Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies. Zeller Dirk

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СКАЧАТЬ successful business can enjoy a similarly lucrative sale. In fact, your objective should be to build the kind of business that you can sell at the completion of your real estate career.

      I worked with a coaching client a few years ago as she prepared her business for sale. She tracked lead-making strategies, lead conversion rates, client satisfaction, listings, buyers, and net profit. Then, for two years, we worked together to improve all the facets of her business until they were fine-tuned to perfection. She was among the minority 5 percent of agents who built a truly well-rounded business. The result: Her real estate practice sold for well over $1 million. How’s that for a goal?

      Chapter 2

      Selecting the Right Company

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      ❯❯ Weighing the pros and cons of different types of real estate companies

      ❯❯ Knowing the roles of agency players and the rules of the house

      ❯❯ Choosing and joining your agency team

      Before you sign on with a real estate company, you need to take time to look well beneath the surface and beyond first impressions to determine whether the company is, in fact, the right one for you. Do the company’s core values and culture align with yours? Are its technology platforms and systems cutting edge, standard for the market, or lagging behind? Does its brand help you stand out in the marketplace?

      Most agents, whether new or experienced, don’t invest enough time in evaluating and analyzing companies, owners, key managers, and their direct broker manager in their office before they commit to a real estate firm. In this chapter, I help you to do the homework, compare the opportunities, make the choice, and establish a winning partnership.

Real Estate Office of the Future

      Real estate offices have evolved from the sprawling buildings where every agent had his own workstation, cubical, or private office. Although some offices are still arranged this way, the vast majority of real estate offices are morphing into a more stop-and-go model. Agents on the go share spaces, tools and resources. Many agents work probably remotely from a home office. Their activities are mobile because of technological advances in access to information and paperless documents and transactions. Even agents who need staff or help for administrative functions are hiring virtual assistants, who can work from any location.

      I have a client who has a team of agents and administration staff who all work remotely. They sell over 50 million dollars of real estate a year, but everyone works from a home office. They don’t even have space at the real estate company.

SPACE AGE

      Real estate offices today are using a more open-space concept … think Starbucks or your neighborhood cafe. They often contain a bullpen rather than a large number of private offices. A "bullpen" is an area with a large number of cubicles where most agents work. Everyone shares the space in these new offices, which also have private workspaces available. Usually conference rooms are available for client and prospect meetings. Today’s spaces are also more client-centric. They are more comfortable and inviting than the offices of old, where cubicles and private offices were lined up in a rigid row.

      In today’s offices, you may notice the absence of a large meeting or training space. Many companies have cut back on their training offerings or switched to online training classes, so they have repurposed that unused space.

      These changes can mean fewer laborious meetings and more time to generate business. Many tools and educational offerings are available in real-time, online environments. This office of the future helps you be more mobile and more effective with your time. You don’t need to feel compelled to come in each day or even every week.

Weighing All Your Options

      An agent choosing an agency isn’t a whole lot different than a consumer choosing an agent. All the choices look good (often they all look very much the same!), and they all offer a wide variety of opportunities. What’s more, they all tell you that they’re the best. So how do you choose?

      

Choose by weighing benefits. What advantages can you count on in terms of training, continuing education, lead-generation opportunities, opportunities to host open houses, social-media positioning, lead generation, and market share by joining one company over another company? You should also check the search engine optimization of the company website for your market. Also check common search terms for your area. If you live in Wichita, Kansas, I would look at “Wichita real estate,” “Wichita homes for sale,” and other common search terms. Does your company rank on the first page or even at all? Additionally, check on strategic alliances or marketing partnerships the company may have with third-party lead generators like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com.

      A larger portion of buyers is going to these third-party sites. What type of relationship does your broker or national brand have with these companies? Do your listings get enhanced positioning? Do your listings get exclusive positioning where you are the only agent who is highlighted for your listings?

      Check the technology tools and systems that are provided for free as well as for a fee. The new breed of agents needs to keep up with the technology options and tools coming out each month. Does the broker you’re considering lead the field, or is it running in place? It’s fair to ask the broker you’re interviewing with, “What’s in it for me? Why should I come to your company and your office?” The clearly delivered response will tell you a lot about the company.

      As you assess company choices, use the upcoming advice to evaluate how office attributes and company size match with your own interests and priorities.

       Choosing residential or commercial

      Differences abound in real estate companies. The biggest difference being whether the product the company focuses on is residential or commercial. While real estate sales practitioners can legally sell any type of real estate, whether residential properties or commercial properties or even businesses, frequently a company will either specialize in residential or commercial real estate.

       Residential

      A residential company will primarily sell homes, town homes, condos, and small-plex properties. Agents are not precluded from other real estate activity in the commercial realm but they often leave that market to specialists.

       Commercial

      Commercial real estate companies tend to focus on larger commercial deals. They frequently leave the small-plex properties, such as duplex, triplex, and four-plex properties, to the residential agents and companies because of lower sale prices and lower demand for complex financing options. A buyer can receive conforming financing for up to a four-plex property. This means that the same sources that finance a primary residence can and do provide up to four-plex financing. These loans are easier to obtain than commercial loans on apartments, office buildings, and strip malls. They also require a lower down payment than the typical commercial loan requires. There is an underserved niche in small plexes that might be worthwhile to focus on.

      Commercial companies in large and mid-size markets do the majority of the commercial leases of retail, industrial, and office space. They are the ones who handle the listing and sale of apartment complexes, office buildings, retail centers, industrial buildings, and land.

       What makes a great office?

      When I look at a real estate office, I evaluate how they rank based on the following list of attributes:

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