Why Should You Hire Me???

Why Should You Hire Me?

Real estate has gone from paper & pencil days, to high-tech knowledge! Today, there are many other local REALTORS® that you can hire in the Saint John community.   Some of those REALTORS® have never had additional training other than the formal training they received from the Province/State they got their original training from, with some many years ago.  Others say they are certified but never show their credentials on additional training.  Now the question should be:  Why do some REALTORS® keep training, while others just look for the next listing or client?  

Don’t get me wrong, the training I received from New Brunswick Real Estate Association was wonderful and I learned plenty, but it was just the “Tip of the Iceberg”.  The extra training I obtained after my former REALTOR® training gave me an edge to really research and dive into the real estate market in Saint John, NB. 

When I first began my real estate career, I joined the ActiveRain network, a network that has 170,000 professionals from a variety of real estate professions.  ie:  brokers, mortgagers, home inspectors, banks, etc.  Reading other REALTORS® blogs, SEO learning sessions, referring clients, asking questions and finding answers gave me insight to the world of the internet and how to capture it.

Did this all came in at a cost?  With additional certifications or membership statuses, there were always additional fees to take the classes, fees to keep my designations, seminars & annual international meetings for networking, therefore, $$$ to keep my skills & networking up-to-date, that came out of my pocket and not the brokerages.

Today, besides the annual training with NBREA (New Brunswick Real Estate Board & SJREA (Saint John Real Estate Board), I’ve had 3 additional certifications and/or memberships to obtain that additional training to work with all sorts of individuals, cultures and income.

My first one, I received when working with Prudential Summit Real Estate, I got my “e-Certified” designation.  This meant that I could easily and quickly google the internet and that I was a computer savy REALTOR® in the latest technology and services.  Do REALTORS® need to be computer savy?  Yes, of course, since today we are dealing with an International group of clients.  We need to be as up-to-date on computer techniques and known services on the internet to sell our clients property globally and to be able to find them a property to their next destination worldwide.

My second designation, I received before I moved to Royal LePage Atlantic, my current brokerage firm.  I received my ACCREDITED GREENAGENT™ certification.   To receive this certification you have to take 3 Residential or 4 Commercial courses through NAGAB (National Association of Green Agents & Brokers) out of Toronto, Ontario. Currently, NAGAB has 27,000 members who have had this training. The other criteria was to be actively engaged in the real estate profession and to hold a valid real estate license in your province.   Finally, you had to be approved by the NAGAB committee.  To keep this designation, all GREENAGENT™ Realtors have to take an additional class annually to keep their skills up on the technological advances for Green real estate.  The 3 courses I took were: Hydro Usage, Home Energy Efficiency and Green Heating & Cooling Options for the Home.  There was an exam for each course that you needed to get 80% completion to receive credit.

My third designation, I received working with Royal LePage Atlantic was when I had to go to Sarasota, Florida this past summer to receive the extensive training.    I got membership to the “Institute for Luxury Homes Marketing” or ILHM.  They have trained over 8,000 real estate professionals on four continents!

This was an eye opening experience and I’m very happy I got the training!   Having lived in Florida before, it was a pleasure to revisit one of the 10 places I’ve lived in this world!  Having this training introduced me to another world of online websites for marketing & advertising,  presentation skills, photography & visual arts.  Plus learning information about the needs & demands of affluent buyers & sellers.  They also gave me the social grace I needed when speaking to these individuals, since discretion was one of their primary goals.  Having lived in many places in my lifetime helped put all of these new skills in perspective to utilize daily.

Membership with ILHM has given me a partnership with these corporations that help me receive special products, services and pricing:  Altos Research, American Affluence Research Center, DuPont Registry, FIABCI, Gooder Group and LuxuryProperty.com. 

I’ve obtain a luxury agent profile on the Wall Street Journal’s website, membership in an International property MLS and agent networking site.  I get an opportunity to promote international builders & developers projects on my website and many other discounts & freebies on the previous corporations named. 

To receive this certification you have to take an intensive 2-day course and pass two written tests at 80%.   The 2 courses I took were:  Positioning & Branding Yourself as a Luxury Home Expert and A Luxury Marketing Idea Blitz.   Another benefit to these two courses, were they are accepted with the CRS (Council of Residential Specialists) for 1 unit course each, total 2 unit courses for obtaining my CRS credentials in the near future. I have the competency, desire & fortitude to learn new skills, the understanding of global issues, attitudes, cultures & interests.  I listen & learn to the changing real estate market, present superb listing presentations, go all out for my clients, knowledge of luxury home marketing systems, green technology knowledge & awareness and finally the willingness & savy to know that real estate is an ever changing market.

Finally, going back to the titled question, “Why Should You Hire Me?”

I have the competency, desire & fortitude to learn new skills, the understanding of global issues, attitudes, cultures & interests.  I listen & learn to the changing real estate market, go all out for my clients, present superb listing presentations, knowledge of luxury home marketing systems, green technology knowledge & awareness and finally the willingness & savy to know that real estate is an ever changing market.