The role of a real estate agent is highly essential to the success of any real estate company and the entire industry itself. This is because the agent is basically the bridge between the company and its prospective buyers. When we say prospective buyers, we are referring to the entire market that buys properties, land, houses and buildings. Without the efforts of a real estate agent, very little percentage of the said market will have the initiative to buy any property. No advertising campaign, company publicity and marketing project can replace the value of an agent who knows how to make multiple, monthly real estate sales and revenue for the entire company.
More often, real estate agents are also referred to as property salesmen. However, compared to the work of typical door to door salesmen or street peddlers, the job of a real estate agent is a little bit more complicated. The product that they offer is not some tiny package which can be placed in a box or delivered by mail. They are not selling consumables, such as food products and drinks which can be easily sold with little sales or marketing skills. The product that real estate agents sell demands more commitment from a customer. For example, buying a house is not an easy decision. Before a prospective customer can make a decision to buy a house, he or she must be fully aware of the features, advantages and disadvantages of the house. He must be fully convinced that he is making the right choice in picking that house, or else the time and money he intends to spend will all be wasted. It is therefore the real estate agents role to guide the prospective buyer into making the right choice and eventually reach a firm buying decision.
For the reasons mentioned above, the real estate agent should be highly trained, knowledgeable about what he sells, updated about the developments within his industry, and most importantly, should be skilled at face to face selling. This aspect of face to face selling is very essential because to be able to sell high priced items such as houses, lands and properties, a greater amount of buyer-agent rapport is necessary. While retail sales can be very impersonal, real estate sales is a lot more different. One sales transaction may take one week, one month or even one whole year, depending on the nature of the real estate property being sold. This would mean that it is normal for any real estate agent to meet the same prospect over and over again before they both reach a buying agreement. It is thus important to develop a friendly, positive relationship with the customer.
The real estate agent must be an aggressive salesperson and he must be flexible to different kinds of buyers. He must be able to talk on the same level with his prospects, instead of acting servile and inferior. There are many sales jobs that literally demote people from salespeople to mere order takers. In real estate, agents are not just order takers. They initiate the sale, meaning, they ask questions that probe and uncover the buyers needs. After discovering those hidden needs, the real estate agent puts himself or herself in a commanding position by giving the customer various options to choose from. He or she may also recommend options that best fit the clients needs.
Perhaps the most difficult and exhausting job of a real estate agent is prospecting for new customers. Prospecting is simply the process of finding new prospects for the business. Without prospects, even the most skillful real estate agent will not make a single sale. While the company often provides good advertising to gather prospects, it is still the real estate agents responsibility to generate leads on his own. He must be familiar with various lead generation methods and be able to develop a huge list of potential customers. At times, a real estate agent may also opt to do his or her own advertising campaign.
There are a variety of available prospecting methods and strategies to choose from. According to Tom Hopkins, a great real estate salesman, there are two basic categories referral and non-referral prospecting.
Referral prospecting is a very effective method because it allows the real estate agent to get referrals from his existing buyers list. The referrals are already qualified buyers because they belong to the same income bracket as the existing customer. Each time the agent makes a successful sale, he asks for referrals from the happy satisfied customer. The customer then gladly gives the names of some of his friends or relatives who might also be interested in buying a similar property that he has bought. He may even introduce the real estate agent to the referral. Most veteran real estate agents dont do prospecting anymore because they have already built a huge referral base.
