10 Real Estate Skills Every Successful Agent Needs
If you want to have a successful career in real estate, you need to develop a set of strong skills. However, if you have little experience with buying or selling homes, you may be wondering what qualities make a good real estate agent.
A successful real estate agent typically possesses the following qualities and skills: -The ability to sell -The ability to network -The ability to market themselves and their listings -The ability to negotiate -The ability to close deals -The ability to manage a team (if they have one) -The ability to work long hours -The ability to handle stress -The ability to get along with different types of people -The ability to continually learn and grow
1) Communication Skills
Each client is different in the way they communicate and how often they want updates. Some clients may want to meet in person to chat while others may prefer to communicate only through text. Some clients may want to be involved in every detail and decision, while others may not want to be as involved. They know that communication skills top the list of qualities of a good real estate agent and strive to excel in the following four areas:
- Verbal communication skills: A good real estate agent speaks clearly and confidently with others. They also avoid the overuse of slang and industry jargon.
- Nonverbal communication skills: They look clients in the eye, display open body language, and exhibit pleasant facial expressions.
- Active listening skills: Top agents make it a point to listen to clients. They ask questions and paraphrase the response to ensure they understand their client’s needs.
- Written communication skills: Preparing professional emails, contracts, marketing collateral, and website content is critical to success.
The best agents not only excel in certain areas, but they also seem to have a knack for knowing how often they should communicate with their clients. While some clients may need regular updates and information, others don’t require nearly as much communication. Experienced agents are able to quickly determine their client’s needs and tailor the frequency of their communications accordingly.
Effective communication is key to success as a real estate agent because you are assisting people with one of the biggest purchases of their lives. To improve your communication skills, request feedback from clients, either in person or through a follow-up survey or email. Active listening is also important, so practice this skill with friends and family.
2) Local Knowledge
A strong working knowledge of your local market can make a huge difference if you are a newcomer to the real estate industry. You can give yourself a competitive edge by becoming an expert in the following areas:
- Schools: Clients with school-age children will want to know about the proximity and quality of the local public, private, and parochial schools.
- Public transportation options: Access to city buses, trolleys, trams, and ferries is important to many buyers, especially in larger cities.
- Neighborhood information: Some neighborhoods have restrictions and/or resident perks that can influence the selling process.
- Local taxes: You can help clients prepare for a home purchase by providing information about state and local property taxes.
Pro Tip:
You can improve your local knowledge skills by asking your clients to rate their satisfaction with your knowledge of the local market, either in person or anonymously through a free survey tool like Typeform. Ask them to list your strengths and weaknesses so you can continually improve.
3) Teaching Skills
Although being skilled at teaching may not be the primary factor in what makes a good real estate agent, it is necessary when working with first-time homebuyers and inexperienced clients. Good agents understand that the real estate industry is complicated. They are aware that some clients need to be guided through the process step-by-step and may require a lot of assistance (without using industry jargon!) along the way.
real estate agents who are great at their job are also good at working with clients who have a lot of experience and prefer not to be very involved. These agents are able to use their skills to quickly understand how much experience their clients have. This allows them to provide the right amount of help and education.
If you are not sure how much your client knows about the real estate industry, you should ask them. Find out if they have sold or bought a property before and what worries them about the process. Keep this information in mind as you help your client through the process.
4) The Ability to Adapt to New Tools and Technology
Real estate agents’ skills have changed over the years, as well as the tools and technology they use. Here are some examples of tools and technology that will help you maximize your sales and efficiency:
- Virtual real estate: This technology enables people to enjoy a simulated walkthrough of a home or property, which has been particularly helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Customer-Relationship Management tool (CRM): A great CRM system allows you to organize your clients and contacts in a database. You can access their contact details or history quickly.
- WhatsApp: Over 68 million Americans now use WhatsApp to communicate. This free platform allows you to send quotes, documents, and images.
Make sure to get feedback from your clients and contacts to see if you’re headed in the right direction. Mastering how to interface with your contacts is a crucial skill for any real estate agent.
5) Real Estate Knowledge
An agent’s success largely depends on staying up-to-date with the latest real estate news and trends. A great way to stay informed is to follow a leading specialist in real estate education. You can easily update your knowledge from home by allotting some time each day to read about current industry events and trends.
The CE Shop’s industry news page has the latest information on topics like ethics, the lending process, and things that affect real estate compensation so that you can stay ahead of your competition.
6) Time Management Skills
The life of a real estate agent is not always predictable. You can work more than 40 hours a week during busy markets, while other weeks might not require as much time and effort. Real estate agents have more flexibility than many other careers when it comes to their day-to-day lives. Other than scheduled client meetings, closings, and showings, agents can choose how to spend their time.
The lack of a structured schedule in Real Estate requires excellent time management skills. People in Real Estate rarely have a 9 to 5 work day. Instead, their weekends often include open houses and showings that pop up last minute. Being organized and timely is crucial in this field so that you can make your appointments and not waste your clients’ time.
7) Negotiating Skills
Homeowners and prospective buyers who are not skilled negotiators can find themselves at a disadvantage when trying to purchase or sell a property. Many people are unfamiliar with the basics of real estate transactions, or they don’t feel comfortable haggling with buyers, sellers, and other agents. As a result, it’s important for real estate agents to be skilled negotiators in order to help their clients get the best possible deal.
Aside from the aforementioned reason, gaining negotiating skills can also lead to a higher commission. This is due to the fact that if you are able to reach a fair and advantageous deal for both you and your client, you would have lessened the chances of leaving money on the table.
8) Honesty and Integrity
It’s essential to always be honest with clients and make sure your actions reflect your words The two most important qualities of a good real estate agent are honesty and integrity. Your reputation in the industry depends on your ability to be truthful and transparent with clients. It can be difficult to repair a negative reputation in the real estate world, so it’s crucial to always align your actions with your words.
Fortunately, most agents start their careers with a clean slate. And while there is no secret recipe to protecting your reputation, there are some measures you can take to maintain your status as an open and honest real estate agent:
- Professional development activities: Choose activities that will help you build upon your existing real estate agent skills.
- Ethics classes: Continued focus on real estate ethics will help you maintain your commitment to honesty and integrity.
- Transparency with fees: Always clearly outline any and all applicable fees so there won’t be any surprises for clients.
- Reporting unethical activity: Turning a blind eye to illicit real estate activity is not sufficient. You may need to file a complaint.
9) Networking Skills
Leading real estate professionals are extremely well connected. These rockstar real estate agents recognize the importance of strong networking skills and make it a priority to establish and maintain good relationships with the following professionals:
- Staging specialists, who can quickly make a home more aesthetically appealing to buyers.
- Home inspectors, who can assess a home’s physical condition.
- Real estate lawyers, who can assist with contract questions and issues.
- Mortgage lenders, who can provide prospective buyers with the funding they need to purchase a property.
Network with clients to create repeat business. A positive experience is one of the best organic marketing strategies. Real estate clients are typically one-transaction clients, so it is important to meet new people. They may think of you when they need to sell or buy a home.
10) Marketing Skills
Sharp marketing skills are the icing on the cake for those looking to master the real estate agent skills outlined above. With a five-star marketing approach that includes the following, you can effectively spread the word about your services:
- Social media marketing
- Website design
- Digital marketing expertise
- Experience with signage and print media
You will be responsible for promoting your clients’ properties, so it is important to have strong marketing skills. If you join an established agency, you may have to pay for some marketing services yourself. Having strong marketing skills will help you sell properties quickly and for more money.
Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing skills.
Having these skills allows you to target your content towards the right audience.
Search Engine Optimization skills are very valuable as they allow you to rank high in Google, Baidu, and other search engines without having to pay for every click that searchers click on.
This requires a lot of work and time to get right, but it’s a very valuable long-term digital asset.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) services, such as Google Pay per Click (PPC) and LinkedIn PPC, require that you learn how to use the platform and create ads that appear in front of searchers.
Even though you would have to pay for every click, it would be worth it because you would be paying for virtual real estate space that would be seen immediately by searchers.
Design skills are easier to come by now because of tools like Canva.com. This wasn’t always the case; when the speaker first started out, it was much harder to create beautiful designs.
Good design skills are helpful for creating social media marketing artwork quickly and cheaply.
You may be asking: “Do you mean that without these skills, I should not become a property agent?”
No. That is not what I mean.
The skills mentioned above can help you achieve success more quickly and at a lower cost than if you only relied on your personal presence. They allow you to communicate with a wider audience for a longer period of time.
Even if you don’t have any of the skillsets mentioned, you can still be a successful agent as long as you excel in the basic areas.
Ideally, you would outsource tasks that you’re not good at to someone who can manage them for you and turn them into assets that generate leads.
The chances of you slowing down as you get older are very high, so it’s a good idea to invest in new skills and digital assets early in your career. Your future self will be very grateful.
