Now is the time to expand your skills, broaden your knowledge and provide a higher level of value than ever before so you can not only survive, but thrive, writes Jimmy Burgess.
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The business of selling real estate in today’s world is filled with doom and gloom. However, I have never been more excited about the future of professional agents. When you provide great value and required expertise, you will always be compensated for the services you provide.
Here are seven reasons why great agents are always in demand:
1. Experience
Your experience and understanding of the sales process is valuable. The more experience you have, the more your clients will trust you and your ability to help them achieve their goals of buying or selling a home. Your experience will help them avoid potential missteps along the way, and your experience will guide them to a successful transaction.
We live in a society where everyone is looking for the “easy button.” When you’re an agent, if they trust you to help them get through the process with minimal hassle, they’ll happily trade your expertise for their money.
2. Key local insights
Most news coverage about real estate occurs on a national level. While national-level trends are important, it’s local details and insights that have the greatest impact on buyers and sellers. Detailed information such as:
- Average price per square foot for homes in different neighborhoods
- Local trends in inventory increasing or decreasing compared to the previous month
- Local absorption rate trends
- Market trend average number of days
- Is there any softening in listing sales prices.
These are local insights that impact the way a home is priced or the initial offer made.
Professional agents share insights to help buyers and sellers make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Without a true understanding of local trends, buyers and sellers can lose thousands of dollars by making uninformed decisions. Become the most educated agent in your local market and you will continue to be a valuable and in-demand part of the process.
3. Local resource network
Your network of trusted service providers is of tremendous value. Most buyers don’t know a home inspector they know they can trust. Most buyers or sellers don’t know a handyman who can do a quality job at a reasonable price. But you do, and access to a broad network of these resources can set you apart from the competition.
A truly professional agent can recommend resources from nannies to bicycle technicians. They know plumbers, electricians, landscapers and pool companies. When you become the connection point between a buyer or seller and the people or resources they need, your value is recognized and appreciated.
4. Valuation expertise
If a seller trusts Zillow to appraise their home before listing it for sale, they’re likely to get it wrong. Your ability to put together a complete valuation analysis and present it in a way that sellers can easily understand will help them sell their home for the highest price possible in the shortest amount of time.
Even if the seller wants a higher price, numbers are numbers. If they decide to list their home with another agent who says he or she thinks the value is better, they won’t forget your introduction. In fact, the fact-based analysis you provide will give you a good chance that when the home comes to close, you’re the listing agent and they’re ready to see what the price will actually be.
When you show buyers a value analysis of the home they are considering purchasing, they will have the confidence to make an offer based on the information you provide. Your valuation analysis can help them make offer or counter-offer decisions that are fact-based and less emotional.
True professionals who can demonstrate expertise in home appraisals are always desired.
5.Negotiation skills
If you are a savvy negotiator who negotiates at a high level on behalf of your clients, you will be worth more than the commission they pay you. There are many ways you can develop your skills as a negotiator.This book Never split the difference Author Chris Voss is a good place to start, but a Google or YouTube search will turn up a wealth of resources.
The key is to understand that it is your job to negotiate on behalf of the client. If you take your job performance seriously and provide the highest level of service to your clients, you will always be working on developing and honing your skills as a negotiator. When the value of your skills is greater than your commission fees, there will always be a market for your services.
6. Marketing skills
Effective marketing provides sellers with the exposure they need to get the number of impressions they need to maximize the sale price of their home. Have you built a social media following or email list that you can easily market your list to? Have you invested in top-notch photography and know how to tell your home’s story in a way that appeals to buyers? Are you better than other agencies at hosting open houses, doing house calls, or running Google pay-per-click ads?
Marketing skills give sellers confidence that you can present and represent their home to the highest possible level. These skills will always be in demand and sought after.
7. Legal navigation of the entire process
We live in an increasingly litigious society. We start with the value of experience, and this is where experience matters. Your ability to help guide customers through the buying or selling process and avoid potential pitfalls or liabilities is needed now more than ever.
Learn how to word your emergencies correctly to protect your customers. Provide updates on upcoming emergency deadlines. Be the professional attorney your clients need and deserve by fully understanding your contract. By doing this, you not only protect your customers, but also their demand for your services.
Now is the time to expand your skills, broaden your knowledge, and deliver a higher level of value than ever before. By doing this, your business will not only survive these changing times, but thrive like never before.
Jimmy Burgess is CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties in Northwest Florida. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
