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What initials do you need? Or where should you spend your money?

I always get a kick out of it. Certifications ABR< GRI < ABC < CRM < EPRO < XYZ? Are they really worth anything? I myself think education is great. We should take all the classes we can and learn from others. But sometimes I think some of these certifications are over priced. And I am definitely not going to pay a yearly fee to some organization that gives me some initials.

My office was giving old books, CD, and training manuals pertaining to the real estate business. Books that cost 10 - $100 each. They were once the hot selling system. At every seminar real estate agents spend hundreds of dollars buying up the latest and greatest real estate tools. I believe many of the certifications mean the same thing. Just another way for an organization to make a profit.

In Michigan we are required to do 6 hours of continuing education. We attend company meetings that are full of info. We read lots of great info here on the rain. I myself think you should take the $500 you are going to spend on the latest and great sales system or certification and invest it into good marketing. Whether it is pay for clicks or a new website I think your money will be better spent than getting a certification if you spend the time getting the same info for free.

If you are buyers agent that has been in the business for a few years. And are doing over 25 transactions a year I myself think you don't need a ABR certification if you read and keep up with what is going on in the industry.

I myself think Active Rain can be an important source of information, a source of knowledge. It's better than a certification in my opinion. If you have lots of extra money then spend it and buy some initials. I myself think the classes are great if you get something out of them. But nothing replaces the good ole school of hard knocks and on the job experience. I just don't think buyers and sellers really care about the initials.

Russ Ravary GSHN Graduate School of Hard Knocks

ARJ Active Rain Junkie

AWHFY Always Working Hard for You

BAWE Buyers Agent With Experience

HCC Honesty, Communication, Commitment

IWA Internet Web Agent

Feel free to use any of my initials free of charge. If you feel the need to pay for them send $20 to the American Cancer Society, The march of Dimes, The salvation Army. They can always use it.

May life treat you and your family well

__________________________________________________________

I hope your holidays are safe, healthy, and happy times with family and friends.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit realtor

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Posted by Russ Ravary - Michigan Homes for sale - Michigan Real estate & Mortgage info on 10/19/2009 08:15 PM

Comments (11)

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11 Comments on What initials do you need? Or where should you spend your money?

OCT

Wondered the same thing a year or so ago. Little letters..that you can tack on like medals, merit badges.

Andrew your post was dead on too. If I don't get a referral from somebody that thinks CRS people are it then great. Because I have dealt with agents that have lots of initials and are lousy agents. I wouldn't want them representing me! A designation doesn't mean that you are doing a good job. It means you paid for a class, sat thru, but it doesn't mean you have applied it or using the info to the beneift of your clients.

With you a 100 percent. Oh...did you earn the OONW credentials to increase your prestiage, add to your collection. Where does it come from? (Out Of No Where) Or have you logged enough hours, jumped the hurdles, dove thru the hoops to be a PGG (Pretty Good Guy) I'll send you the TSTH pin Russ to wear next to the Rotary pin you really earn locally as a volunteer, or the R, the hardest working letter in the entire alphabet. Those are the letters that count.

Russ,

I turned over another agents card and the entire back was full of initials. I almost saved it, but too late...he is out of business!

Hi Russ.

It depends on what you value. I value learning more and while letters do not correlate to executing knowledge it may help learning more which may be a goal instead of acquiring letters for the sake of trying to look more important :-)

BTW I plan to eventually earn a CCIM which does mean a lot in commercial real estate.

~ Lana

Hi Russ - You don't see any initials after my name, even though there are some I could use. Personally I take the classes that I thinkwill help me and my practice, not just classes to get initials. That said, I do applaud those who gain a designation specific to their niche, and I am impressed by the designations that some agents have.

But the most important thing to do if you will put initials after your name is to educate your prospects as to what they mean. If it means, for example, that you area a specialist in helping seniors, make sure you explain that to potential clients.

I know an agent with a whole alphabet after his name, but no one has any idea what that means, so it can't impress them with specialized knowledge that the agent may have. If you aren't going to define the initials, there is little point putting them on your cards except to impress other agents.

Russ - We have great speakers at company-wide quarterly meetings and there are books galore everywhere and then there is the Active Rain. You can enrich your knowledge thru them. However, in New York, we need 22-1/2 hours continuing education every two years. I ran out of classes to take after a while so nowadays, I take classes with designation. Look good on my business card. After I passed my CPA board exam 45 years ago, everything else does not mean a thing. CPA is the most difficult exam there is and at 21 yrs, it is a great accomplishment. But I find accounting so boring.

To me, generic CEU seminars just get me the required hours needed to renew a license, so I havn't taken one in years. I have been in tax appraisal, fee appraisal, property tax consulting, or real estate brokerage since 1983, and have seen the one day classes/seminars, and your an "xyz". Some designations cost, very little to acquire, while others cost $10,000+. Annual dues from nothing, to $1,000/year range. Is the commitment for the designation worth it? Only you can answer that. The main thing is to gain the knowledge to excell in a very competative industry. The courses expose you to the tools needed so you can sharpen your skills. Most of the public doesn't know what the designations are, but you can bet some professionals looking for another professional, in a different marketplace to refer a client to, does. Real estate has numerous specialized fields to study. Some classes are taught in the process of getting the designation, so why not set yourself apart from the rest while getting your CEU's through the courses? The dues are just a small cost of doing business, similar to licensing fees or advertising.

OCT

I've been debating on taking an ABR class but it's hard to carve out three days in a row. I'm happy to take classes to get more knowledge. If they come with a designation that's great. Not sure that I would put it on my card or advertising anyway. Designations really seem like they are more about impressing other agents. I've never talked to a buyer who cared about them.

There's an XYZ designation?! I want that one! Where do I sign up for the courses?

Cheers,

Robin

OCT

Priceless! As agents, we are somuch more than any group of initials (that consumers don't even recognize), could ever convey. --Sara

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