It’s back to basics for those of us still here. Although droves of agents are leaving the business, it’s fulfilling to see many of the old-timers still around and the very best of the new timers still around. In Miami-Dade county, we went through our share of new, not so good Realtors, many whom had never listed a house before or taken out a buyer, selling a house overnight and then one of us ‘old-timers’ having to come in and clean up and finish the deal. Well, no more. You better know what you’re doing or you won’t be doing it long in this environment. A couple of my thoughts of what it takes to remain a good agent today.
- Getting back to basics. I’ve gone back to basics a few times in my real estate life. Markets are always changing and what worked before doesn’t necessarily work now. I learned this a long time ago from a mentor, Tom Hopkins. He taught me to knock on doors, call expired listings and FSBO’s, call my sphere. Call, call, call everyone you know and remind them that you are here to help them with their real estate needs. He used to say that if you don’t remind your Mother that you sell real estate, she won’t remember either. It’s no fun to call people and hard work. Real estate is hard work now. That’s good. The lazy agents looking for quick money have changed careers.
- Be focused and have a plan. Know what you’re going to do each day. Be accountable for your time. We used to use “Day Timers” to keep a schedule. Use Outlook and fill in your day, including exercise & lunch breaks.
- Know the inventory. If you’re not good at pricing properties, get out there and look at the homes on the market. Danielle Kennedy called it “having a speak easy inventory”. Meaning, know about houses that are on the market so you can talk about them when you’re at a cocktail party. It will help you know what a house is worth when you’re at a listing appointment as well.
- Know your competition. Another way to say know the inventory. Get out there and see the inventory and report back to your seller. A similar house that you compared your listing too, might have sold or been reduced several times since you took the listing, and yours might not be so well priced anymore.
- Keep your seller updated always. When houses sold quickly, there was less need to hold our sellers hand. It’s scary out there for them as well. Let them know what’s going on, what feedback you might have gotten and what’s happening in general in their neighborhood. Oftentimes the local conditions aren’t as bad as the media might be saying.
Well, best of luck to all of us out there. We’ll get through this and we’ll be better for it in the end.
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