Why developing your skill-set and offering value is paramount in a tough market.
I love a tough market in the Real Estate game. This might sound harsh and insensitive but let me tell you why I feel this way. A tough market sweeps through the industry like a giant broom sweeping away the deadwood agents who give the good agents a bad name.
The reason for this is simple, in a good market there is a shortage of stock and an abundance of home buyers. That scarcity certainly means that agents will compete more strongly for listings in a good market, however, when the going’s good most listings sell within a single listing period.
In a good market, home buyers are frightened of missing out so they follow up the agents and diligently comb the paper and internet in an effort to “find” the right property. When they find the right property they pounce. This is basic psychology “fear of loss and desire of gain”. They fear the thought of “loosing” the right property and, they feel if they miss out they will not “gain” a good foothold in a rising market.
In a good market, agents don’t have to be GREAT at follow up, they don’t have to be EXPERTS at effective pricing and marketing strategies, as the nature of the market takes care of these elements for them. Don’t get me wrong here, it certainly helps to have these skill sets, no matter what the market is. It’s just more that in a good market these skills are an added advantage, in tough market they’re essential for an agent’s survival.
In a tough market homes often take 90 to 120 days to sell – often times being sold by a secondary agent not the original listing agent. Why does this happen? Why do home sellers often fire their original agent only to hire another and sell for a price the original agent may have quoted them? Simple, in today’s tough market, agents need to see themselves as educators, they need to provide service and value, they need to become GREAT at follow up, they need to master the art of persuasion and they have to become experts in conveying the benefits of setting a realistic and achievable market price.
The problem is a lot of agents who have only worked in a good market don’t change their game plan when the going gets tough. The skill sets I refer to above aren’t taught at all (or if they are, not in any great detail) in the various Real Estate licensing courses these same agents attended when studying to become a salesperson.
If you are an agent in today’s tough market – ask yourself this question? Am I prepared to put in the effort to study and train until I am a MASTER of real estate sales? Become a Master in your chosen field and then combine that mastery with MASSIVE ACTION and you will create a recession proof income – especially in a tough market! As the world renowned author, speaker and success mentor Brian Tracy says:
”If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
So you’ve decided to become recession proof. What’s the next step? The next step is your commitment to you – a commitment to become a lifelong student of success and a commitment to mastering the skills necessary to succeed in Real Estate.
I would recommend you start with reading some books by the Masters in your chosen field. In fact, to quote Brian Tracy again:
”Learn from the experts you’ll never live long enough to learn it all by yourself.”
The library is full of books and there is a wealth of information available on the internet. Look for books by authors such as: Napoleon Hill, Zig Ziglar, Frank Rambuskas, Ivan Misner, Brian Tracy, Tom Ferry, Debbie Allen, Tony Allesandra, and Kevin Carroll (notice I didn’t name the books just the authors – that’s because these authors have written multiple books and I want to inspire you to begin along the road of lifelong learning). In other words I want you to be inspired enough to do a little homework.
Many of the world’s top trainers and motivators offer free gifts and products simply for joining their e-newsletters. A good example of this would be both the Tom and the Mike Ferry organisations, both of which have loads of free downloads available for real estate professionals. You can visit their sites here: www.yourcoach.com or here: www.mikeferry.com.
I sincerely hope that if you’re a real estate agent and you’re reading this article, you’ll make a commitment today to become all you can be by beginning (or continuing) upon a quest to become a Master of Real Estate. In so doing, you will gain immense personal satisfaction and fulfilment. What’s more you will offer genuine value that comes from a space of authenticity and integrity to your clients.
Kylie Baumann