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What Does it Take to be a Real Estate Agent?
http://www.housebook.ca/articles/8344/1/What-Does-it-Take-to-be-a-Real-Estate-Agent/Page1.html
John Carlstrom
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By John Carlstrom
Published on February 22, 2010
 
Becoming a real estate is not just about getting a license and be part of the National Association of Realtors It is more than just knowing the laws and regulation about the real estate industry in your state

Becoming a real estate is not just about getting a license and be part of the National Association of Realtors. It is more than just knowing the laws and regulation about the real estate industry in your state. You can only be successful in the field if you have the attributes and discipline needed for the job. An outstanding real estate agent can still perform even during financially challenging times. He knows what to do and where to go to make good sales. More than two million real estate agents have their licenses but there is only a small percentage who can successfully withstand the challenges of these times. Again, it is not about the license. It is about your discipline and characteristics.

Below are the defining factors that make real estate agents stand among the rest.

1. Having a good business sense

A real estate agent should have a thorough understanding of how a business operates and what are important to make it succeed. A mindset of running your own business as an agent instead of having the mindset of an employee reporting to a real estate broker will make things different. You will know what customers need and what are important to make profits. When you think and behave this way, you will better take care of your customers and work toward maintaining good relationships and work on establishing more contacts and linkages. This is how a business owner thinks. This should be the perspective of real estate agents.

2. Be organized. Know how to plan.

If you see yourself in a business, you know that you need management skills necessary for the fulfilment of business objectives. You need to plan, organize and control. Set your targets. Conduct your own market research and plan strategically. Look at the macro level and know where you are going and specify how you will get there given a time frame. This is what a complete plan should be. Set quantifiable measures and benchmarks.

Set and meet your targets. Establish your sales goals in terms of quantity and monetary values. Do some resource management and control your expenditure. Set this in your operational plan to make sure that you are not spending too much for a small sale.

You should also know how to manage your time. You should have a daily call or schedule that you will follow to guide you toward achieving your goals. With this habit, you will have a clear direction on how to achieve your target.

3. Prioritize

If you already have a plan, most likely there will be demands for you to deviate from your plan. You should note if deviations will be important and if deviating from your daily plan can lead to better results. Prioritize and discern what is important for your business.

4. Market

You have to disseminate information about your service and the properties that you are selling. Create an awareness campaign within the community and online about good properties that are on sale. Reach as many people as you can. Use technology and benefit from it.

The above are areas that a real estate agent should be familiar with and should know how to implement. The license is a basic requirement. The success depends on the level of attention, effort, time, knowledge and skills that you are willing to invest to make your business grow.