Real Estate Selling Tools

Selling real estate in the Real Estate World is quite simple really. But even then this is not a profession for the faint-hearted because lots of agents drop out of this business every year. This is usually because a lot of real estate consultants enter the world of real estate without really being prepared for the profession in the first place.

We believe first and foremost in the following adage, “Your reputation is your most valuable asset and one cannot afford to ruin it with bad habits.” Let us review the top five tools of the Real Estate Profession. This will help enlighten our esteemed clients about our style of working as well as inform young estate agents about the qualities required to excel in this challenging but highly rewarding career!

Tool # 1 – Having Enough Time

A lot of people have the experience of hiring a professional only to realise that the once attentive person has suddenly turned cold once they got the job. When someone starts to ignore your calls or puts you off, you immediately resolve never to use their services again nor recommend them to your friends and acquaintances. When you meet someone with qualities like these you wonder how they get by in life! There is a reason we are discussing this quality as the first essential for a real estate broker. This is because Referrals are highly important in the real estate business and you cannot afford to be sloppy when it comes to returning calls and responding to the needs and concerns of your clients.

Part-time real estate agents do not make much headway in this business. Period. There are already enough full time qualified real estate agents who have experience, training and a long list of clients. So why would anyone work with someone who is not wholeheartedly committed to the profession. Most brokers know how important it is to be accessible and approachable. Why would a client want to work with an agent who is busy with other activities and does not have the time nor the inclination to respond to their needs as well as the pros.

Tool # 2 – Positive Attitude

This is a must-have attitude for success in any endeavour. Imagine that you are standing in line at the supermarket on a busy Sunday morning. When you get to the payment registers there are two cashiers. You quickly survey the scene in order to decide which line to join. You notice that one of the cashiers is cheerful and interacting with the customers while the other one appears to be grumpy. Which line do you decide to join? The answer is a no-brainer. The same is true of customers in real estate. Customers are attracted to work with pleasing salespeople. We believe that in any business, disappointments are more common than success. The typical real estate career is filled with highs and lows. The highs are easy to deal with but the lows can be challenging to overcome.

We evaluate our agents on the following criteria:

  1. How do you feel if a client calls you when you are about to sit down for a family dinner?
  2. How do you deal with disappointment?
  3. Does your family react strongly if you are away for work on public holidays and weekends?
  4. Do you react dramatically and become emotional when things do not turn out as planned – like if a deal drops through inspite of putting in a lot of hard work.

The answers to the above questions must be met with positivity. Only then can one meet with success as a real estate consultant. Most successful real estate agents don’t just show up for work everyday. On the other hand, people who love their work usually run out of the day before they run out of useful and worthwhile things to do! This in our opinion is a fantastic way to live and a great way to earn a living!

Tool # 3 – People Skills

Needless to say, it is people skills that makes a good real estate broker. This does not imply that one needs to be a wild party animal though some party animals do make a lot of money! Having good people skills ensures that you enjoy serving and interacting with others. There are many people who like to sit inside a cubicle all the time or work in a warehouse. Which is fine. Society needs all kinds of people. But to be a successful agent you need to have a wide range of people skills. The qualities that make you endearing as a real estate consultant are: honesty, sense of fun, camaraderie, trustworthiness, caring, perseverance, good communication, positive attitude, patience, sincerity, energy, friendliness, helpfulness, responsiveness etc.

Tool # 4 – Willing to Sell

We have all encountered pushy and aggressive sales people but most of us do not like to deal with such people. There is a thin line between a persistent salesperson and an annoying salesperson. Pushiness is not a quality that is desired in a successful broker. Top salespeople have a variety of styles. High pressure is one of them and understated confidence is another. But the bottom-line is that one does not need to talk people into doing things that they do not wish to do.

Regardless of personality and style of selling we believe that the underlying principle to be a successful realtor is to have the knowledge and ability to guide and coach people when the time is right. Selling real estate is not about arm twisting but about the art of persuasion. One has to have the confident persona to lead people into making a crucial and expensive decision and to argue without being argumentative. This we believe is what separates the successful real estate agent from the average one!

The key point to take away here is that one is a salesperson and not an Order taker. If you wait for clients to tell you that they are ready to buy then many opportunities will be lost. But if you go ahead and ask questions and probe the buyer then success is guaranteed. As the title above suggests, you have to be willing to sell. That’s all. The rest will take care of itself.

Tool # 5 – Attack Doubt

As a leading luxury real estate agency, we believe anyone selling luxury real estate has essentially two choices in front of him / her. Socialise and attend every opportunity that one can get to meet and hobnob with rich people and hand out their business cards until someone says to you, ‘Oh I have been thinking about buying a home”.

The other option is to sit down in your nice comfy air-conditioned office and design a flyer or a brochure which you send to people you know announcing the latest listing or an upcoming project if you are a channel partner to Real Estate Developers. Most people given a chance would choose the second option because it makes them think that it is a more professional approach or something like that. The two approaches is actually the difference between superstar success on one hand and just making ends meet on the other hand. Actively going out and seeking business and handing out your business cards requires courage while making a brochure or a flyer provides a temporary refuge from the fear of the unknown.

Effort outside of the office is what defines success in the world of real estate. All of our top performing agents do not love to sit in the office. These high performing ‘superstar agents’ like to offer their services to LOTS of new folks. They know that the more they waste time sitting in the office, the less time they have to meet new people who can actually become clients. In short, in the world of real estate selling, real success can be elusive for those who are not hunting outside the office.

Most people who struggle in life are active procrastinators. Which means that they are excellent at delaying, diverting, waiting, redoing, having tea breaks, justifying and refraining from actually rolling up their sleeves and doing the important work. Their bright and happy ‘business’ side that they show to the world is basically a mask for their fears. They are highly concerned about what others think of them which is why they do not ever get down to doing the things that really matter.

In the world of high end real estate consulting, people who seek comfort are doomed. Successful real estate brokers are not hesitant to approach just about anybody for business. They like to do new things and do not play safe. They update their client lists and regularly contact them instead of hoping that someone will feel obligated enough to call you. Do you call all of your contacts and past clients atleast four times a year and ask them for business or do you assume that they would rather not be bothered? Are you willing to meet strangers for coffee or would you just be meeting familiar people over and over again? The answers to these define the qualities of go-getters and these are exactly the qualities that we like our employees and agents to have 🙂

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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