I have always believed that every good Real Estate Agent is unique and and to be honest no two high performing Real Estate Agents have the same exact personalities or business goals. A good Realty Agent is unafraid to break the mould setting their sights on being the very best in the industry and to never stop gowing, learning and improving. As a top performing realty agent in my years in the US, I took my unique skillsets, education, experiences and my advantages with my network and and I then figured out a way to dominate my market in a way that others without the same skillset had a hard time keeping up with.

I have learnt my trade from observing the masters at work. Most Great Real Estate Agents are nothing great to look at. When you observe them in action they are not doing anything out of the ordinary that you haven’t seen before. One thing is for sure  – a seasoned and experienced professional will make everything look easy. To an outsider, it looks as if business is just appearing to drop miraculously in the lap of Top Agents. If you are a new realtor entering the field or someone seeking to make a long term career in the business of Real Estate be prepared to work hard to be known as THE BEST.

As with every field, there is always someone who is trying to gain the Top Agent’s spot trying to knock down the Top Dog from the pedestal. Because eventually to the Victor goes the spoils, commissions and CLIENTS! I believe that the following should be every Real Estate Agent’s goal:

  1. Maximize relationships with every client as well as with everyone you know – friends, family, coworkers, neighbours, employees etc.
  2. Regular creation, management and scheduled delivery of communications with the prospect pools and the realty scene.
  3. To lead the brokerage territory and the local real estate brokerage industry with leading property sales, completed deals and commissions.
  4. Increase networking both inside and outside of your local territory.
  5. Improved Customer satisfaction.
  6. Increased referral business.
  7. Better word-of-mouth promotion.
  8. More friendly and positive testimonials.
  9. Positive business reviews.
  10. Bigger fees and more handsome commissions.
  11. Understanding and leveraging new emerging technologies to improve your “unfair advantage” for yourself and also for the benefit of your clients.
  12. Increase PR activities and improve public awareness of your brand and services so that your value proposition grows.
  13. Ensure a constant inflow of new good quality business leads with better conversion ratios of those leads.
  14. Increase your daily productivity level.
  15. Improve business plan as well as growth strategy.

The Value of Good Counsel

A moot question that emerging Real Estate Agents must ask themselves is whether they are trying to make a profit off their clients or are they helping their clients make money? A realtor is a consultant which means that his / her role is to warn, help, empower and advise. As long as a Real Estate Agent is doing this consistently there will be wise people willing to pay well for your counsel.

A sizeable amount of money changes hands during property transactions and it only follows that a sizeable commission is also going to be paid. Smart and successful people can foresee the potential for big mistakes. The potential for loss of money exists at every turn of the deal making process. Big money deals require assistance. Which is why they know that the counsel of a good Real Estate Agent is required for peace of mind. If you reputation precedes you then your clients know that they will not be blindsided by a problem that was not foreseen. Real estate is not something that people take lightly. Everyone wants to do it right with the right amount of commitment from all parties involved. I believe that if you are a reputed Real Estate Consultant then your services are actually a heck of a lot more than what you are actually charging!

Chasing Commissions is Pointless

I have always believed that chasing commissions is pointless. What is more important is to create a solid brand image that reflects professionalism and integrity. As a realtor, one trades on the portfolio of past deals. A realtor is always at work. In the world of selling real estate, one has to be prepared to meet new potential buyers anytime and anywhere. This means that you have to carry yourself well, act with a sense of decorum, be well dressed and well groomed so that one is always giving out a professional vibe. In the modern age, the whole word is your playground cum office!

The business of real estate brokerage is a bit like the restaurant business. The landscape is dotted with the graveyards of those who didn’t make it and quit the game too early. Real estate is not a quick turn business model. You may have a client whom you have been showing for months and you may even have a home or a property that your client likes but with no closure in sight. It can take 3 quarters of a year to close a deal. It is not unusual to meet a client who is looking and not be able to find them a suitable house even after a year of inspections.

There are a lot of steps to a realty transaction. Apart from that, there are many individuals and organisations – governmental & non-governmental – that may get involved and often stand in the way of a deal closure. As a broker, you get paid at the very end if and only if everything goes all the way through as planned.

Getting Creative

There is no compensation for your work if a deal fails to see the light of day after months of hard work and negotiations. You only collect your fees when the sale is done. If the buyer and the seller finalise on a price but the bank does not approve the loan or if the buyer fails to come up with the monies, you can lose your commission unless you find your client another financier. Yes you have wasted many days of chauffeuring the potential buyer all over town showing him many homes and now you have zilch to show for that work. Yes you have racked up expenses and bills during that time. Are you starting to see why one has to be creative to win in this business?

To succeed in today’s world of real estate, a Real Estate Agent has to be imaginative and open to new ideas to keep up with such a challenging and dynamic industry. Let us look at the bright side. The good news is that despite all changes that we see around us happening in our world, there will always be someone who is seeking to sell or buy property. We work in one of the most exciting industries in the world! Fortunes are made and lost in this business overnight. The futures and lives of entire families and generations hangs on the results of your success.

Remember – Any dumb twit can show houses. But at Gupta & Sen we help make peoples dreams come true! Selling real estate requires creativity. Talking about creativity, we have launched a new video series on YouTube recently called “Fabulous Homes for Sale”. Watch a video of a recent production where we took Bhumika our resident anchor out to South Mumbai and shot and edited a nice video of the penthouse to enable us to give potential buyers a better idea of the home and also understand the house from the perspective of a real person! At Gupta & Sen we go the extra mile and try to make the business of selling homes a little more fun, exciting and endearing! Get more details of this fabulous penthouse which is still available for sale with us – https://www.guptasen.com/properties/4-bhk-penthouse-cuffe-parade/

Update: The Below property has been sold through us. But if you are interested in buying a penthouse in South Mumbai we have many other options for sale. Feel free to get in touch 🙂

Chloe Dodd
Chloe Dodd
Real Estate Agent at Gupta & Sen
Chloe is a real estate advisor with Gupta & Sen. With a combined experience of over 15 years in varied industries, she is a vocal and knowledgeable ally for buyers and investors who want to make informed choices when buying a property in India. With superlative communication and marketing skills, Chloe handles our PR, real estate marketing strategy and client management.
Chloe Dodd
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