourably than those ignorant ones.
4. Know More Than The Markets - Knowledge is Power
It is not a bad idea to be a Jack of All Trades, or more specifically, a Jack of All Knowledge. Industries closely related to the real estate industry are finance, interior decoration, landscaping, education, public transport, etc. A house is a property made of out of building material, but what is inside the building and the surrounding form a total package.
Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese are really good in packaging their products for sale. It does not matter whether it is a run down house or a mansion, as long as it is packaged well, the property would sell.
5. Marketing - Sell What the Buyers Want To Buy
Any salesperson who has not attended a marketing course, should learn from a book or cyber site what Marketing is about. Marketing is not selling what the salesperson wants to sell. It is selling what the buyer wants to buy.
A real estate salesperson should learn as much as possible what the clients want and need. That is why Point 1 above is so important - Know The Clients. If one has no idea what a buyer wants to buy, the deal is not closed with satisfaction on the buyer’s side, and that can scar future transaction with the agency and the salesperson involved.
6. Tell the truth
Not telling everything is not the same as NOT telling the truth. It is easy to break a good news, but it takes a lot of skill to break a bad one.
In a declining market, property owners may still think that their properties worth as much as the boom time. In an attempt to win over other agents to get a listing, an agent may appraise the property to be close to or above the seller’s expectation, not what the market is prepared to pay.
Although there are rules about underquoting, there is no rules about overquoting. If the agent can’t sell it in the given time frame, they will change the story and hopefully return the authority to market it for another period.
Trying to get a listing from a owner, Point 3 is used with modification. An agent requires to sell themselves to the owner their professional expertise, and most importantly, trust. Most owners can see through the facade of an agent, and in this dog-eats-dog world, honesty and trustworthiness win the race.
In order to work in the real estate industry, the requirement is to complete satisfactorily the agent’s representative course. REIV, many TAFEs and private colleges offer the course. This course does not make one a good or successful salesperson. In the current market, one not only requires to understand the legislative knowledge, but also sound life experience and grit.
Thank you for reading.
Commenting on Tips for Potential and Budding Real Estate Professionals”
My wife answered the door knock. There were a young man and a young lady at the door from a real estate agency, wanting to know more about the neighbourhood; or to be more precise, these are rookie real estate representatives wanting to map out the profile of the residents in the area, so that they can do “target marketing” in the future.
We are always cautious about strangers knocking on our door, and so my wife just talked with them at the entrance with the door half-close.
It brought back a lot of memories of the time when I was a agent's representative. I was probably fitter then, because I used to walk a lot, dropping brochures in letter boxes, knocking on doors trying to meet the house owners and hopefully score a listing or two.
After a few minutes of conversation, I offered them to come into the house. It was a rather warm day, and a glass of cold water or drink would help to relieve their thirst.
In order not to reveal too much of the identity of these young people, I shall call them X and Y respectively.
X and Y have totally different characters. X has a smiling face, spoke very little, but attentive. I consider X as underdressed for a real estate professional, and may not present or project the right image to potential clients.
Y is chatty, in fact a bit over chatty. This approach may be alright to deal with younger people, but not so for some senior house owners. Y was very enthusiastic, and got excited after knowing that I was a former Malaysian who had been in the real estate industry for a long time. Y started to drop names and mentioned previous unpleasant work experience.
I did give X and Y some valuable pointers about how to be an ethical real estate professional. For the benefits of my readers, I want to share some valuable information just in case you or someone you know are interested in joining the real estate industry.
1. Respect Client’s Privacy - Do Not Drop Names
The world is a small place. If an agent or agent’s representative understands the concept of 6-degree of separation, they should never drop names in any conversation unless it is relevant and important to do so.
How do I know that the same agent or representative will not go round talking about me, and my property?
2. Know The Clients - Win Their Confidence
Before meeting a potential client, it is important to find out through initial contact about the cultural background of the potential client. This is a multicultural country, and greeting potential clients in their culture can be a good ice-breaker. However, it must be overdone, because one must not be pretentious. Cultural differences can be a good starting point to talk about how people live in the community.
Discussions of the similarity and differences in lifestyle, qualifications, family makeup, etc. are topics that can put the clients at ease, and it is the first step to win their confidence. The technique in conducting such conversation is beyond the scope of a blog.
3. Know The Markets - Real Estate Markets
Is it enough to know just the local real estate market? The word local can be ambiguous, because it can mean a suburb, a state or even the whole country. It all boils down to the client’s knowledge level.
It is a good exercise to spend time going through the real estate news section each day or week to keep abreast of the industry. Clients especially property owners are keen to find out more from the professional what the real estate market is like outside their own properties. If there are documented evidence to substantiate the claim, the owners will be very impressed, and will consider the agent present more favourably than those ignorant ones.
4. Know More Than The Markets - Knowledge is Power
It is not a bad idea to be a Jack of All Trades, or more specifically, a Jack of All Knowledge. Industries closely related to the real estate industry are finance, interior decoration, landscaping, education, public transport, etc. A house is a property made of out of building material, but what is inside the building and the surrounding form a total package.
Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese are really good in packaging their products for sale. It does not matter whether it is a run down house or a mansion, as long as it is packaged well, the property would sell.
5. Marketing - Sell What the Buyers Want To Buy
Any salesperson who has not attended a marketing course, should learn from a book or cyber site what Marketing is about. Marketing is not selling what the salesperson wants to sell. It is selling what the buyer wants to buy.
A real estate salesperson should learn as much as possible what the clients want and need. That is why Point 1 above is so important - Know The Clients. If one has no idea what a buyer wants to buy, the deal is not closed with satisfaction on the buyer’s side, and that can scar future transaction with the agency and the salesperson involved.
6. Tell the truth
Not telling everything is not the same as NOT telling the truth. It is easy to break a good news, but it takes a lot of skill to break a bad one.
In a declining market, property owners may still think that their properties worth as much as the boom time. In an attempt to win over other agents to get a listing, an agent may appraise the property to be close to or above the seller’s expectation, not what the market is prepared to pay.
Although there are rules about underquoting, there is no rules about overquoting. If the agent can’t sell it in the given time frame, they will change the story and hopefully return the authority to market it for another period.
Trying to get a listing from a owner, Point 3 is used with modification. An agent requires to sell themselves to the owner their professional expertise, and most importantly, trust. Most owners can see through the facade of an agent, and in this dog-eats-dog world, honesty and trustworthiness win the race.
In order to work in the real estate industry, the requirement is to complete satisfactorily the agent’s representative course. REIV, many TAFEs and private colleges offer the course. This course does not make one a good or successful salesperson. In the current market, one not only requires to understand the legislative knowledge, but also sound life experience and grit.
Thank you for reading.
