Becoming a successful real estate agent means honing many of the skills essential in starting and running your own business as an entrepreneur.
The longer you’re in the property business, the more familiar you’ll become with the essential skills you need to master in order to become a real contender in this highly competitive industry. Apart from being organised, driven and a true “people person”, successful estate agents and entrepreneurs actually share many of the same skills. This isn’t that surprising since estate agents are effectively entrepreneurs in their own right, as they essentially manage their own businesses. Here’s a closer look at the similar skills each possess and once perfected, are sure to help them rise to the top.
Experts in their fields
It’s no secret that in order to be the best, you need to be an expert. This is true for both estate agents and entrepreneurs: if you are to do well in your field and develop your business, you need to be very knowledgeable about all aspects of your particular market. You also need to stay on top of the latest news and trends that may affect business. Having knowledge and expertise will help position you as an authority, in turn helping to establish trust between you and your clients. Constantly educating yourself and expanding your knowledge means that when you receive requests or enquiries from clients, you’re ready to assist them immediately, proving yourself to be a valuable hub of important information.
They are networking machines
Mastering the skill of networking is something that is vital to any entrepreneur’s success. Without forming meaningful connections with a variety of different people, it will be very difficult for you to grow your client base and forge the relationships you need to build your business. The truth is that you never really know when you’re going find your next client or make your next sale, so it helps to be meeting new people regularly and getting your name out there. The further you cast your net, the greater your chances are of expanding and finding that ultimate success.
Highly focussed
If you don’t keep your eye on the prize, then how can you expect to achieve your goals? Entrepreneurs are very focussed individuals who rarely get distracted from the job at hand: growing their business and making it a success. Just as entrepreneurs are their own bosses and therefore have to motivate themselves, so too are estate agents. Both have to remain determined and dedicated to what they do because if they’re not, there’s no way they can reach their objectives and feel accomplished.
Building impressive teams
Just as entrepreneurs rely on strong and committed teams to provide support and assistance to them, the same can be said for estate agents. The reality is that you can’t do everything on your own when you’re running your own business, and often you need an extra helping hand to ensure you get the job done well (or, at all). As long as you have the right people surrounding you and stepping in when need be, chances are you’ll only go from strength to strength. Being able to delegate when necessary and having good people by your side is a sure-fire way to guarantee that your business grows and you perform at your best, always.
Always on the move
Entrepreneurs and estate agents are the same in that they’re both looking for the next deal before the current one has even been completed. They are constantly pushing to grow their business, widen their network and to find success. Both have to be self-starters who are able to push and motivate themselves forward – ultimately, they are the masters of their own destiny. Highly results-driven, entrepreneurs are more than happy to take control of the wheel and do whatever they need to do to achieve their goals. The art of maintaining momentum is something that both entrepreneurs and estate agents share and in many ways, it forms the basis for their success.
If you weren’t convinced before, after reading this you should now see how estate agents are in fact entrepreneurs in more than one way. Both need to learn and perfect many of the same skills that are essential for starting and managing your own business. So here’s to you, the hard-working estate agent, who is bravely conquering the entrepreneurial world one home sale at a time.