The real estate industry is a highly competitive one, whether your expertise is commercial or residential. As such, you need to invest in yourself in order to move up and ahead. Admittedly, there’s a bit of luck involved when it comes to success; by and large, however, it all depends on your capabilities and the tools you have to get the job done.
That said, here are some of the skills and tools you need to help you climb that real estate industry ladder and achieve your career goals:
Tool: A CRM
The job of real estate professionals like agents and brokers is highly customer-centric. In order to gain trust and eventually close deals, you need to ensure that you’re able to quickly respond to any concerns and meet whatever needs your clients may have.
This task may seem easy enough to handle without special tools. However, as your clientele grows, you’ll find that it’s trickier to manage every aspect of customer relations. Thus, it’s best to invest in a customer relationship management (CRM) system so you can wrangle your contacts list and automate certain processes. This way, you can ramp up your productivity.
Do note that there are different kinds of CRM. For example, Brokerkit is a recruiting and retention CRM that can help you reach out to potential recruits and ensure they stick around when they get hired. There are also sales-oriented CRMs, which is crucial in handling all touchpoints throughout the sales process. Make sure to invest in the one that’s most appropriate for your real estate job.
Skill: Active Listening
Good communication skills are often associated with good speaking skills. While this is not wrong, it’s not completely true either. Good communication skills also involve other aspects, such as being aware of body language and active listening. The latter is particularly important if you want to understand your clients better.
Active listening requires you to pay close attention to both what your customers are saying and not saying. Remember that not all people communicate in the same way, so there may be clients who might not tell you outright what they want. With active listening skills, you can read between the lines and understand what’s being said. This allows you to resolve conflict or even become more proactive when addressing your client’s needs.
Tool: Electronic Signature Service
One of the downsides of being in the real estate industry is the volume of paperwork you have to deal with. Signing multiple documents can be tiring, not to mention wasteful. Fortunately, this can be solved by electronic signature services. Essentially, these are apps that let you sign digital copies of documents. There are also apps that let you fill out digital forms and export these as PDF documents.
With this kind of app or software, you can minimize your physical paperwork and give your hands a break. It can also help create a more seamless experience for your clients, because you’ll be able to conclude transactions much faster.
Skill: Negotiation
As a real estate professional, you’ll be negotiating a lot. In particular, you’ll often be haggling for a property’s listing price and selling price. You also need to work out your commission split.
The thing with negotiation skills is that while there are classes you can take about it, nothing can improve your skill more than actual practice. If you have to focus on one, make it your commission negotiation skills because it requires more composure and confidence. Once you master this, it’s easier to handle other money-related real estate matters.
Tool: Graphic Design Tools
Real estate agents and brokers need a lot of marketing materials, which is why it’s crucial to learn how to use graphic design tools. Do note that there are templates built-in with many CRMs, but with a separate software, you’ll have more variety. There may also be other layouts you can make use of such as postcards and flyers, which can be great for engaging with passive candidates and former clients.
Skill: Tech-Savvy
Granted, being tech-savvy isn’t necessarily a skill. However, you still need to be able to master technology if you want to be successful in your real estate career. Aside from email, blogs, and the above-mentioned CRM and electronic signature services, you also need to be knowledgeable about social media and its algorithms. Of course, you also need to be able to gather and interpret data so you can further improve your services and marketing approach.
Tool: Social Media Management
Speaking of social media, you’re likely already using a couple of platforms to engage with your audience. Managing these accounts, on top of your other responsibilities, can feel rather overwhelming. Thus, it can be beneficial if you invest in a social media management tool.
Fortunately, there are various products you can choose from. Make sure to pick one that allows you to schedule content and respond to comments or messages in one module.
Hootsuite is a social media management tool that makes it easy to manage multiple social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, schedule content and engage with your audience.
Good luck and more power to your real estate career!
Published on Holr Magazine