What it takes to be a Successful Real Estate Agent – Part 3: Personal Development

What does it take to be a successful real estate agent? We know that real estate is an ever-changing industry. Our property market is closely linked to the current financial and political environment and we should keep up to date with this information as it can often have a direct effect on real estate.

To ensure you are a step ahead of others, keep up to date on the latest Local Market Conditions, financial and political environments, as well as upskilling your qualifications and you’ll be sure you can provide accurate advice and stand out service to your clients and customers.

In the last part to our Successful Agent Blog Series, we outline our top tips to your ongoing personal development in real estate .

Become a Local Market Expert

Whether you are just new to the real estate industry or you’ve been in it for a while – absorbing as much knowledge about your local area is a must.

If you are new to the industry and still looking for a job, research the area you want to work in:

  • Know the local school catchments and sporting clubs;
  • Know the local amenities such as parks, cafes and shops;
  • Attend open homes and talk to agents about the current market;
  • Research the ‘For Sale’ and ‘Sold’ prices in the area;
  • Research the number of local auctions and their clearance rates;
  • Attend local auctions and open homes to understand what works well;
  • Approach local real estate agencies and tell them your career intentions.

If you are currently in the industry, you can research your local area by:

  • Door knocking the suburb, introduce yourself and asking the occupants if they rent or own the property and ascertain if they want to purchase or sell soon to create a local area database of future clients;
  • Drive around the neighbourhood looking for properties being developed and approach the local developers asking how you can help them sell the current or future projects;
  • Research other agencies in the area and which properties they have for sale and talk to them about expected sale prices;
  • Build rapport with local small business owners and sporting clubs;
  • Support local schools and charities;
  • Join local community groups.

There is always an opportunity to know more and do more. You will feel more confident as an agent when presenting yourself at a presentation and help your potential clients to feel more comfortable knowing that you are local (just like them) therefore, you’re more likely to win their business.

Stay up to date with industry trends   

As a real estate agent, interest rates, government laws and evolving technology will directly affect your industry. Knowing the latest trends and industry news can help you display a level of knowledge to your clients. This will help manage buyers and sellers’ expectations and to stay up to date you can:

  • Build a relationship with local community banks and mortgage brokers;
  • Introduce yourself to local Member of Parliament and engage regularly;
  • Join local financial, political, building community groups (online or in person);
  • Subscribe to online news services around technology/real estate marketing/home building/political/ financial and property industries;
  • Watch the local news regularly.

You’ll soon find you are well equipped with a large amount of information to help educate your clients and help build a strong customer base.

Continue Your Education

To be the best in the industry, you should always be learning, so why not consider upgrading your Registration Certificate in real estate to the full Real Estate Agents Licence or the CPP40307 Certificate IV in Property Services (Real Estate).

To keep up on your self-development, you may also like to try:

  • Listening to self-development podcasts on topics such as negotiation, organisation, leadership and business development;
  • Watch YouTube videos of successful real estate agents giving tips and tricks;
  • Follow Validum Institute on social media and read our blogs (there is a ton of useful information here).

Continuing to learn and develop is just as important as every other skill set, as it sets a solid foundation for you to grow a professional.

If you use all these personal development skills to the best of your ability, you’ll be well on your way to finding success in the real estate industry. It is a profession where all different types of people can make an uncapped amount of money, but it is all based on the amount of work you are prepared to put in, to stay ahead of your competitors.

Want to upskill your real estate qualification?  Validum Institute offers a suite of real estate upgrade courses for any stage of your career.   Call Validum Institute on (07) 3193 5270 or visit www.validum.edu.au and experience Validum Difference today.