How to Be a Great Real Estate Agent

Real estate can be a great career if you are a hard-working, self-motivated, and honest professional. These attributes generally come from within you. You either are these things or you are not. There are, however, many skills that you can learn and develop to ensure your clients stay with you for life, and refer other clients to you as well.

Communication is the key. One of the most common complaints I hear from real estate clients is that their previous agent was not in contact with them. This could very well be the case; like any industry, real estate unfortunately has its share of bad apples. However, it may just be that the client does not feel like the agent has been in communication with them in the method the client prefers.

For example, if your client prefers to speak with you in person or over the phone, don't send emails once or twice a week to update them. In his or her opinion, you are ignoring them. Just because emails are the easiest for you as the agent, and your client has an email address, that does not mean you are meeting your clients needs. Ask during your interview process how your client would like to receive information from you, and then use that method. You may choose to incorporate other methods of communication as well, but these should not be your primary methods. One example of this is if you are providing a detailed list of comparable homes to your client. You could use their preferred method of contact, a phone call, to let them know that you will be emailing (or dropping off at their home) this information, as it is not effective to read the package over the phone.

If you client is selling their home, keep updated on changes in their neighborhood. Did those other homes for sale go into escrow? Did one of them finally close the deal? How much was the final selling price? Does this help or hurt your client's price and/or situation? Be in communication with them so he or she feels a part of the process. This is a usually a life-changing process for your client. Information, positive or negative, is needed by you, the agent, and the client to navigate the best course for selling that home quickly and for the most money.

Follow up on anything and everything you discuss with your clients. Yes, you are busy but your client's needs should be what are keeping you busy. If your client asks you for a list of homes for his mother-in-law to peruse for a possible purchase later this year, then provide it for her. This sounds obvious, but in reality it takes great effort to keep up with it all. We are here to make money, and it is easy to get focused on the immediate activities that will generate revenue soon. Be realistic when you quote a time-frame to provide such information. If you know you won't be able to get to that task for a couple of days, then say so. This is a reasonable time frame and you will not be disappointing the recipient by being late with your information.

A great real estate agent will be able to balance the immediate concerns while not dropping the ball on the potential future business. In this example, not only will your current client notice and appreciate the effort, you just may well be securing another deal in a few months. Imagine the possibilities now; you have successfully closed two deals within the same family. When Uncle Joe needs an agent, he won't be looking in the yellow pages. He already feels like your client, and has confidence in your abilities.

Generally speaking the best advice to winning clients for life is to: Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Be realistic and up front about your expectations and your clients. If everyone is one the same page, even the most complex transactions will go much smoother for you and your clients.