It’s no secret that many of the proud folks who carry a real estate license set off on the journey to gather all of the purportedly “easy money” at stake. How many friends and past clients have asked you for your opinion about your job? How many have called to tell you they are thinking about getting a license because they “like people and like houses”? While “real estate license” sometimes seems synonymous with “making lots of money,” you will likely find or have already found that this isn’t always the case.
Think back to when you first started out in real estate when you got into your first office. Even selecting that office was hard as heck when you didn’t know what questions to ask and didn’t know what training you needed, and you saw no clear path to provide guidance and discipline. You figured something out anyway, and you landed that first buyer or seller.
And after your experience with your first buyer or seller, you felt like you knew what your career was all about. You knew that it was way more than dressing up and driving around town. It was way more than just sticking a sign in a yard and getting easy money. It was more than hosting an open house where 40 people got into a bidding war above asking price — you know, just like on HGTV!
It gets into your blood though, doesn’t it? That rush of emotion when the first-time buyers find out that the house is theirs. Or the flood of relief for the seller who needed that albatross off his neck. Or the excitement of being chosen as someone’s REALTOR®.
After some transactions under your belt, you wanted to do more. You wanted to break through to the next level. You wanted to be more profitable, sock more money away toward retirement, and hire someone in your community to expand your client offerings.
So to get more — more money, more clients or more satisfaction — out of your practice, what’s the secret? Is it the magic real estate seminar from the Internet ad or the “breakthrough” book series from the infomercial?
Lean in close — really close — and I’ll tell you the secret to getting more out of your real estate practice and business efforts. It’s professionalism.
Don’t roll your eyes, and don’t think I’m just tricking you into another lecture on behaving! I’m serious. Our industry is ripe for the picking for the ones among us who understand this very important piece of the equation.
How many times have you heard a consumer say that you’re the first REALTOR® to answer the phone? How often have your clients said, “I just wanted my other agent to call me even if there weren’t any updates”? Or “that agent left my door unlocked/let the cat out/left the water running in the master bath”?
How many times have you called another agent only to hear the default “this voice mailbox is full” recording? How often have you called a head broker who said that he didn’t know about his agent’s whereabouts and couldn’t do anything about it? Or how often have you sent an offer to purchase to an agent who didn’t return an email, text or phone call?
Do you have sellers like mine? — the ones who go next door to spy on their showings? Yes, I love those folks very, very much. It’s hard as heck to explain the showing that turned out to be a sloppy and unprofessional agent — an agent with no clients, who was not dressed professionally and who left doors unlocked yet stayed in the house an inordinate amount of time.
I know you have stories to tell. You’re the agent who wants to make real estate better for yourself, your clients and for everyone else around you.
I also know it’s hard to be available 24/7, and it’s hard to know when to say no, and it’s hard to control your tongue and temper when you are dealing with an unreasonable party on the other end of the phone. I get it. I have the same struggles.
Solving these problems and enhancing the level of professionalism in real estate is up to us, though. We have to take our industry back. Here are my top suggestions right now.
Answer the phone
If you absolutely cannot answer the phone at certain times, hire someone to answer the phone for you or change your voicemail to let folks know when you are and are not available. Consumers actually don’t mind waiting for you if you set the appropriate expectation about your availability. On the other hand, what consumers do mind is when they feel as though you are ignoring them. And on a side note, if you answer the phone with a plain “hello,” how does any caller know they have reached a professional REALTOR®? “Hello, Bob Baker, BB Realty” or “REALTOR® Jackie Jones” are more professional options than the standard “hello.”
Dress professionally
A blazer can dress your outfit up immediately. Flip flops are not working shoes unless you’re a REALTOR® working in a resort market. No cleavage. No holes in pants; by the way, leggings are not pants. And don’t try to say that society today is “past the era of suits” or that the young Silicon Valley folk make their billions wearing jeans and hoodies. Before you make that argument, please bear in mind that you are interviewing to handle someone’s largest financial instrument. The clothes you wear do influence your customers’ beliefs about your abilities, and the clothes you wear can secure your next client.
When showing, remember that you are in someone's home
That means announce yourself when you walk in, take off your shoes at the door, lock doors that were locked when you found them, leave doors unlocked that were unlocked when you found them, leave a card so the sellers know that you came and went, flush the toilet if you use it, and turn off lights that you turned on. We have all received tons of complaints from sellers who felt violated after a showing. I don’t care if you don’t like the home or if you felt it wasn’t clean or showing-ready. The home you’re showing is not yours — so treat it with respect.
Attend your showings
I hate to even ask this question — but are you going on all of your showings? Please say you are not giving buyers access to the property and using FaceTime or Skype to “accompany” them during the showing. If you would like buyers to refer you and spread your name, spend time with them and share your community knowledge with them. Wisconsin law says you are to inspect the property prior to or during the showing. Being there in person to see the property enhances your ability to write a quality offer and understand what the property condition concerns might be.
Quit being so annoying on social media
Quit talking smack about the transaction you handled today, quit talking smack about your misbehaving clients, and quit saying how much you need that glass of wine at the end of showing houses. Don’t post a selfie that says you’re bored during an open house. And don’t offer your opinion on social media about your seller’s style of home décor. How do you want to be perceived? — as someone who solves issues quietly or someone who can’t stop fussing about the actions of others? In a nutshell, a professional REALTOR® doesn’t act like a teenager on social media.
Attend classes
Get better at the craft of real estate by attending classes, workshops and webinars. Trust me — you don’t know everything, and none of us do. The real estate industry is so fluid and changes every day — not just with technology but with consumer expectations. A true professional doesn’t miss the bus and doesn’t get on the bus at the last minute. A true professional sits in the front row and quizzes the driver about what’s coming.
Be an industry advocate
You have no business fussing about the direction of the industry or the MLS or legislation if you are not in the room at the table. Be an advocate and invest in RPAC. If you don’t know why, feel free to message me. The efforts of RPAC have benefited you and your practice in several ways. Thanks to RPAC successes in Wisconsin, you’re able to prepare offers and other real estate forms and sit at the closing table without a real estate attorney; not all REALTORS® across the country can say that. Your closings are no longer delayed by time of sale requirements, and the new owner will pay reduced property taxes. Just because you aren’t interested in politics doesn’t mean politics is not interested in you.
I personally will not rest until all REALTORS® act professional in every facet of their real estate practice. Does that mean we need to lose some members? Perhaps. But I’d rather see all REALTORS® raise to the challenge of being amazing professionals who are respected and admired by not only one another, but by consumers. Are you ready to be that REALTOR®?
North Carolina native Leigh Brown grew up in residential real estate and joined the industry in 2000. Leigh's team was recognized as one of the nation's Top 200 Real Estate Teams by the Wall Street Journal and is also ranked in the RE/MAX Top 100 Teams Worldwide. Leigh's industry passions include working with NAR, CRS and RPAC to improve the lives of REALTORS® and protect property rights. She is a regular contributor to Inman News and travels the world to speak to groups about how to engage with others and ignite their passions.