Property Collective
16 min read
Finding your hat – The art of figuring out your real estate superpower
Many people believe that the role of a real estate agent primarily involves listing and showing people through homes, answering (multiple) phone calls, and writing contracts that go through an escrow process.
While those skills are certainly essential, the agent’s role is far more complex and requires a great variety of skills. They're investigators, psychologists, decorators, financial consultants, and sympathetic listeners in a process that can go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and a process that can be both stressful and emotional for those involved. We also forget the complex and ever-evolving nature of real estate and the importance of being versatile and flexible.
Trying to be all the things to all people will only leave you tired and burnt out. So, choose your hats wisely and play to your strengths. What hat fits you best? Make this your superpower!
Real estate is a business that needs to be professionally run. Due to the all-encompassing nature of the job, operations need to be perfectly executed to ensure energy, and money, are being well spent.
An excellent real estate agent must be a fantastic operations manager – ensuring their business is performing to its best potential. Agents must keep their eyes on multiple areas within the company, assuring productivity and efficiency while reducing costs. Agents must also manage relationships with other key stakeholders across different functions, especially when working alongside several departments to achieve their goals.
Stakeholders may include photographers, company administration, an internal marketing team, lawyers, mortgage brokers, or other agents within your agency and, of course, your vendors and leads!
Agents should also have their top picks for service providers for everything from house cleaners to contractors, landscape maintenance, and handyman services. Realtors need contacts in all departments to help support vendors in the process, making your life as an agent far more straightforward.
Ops not your thing? Hire an EA! Or a virtual assistant.
There's no shortage of ways to market real estate in today's fiercely competitive online mediums. However, like any other online marketing discipline, getting in front of the right customers is posing increasingly tricky. Not only are you competing against other agents, you’re competing against a plethora of content and advertising online - from all industries!
Real estate agents need to be all over marketing – from the more traditional print or network marketing to online and digital marketing. All of which is more complex than many realise!
People need to trust that a real estate agent can gain cut-through in their marketing, and ensure that messages reach the right hands. Great marketing can mean the difference between a substantial financial outcome.
Marketing your property well can improve the chances of a faster sale and a better price because more people will know about it.
Top agents will explain what strategy they believe will work best to sell your home. This strategy will include how they plan to market your property and how much this will cost -- including a written marketing plan with an itemised budget.
Agents need to know their target market of a property to ensure money is being spent wisely and in a way that will guarantee them the best return on investment (ROI).
There’s a multitude of exceptional marketing tools in the property space. Check out this article to see which tools might make your marketing hat wearing job easier.
Successful real estate agents have an eye for design and style. Whether this is simply offering just a few basic recommendations or providing home staging coordination, a home will always be sold with better terms and higher profits if it has first been professionally prepared!
Successful agents will offer vendors a list of ways to best prepare their home for sale, including how to best present each room, ways to declutter, and tips for keeping the house tidy for open homes.
Exceptional agents, however, will meet vendors months before a sale to offer suggestions of what styling, construction, or layout may give them the best bang for their buck.
Not your thing? Compile yourself a list of people who can help you! Home staging is big business in New Zealand.
Real estate agents are sales professionals, having an intimate knowledge of the neighbourhood and sales histories of an area. This knowledge helps them to get a lay of the land, and will offer them a significant disadvantage when trying to win over clients.
Having knowledge of an area will gives agents a greater confidence when it comes to basic negotiation skills, as they will truly know the value of what this property can offer a potential investor. This confidence is key in real estate sales, ensuring agents can truly demonstrate what a property is worth -- especially when going for top dollar!
Agents must get to know their product well to best impact a potential buyer – including the cons of a property! A great salesperson will turn any negative into a positive, finding a way to market and frame the property in the most attractive way.
House a little dated? It has character.
Does the house need a coat of paint? The new homeowner can truly make it their own.
Once they have helped generate a purchase offer, the agent must support both sides (vendor and buyer) come to an agreement. This negotiation must be craftily managed, including foreseeing any potential steps that could lead to later friction and possible re-negotiations.
Whether working for the seller or the buyer, a strong negotiator will help guide all parties to terms agreeable and beneficial to everyone. It’s important, however, that agents understand the perspective of both sides in order to work out a fair and equitable deal.
Need a confidence boost? Take a toastmasters course! Or practice on your partner, cat or dog!
Whether representing the seller or the buyer, an experienced real estate agent will have navigated a vast variety of surprises, challenges, problems, emotions, and personal issues, family disagreements, last-minute situations or emergencies, etc. An agent requires the skills of a counselor, mediator and, at times, a therapist.
All and all, your role is to share your knowledge and experiences with vendors and buyers to take some of the stress away from the process.
Back in the day, an escrow involved several pages of contract terms and escrow details, with a few loan options, a home inspection, and a standard 30-day closing period. Transactions today are far more involved, including navigating through hundreds of pages of contract and escrow documents, inspection reports, and repair estimates before removing contingencies. Not to mention, the process often happens now within a week!
The rapid pace that houses are now selling (often well before the deadline or the date that offers are advertised to be in) adds additional stress to agents. More than ever, having processes in order is vital to keep your head above water!
Put simply; there are not enough hours in a day for an agent to successfully wear every single hat. Many agents seem to sport most of these hats well, although it may require several years to become proficient in all of the roles involved.
Professional coaches and training programs are available to assist agents in learning how to develop better skills and be able to wear more of the hats more effectively and consistently.
As Benjamin Franklin says, “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
In 2021, the life of a real estate agent is hugely multifaceted. Your role is spread thin, and although technology exists to make your life easier, it can often mean there is more to manage.
Although you might need to wear all of the real estate hats, you can adorn yourself in your favourite headgear and make this your strength as an agent. You cannot be everything to everybody. Sharing the workload and employing those who can help support you in tasks that aren’t your forte is a great idea – especially once you’re established.
Knowing what you’re good at will allow you to prioritise your time best as a realtor.
While those skills are certainly essential, the agent’s role is far more complex and requires a great variety of skills. They're investigators, psychologists, decorators, financial consultants, and sympathetic listeners in a process that can go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and a process that can be both stressful and emotional for those involved. We also forget the complex and ever-evolving nature of real estate and the importance of being versatile and flexible.
Trying to be all the things to all people will only leave you tired and burnt out. So, choose your hats wisely and play to your strengths. What hat fits you best? Make this your superpower!
Operations Hat
Real estate is a business that needs to be professionally run. Due to the all-encompassing nature of the job, operations need to be perfectly executed to ensure energy, and money, are being well spent.
An excellent real estate agent must be a fantastic operations manager – ensuring their business is performing to its best potential. Agents must keep their eyes on multiple areas within the company, assuring productivity and efficiency while reducing costs. Agents must also manage relationships with other key stakeholders across different functions, especially when working alongside several departments to achieve their goals.
Stakeholders may include photographers, company administration, an internal marketing team, lawyers, mortgage brokers, or other agents within your agency and, of course, your vendors and leads!
Agents should also have their top picks for service providers for everything from house cleaners to contractors, landscape maintenance, and handyman services. Realtors need contacts in all departments to help support vendors in the process, making your life as an agent far more straightforward.
Ops not your thing? Hire an EA! Or a virtual assistant.
Marketing Hat
There's no shortage of ways to market real estate in today's fiercely competitive online mediums. However, like any other online marketing discipline, getting in front of the right customers is posing increasingly tricky. Not only are you competing against other agents, you’re competing against a plethora of content and advertising online - from all industries!
Real estate agents need to be all over marketing – from the more traditional print or network marketing to online and digital marketing. All of which is more complex than many realise!
People need to trust that a real estate agent can gain cut-through in their marketing, and ensure that messages reach the right hands. Great marketing can mean the difference between a substantial financial outcome.
Marketing your property well can improve the chances of a faster sale and a better price because more people will know about it.
Top agents will explain what strategy they believe will work best to sell your home. This strategy will include how they plan to market your property and how much this will cost -- including a written marketing plan with an itemised budget.
Agents need to know their target market of a property to ensure money is being spent wisely and in a way that will guarantee them the best return on investment (ROI).
There’s a multitude of exceptional marketing tools in the property space. Check out this article to see which tools might make your marketing hat wearing job easier.
Property Preparation Hat
Successful real estate agents have an eye for design and style. Whether this is simply offering just a few basic recommendations or providing home staging coordination, a home will always be sold with better terms and higher profits if it has first been professionally prepared!
Successful agents will offer vendors a list of ways to best prepare their home for sale, including how to best present each room, ways to declutter, and tips for keeping the house tidy for open homes.
Exceptional agents, however, will meet vendors months before a sale to offer suggestions of what styling, construction, or layout may give them the best bang for their buck.
Not your thing? Compile yourself a list of people who can help you! Home staging is big business in New Zealand.
Sales Hat
Real estate agents are sales professionals, having an intimate knowledge of the neighbourhood and sales histories of an area. This knowledge helps them to get a lay of the land, and will offer them a significant disadvantage when trying to win over clients.
Having knowledge of an area will gives agents a greater confidence when it comes to basic negotiation skills, as they will truly know the value of what this property can offer a potential investor. This confidence is key in real estate sales, ensuring agents can truly demonstrate what a property is worth -- especially when going for top dollar!
Agents must get to know their product well to best impact a potential buyer – including the cons of a property! A great salesperson will turn any negative into a positive, finding a way to market and frame the property in the most attractive way.
House a little dated? It has character.
Does the house need a coat of paint? The new homeowner can truly make it their own.
Negotiating Hat
Once they have helped generate a purchase offer, the agent must support both sides (vendor and buyer) come to an agreement. This negotiation must be craftily managed, including foreseeing any potential steps that could lead to later friction and possible re-negotiations.
Whether working for the seller or the buyer, a strong negotiator will help guide all parties to terms agreeable and beneficial to everyone. It’s important, however, that agents understand the perspective of both sides in order to work out a fair and equitable deal.
Need a confidence boost? Take a toastmasters course! Or practice on your partner, cat or dog!
Hand-Holding and Problem-Solving Hat
Whether representing the seller or the buyer, an experienced real estate agent will have navigated a vast variety of surprises, challenges, problems, emotions, and personal issues, family disagreements, last-minute situations or emergencies, etc. An agent requires the skills of a counselor, mediator and, at times, a therapist.
All and all, your role is to share your knowledge and experiences with vendors and buyers to take some of the stress away from the process.
Escrow Management Hat
Back in the day, an escrow involved several pages of contract terms and escrow details, with a few loan options, a home inspection, and a standard 30-day closing period. Transactions today are far more involved, including navigating through hundreds of pages of contract and escrow documents, inspection reports, and repair estimates before removing contingencies. Not to mention, the process often happens now within a week!
The rapid pace that houses are now selling (often well before the deadline or the date that offers are advertised to be in) adds additional stress to agents. More than ever, having processes in order is vital to keep your head above water!
Time Management Hat
Put simply; there are not enough hours in a day for an agent to successfully wear every single hat. Many agents seem to sport most of these hats well, although it may require several years to become proficient in all of the roles involved.
Professional coaches and training programs are available to assist agents in learning how to develop better skills and be able to wear more of the hats more effectively and consistently.
As Benjamin Franklin says, “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
In 2021, the life of a real estate agent is hugely multifaceted. Your role is spread thin, and although technology exists to make your life easier, it can often mean there is more to manage.
Although you might need to wear all of the real estate hats, you can adorn yourself in your favourite headgear and make this your strength as an agent. You cannot be everything to everybody. Sharing the workload and employing those who can help support you in tasks that aren’t your forte is a great idea – especially once you’re established.
Knowing what you’re good at will allow you to prioritise your time best as a realtor.
