Tips and ideas to help you succeed in the 21st century

by Terri Murphy   Like it or not, the Internet is here to stay and has drastically changed the old ways of how we did our listing and selling business. The good news is that for those of us who approach our careers as a business and not a hobby, we will be fortunate enough to win at the listing and selling game, not just compete.

There are also a lot of people out there telling you what to buy to "survive" in the 21st century arena, but few telling us what to do with this stuff after we pay for it, or what makes it important or relevant to our business.

If you’ve made the decision to make real estate your career, or if you are looking for the way to stay in the business, here’s a survival checklist to follow. It will get you to the new digital edge you need to travel the information highway.

Find a mentor with 21st-century savvy
A fantastic way to learn about the business is to begin as a buyer assistant for a busy automated top producer in your office, or spend the money to "monitor" them for a day or so. Don’t look for just the big numbers in volume. Check out the organizational abilities behind those big numbers.

Lots of agents continue to do big business the old way, but alas, show little or no profit from their time investment. In the past, we were impressed with those agents who racked up gigantic volume and enjoyed hundreds of transactions a year.

The new value-set parameter will be the ratio of customer satisfaction for services rendered on each transaction. What if you got a report card after each transaction from your client or customer? And what if that information became available to other consumers who were interested in securing an agent to work with? And suppose that information was available to anyone who wanted it through the World Wide Web? How do you think you would rate?

The agent with the highest service ratios is more likely to get the job than the agent grinding out the numbers but with low ratings on customer service. In addition, many agents are generating huge dollars and cash flow, but in the final accounting they are keeping only a fractional amount of that cash flow as actual profit.

So, if you are checking out a success model, here are a few important things to watch for:

• Take note of the hardware and software systems this agent is using. Find out what contact database is the preferred choice. Investigate what electronic communications are being used. What traditional types of direct mail, newsletters, etc., have been found to be productive and profitable.
• Pay to "shadow" a top producer for a half or a full day. Different top-producing agents charge different fees, but they are worth it. The information is out there for you to check out on your own. Seeing firsthand what has been working for a productive office saves you time, energy, frustration, and money.
• Find out if they are interested in teaming up with you as a buyer assistant. A top producer gives you lots of opportunity to develop hands-on experience, while working under their guidance and reputation as a seasoned agent. Taking that agent’s buyers out to show properties affords you a steady stream of customers without the hassle of generating new business and handling the paperwork. This arrangement will differ with each agent, but there are sales agents who cannot handle all the buyer leads that they receive and are only too happy to turn over the showing part to an enthusiastic "let me at ‘em" new person. Compensation varies as well. Some agents offer percentages, while others have bonus arrangements. Ask around and see if this type of a system works for you. Work with a hard copy agreement letter to avoid misunderstandings and compensation should the situation change in the future.
• If you are new, look for an opportunity to be a licensed personal assistant to a top producer. Many top producers have personally trained several people who started out doing the clerical and marketing duties to assist them. There are several successful top producers who will hire you knowing that the position is one of training and will last about one year. After that time, you might consider working as a buyer assistant agent for this top producer and eventually develop your own circle of business. Where there is a will, there is a way…that is uniquely right for you!

Interview a successful agent
Top producers are very busy. You need to know they quite clearly understand that their time is money. If you are asking for their time and short cuts, it must be an equitable proposition for you both. If there is someone you admire, ask for an appointment. Ask what it would cost to do so. Most top producers can buy their own lunch or dinner; however, they might be flattered that you offer to pay for their time and expertise.

Your first tactic is to study your local market and interview those agents who seem to have a great system. For additional resources of information outside of your local competing area, check out new Web sites offering monthly memberships and training online. Sites like iSucceed.com offer information and training for every level agent with 24-hour access for a monthly membership fee. These type of sites can offer you access to winning and successful ideas and are a great way to "keep connected" to the onslaught of innovative ideas and success systems globally. It is worth the fee to have streamlined information coming right to you on demand to keep you in the know with what is new and useful.

Other traditional sources have been Star Power tapes and materials through Howard Brinton, Allen Hainge Seminars and Newsletters and many, many more.

Regardless of how you secure the information, you need to design your business and to ask the right questions for you. Traditionally, good questions to ask a successful agent have included the following:

• How much income/volume did you make your first year? Last year?
• How did you handle family obligations?
• Did you provide for your tax obligations?
• What was your formula for calculating tax obligations?
• Did you get/have special disability insurance?
• When did you hire a part-time assistant?
• How do you pay the people who help you?
• What duties in your home and business did you find necessary to delegate?
• What was your biggest challenge?

Questions to ask the 21st- century-savvy agent might cover the following:

• Do you use agent productivity software to organize your database and tracking?
• Do you use Quicken, or other financial software to track expenses for tax purposes?
• Have you found a personal productivity software package that handles your calendar, address book, contact database and tasks? If so, which one do you prefer?
• Do you have your own Web site and to whom is it linked or framed?
• Did you develop guidelines for your Web site design?
• Do you have trackable evidence that your Web site makes you money?
• Do you have tracking on your Web site to help determine the source of your business?
• How do you track which marketing tools and services are working the best for you?
• How many of your clients and customers communicate with you via e-mail?
• Do you own your own Internet domain?
• Do you know your percentage of profit from your various marketing efforts?
• What new tools are you using to create strong customer service to meet the new 21st-century requirements for continued and distinctive services?

Getting the answers to some of these questions will help you write your own business plan for your career. Knowing the answers, or designing your plan to fulfill the needs here, spells success and profit for your precious time and efforts.

Begin treating your business like a real business
Start building your business like a business! Look at your costs to begin or continue in the industry. Besides the necessary licenses, continuing education and seminars, you need to look at a budget that can include the new tools you will need to stay in the game.

This means that getting yourself into the technology mode isn’t a choice anymore. It is, and will continue to be, the way information and communication are organized and exchanged. Take the time to plan out the tools and expenses you will need to practice in the new millennium. Years ago, we needed a desk and a phone. Now you will need more tools and services. Begin figuring the following into your current budget:

• Getting online with an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• Registering and owning your own domain to secure a permanent e-mail address
• Securing/building a personal Web site
• Choosing an annual hosting service
• Purchasing hardware (laptop/desktop computer, cellular phone/pager, scanner, printer, digital camera, PDA)
• Acquiring software (agent productivity software, financial software, personal productivity software)
• Using additional marketing tools (such as sign riders with your Web and e-mail addresses to add to your yard sign information)

These are just a few of the basics you might need. Every second there is a new way/tool/gizmo for you to consider. Just begin, master the basics, and get going. Upgrading is relatively easy when you are already somewhat familiar with the use of these new tools.

Get a tech coach
The psychiatrist of the 1970s and 1980s is being replaced by the need for a technology coach. Remember that our prime activities must be listing, selling, negotiating, and prospecting. So becoming a certified "geek" is not necessary, but we must consider the importance of understanding the new communication and the "appliances" that go with it.

Even if you are a top-producing agent, don’t be held hostage or pay way too much money for digital goods and services. It will take a small investment of time, but you need to be in control of this new medium.

Real estate is one entrepreneurial business that saves you from investing in warehousing, storing, inventorying, and outright purchasing of products to sell. The new 21st-century agent needs some extras to compete and survive. Guidance and on-going technology training and assistance will shorten the curve to helping you become sophisticated about the use of the World Wide Web.

Excerpted, with permission, from Terri Murphy’s e-Listing and e-Selling Secrets For the Technologically Clueless by Terri Murphy. ©2001, by Dearborn Financial Publishing, Inc. Published by Real Estate Education Company, a division of Dearborn Financial Publishing, Chicago. All rights reserved. To order a copy of the book, call 800/621-9621, ext. 3650.

home   current issue    top 10    resources 

discussions   contact us   search

Buyers & sellers, visit www.texasrealestate.com.
REALTORS®, visit www.tar.org.