7 Habits of Highly Effective Real Estate Agents

How to Be a Great Real Estate Agent

Let’s face it – being a real estate agent isn’t for pushovers!

Agents deal with varying demands of clients, and at the same time, face the ongoing necessity of increasing their customer base.

Oh, and they need to make they close enough deals to make a living as well!

It is a demanding and high-pressure career!

And, one of the most competitive environments in the business world today.

So, how can an agent rise above the competition?

What is it about top-performing real estate agents that separate them from the rest of the pack?

I’m glad you asked – and ask you did! I put this article together in response to an overwhelming reaction to the two previous articles in which I have looked at 7 Habits of Highly Effective Home Buyers and 7 Habits of Highly Effective Home Sellers.

The inspiration for this series of articles is Stephen R. Covey’s famous book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This work is the sum of Mr. Covey’s life experiences and the basis for his many leadership projects and seminars.

While preparing for this article I pulled my copy off the shelf – a 1993 edition, and although it came out only four years after the original printing in 1989, the 1993 reprint opens with no less than seven pages of praise testimonials!

There are enthusiastic quotations from professors, company presidents, directors, senators, authors and many, many athletes.

It’s no wonder Covey was regarded by some as an “American Socrates”.

Covey states his organization’s power-packed mission statement:

“To empower people and organizations to significantly increase their performance capability in order to achieve worthwhile purposes through understanding and living principle-centred leadership.”

These principles also apply to real estate agents and describe how to excel in this highly competitive sphere.

Here are my 7 Habits of Highly Effective Real Estate Agents:

1. Be Proactive: Manage your time to get ahead

An effective real estate agent is not passive, holding a belief that he or she is at the mercy of the market!

Because of the market forces of supply and demand, an effective agent feels the need to be proactive.

Whether you’re an experienced real estate agent of many years or got your license just last week, you need to give attention to generating leads and leveraging referrals on an ongoing basis.

It is also not enough to have leads – you must act upon them!

A lead that is not acted upon is a dead end.

Period!

Acting on leads takes the form of following up on leads, and setting productive meetings with clients and potential clients.

Proactive agents are those who understand the value of their time.

Assign enough time must to each of these: lead generation, follow-ups, and meetings with clients.

Have you also allocated time to prepare for appointments?

By being well-prepared before the meeting, you are ready to field any questions the client may have. This contributes to their confidence in your ability.

When a buyer raises an issue he or she has with the property, you aren’t thrown for a loop if you have already assessed the property!

In other words, you will already be able to address the issue before it is raised!

Useful agents show urgency, and tenacity, in dealing with the requests of clients.

It’s obvious when you take the time to consider it: would you rather deal with an agent who is lax, and takes his or her time to revert with answers and progress?

Or, the agent who shows tenacity and brings back a prompt response?

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

2. Begin With The End In Mind: Deal with issues before they arise

Always keep a clear picture of the end goal.

What you want to do is close deals and sell homes faster.

The better you organize your time, the more time you have available for clients, the more deals that are closed and the faster you achieve your end goal!

Keeping this in mind leads you to remove any obstacles to success.

Make preparation to deal with issues before they arise!

So, don’t wait until home inspection issues on the property crop up! Prepare for these inspection problems in advance.

Perhaps speak to your seller at the start of the marketing process and have them make you aware of any potential issues that will need attention.

An effective agent can walk the seller through the process and show them the value of playing open cards rather than concealing any problems with the property.

Hiding the potential problems is a stupid way of doing business, which may cost you the sale.

Buyers ought to know about these issues from the start.

The inspection will reveal these issues anyway, so why not opt to be upfront as it’s the better option anyway?!

Plus, it’ll go a long way to establishing a good relationship with the buyer as well.

An effective agent will also propose a solution to the issues.

Based on recent research, one of the most sought-after qualities that clients look for in a real estate agent is honesty, so keeping a policy of transparency with clients will bring you closer to that end goal.

“Trust is the glue of life. It’s an essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”

― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

3. Put First Things First: Relationships before sales

An effective agent can put relationships first.

Why?

Easy – there can be no sales without good business relationships!

If you poison the relationship, you will poison the sale.

Cultivating the relationship is cultivating the sale!

• Good business relationships are about good communication, where the timing of the communication is crucial!
• Select a time of day and channel (phone, email or text) that works for the client: don’t leave them guessing or bring them news about the deal when it’s too late to act upon it.
  Your clients want to know where they stand at all times! This will avoid a lot of frustration, believe me!
  Clients shouldn’t have to keep calling you, begging for scraps of information about the deal.
  And if they are, then you aren’t communicating enough! There are plenty of reasons why real estate agents don’t return phone calls – don’t let yours fall into that list!
• Ask questions, and be a good listener. This will enable you to prioritize what the clients prioritize.
• Are they looking for the quickest sale, or for the highest price? Knowing their situation will enable you to give them appropriate options.
• Honor your clients’ time, so avoid canceling meetings last minute unless it is an emergency! If you value their time, they will value yours.
• Put the relationship before your commission including avoiding things like becoming a dual real estate agent, where you no longer represent the seller anymore.

“Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic.”

― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

4. Think Win-Win: Emphasize positives, deal with negatives

Any property will have certain pluses and minuses, pros and cons.

Emphasize positive selling points by displaying them in their most attractive light.

As for the negatives, an effect agent will not minimize them, but rather deal with them.

Effective agents have a problem-solver mindset: if you can bring solutions, you can turn negatives into positives!

The effective agent has a toolkit for this point.

He or she has a skill for taking great pictures, listing the property and staging the property in the most desirable way.

Effective agents also always have a great attention to detail.

They know that even minor changes can swing the client’s final decision.

A win-win mentality allows a good agent to realize that if the client wins, the agent wins.

If the client gets a good sale or a great price, you as the agent get a good deal.

Your success and theirs are linked.

Knowing this, you will avoid trying to push a “grudge purchase” onto a buyer.

“Effective people are not problem-minded; they’re opportunity minded. They feed opportunities and starve problems.”

― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

5. Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood: Knowledge driving negotiation.

You’ve heard the saying, “the customer is always right”?

Sounds cute, but it’s wrong!

Sorry to burst your bubble!

Without trying to sound too arrogant, often the agent knows best.

He or she has a superior understanding of the market and the process of buying & selling.

Or, at least should be! After all, isn’t this their job Day-in, day-out to be knowing all this stuff?!

But, this does not mean that an effective agent will chuck out everything the client has to say!

In fact, effective agents are more attentive to the client’s needs and adapt to specific needs.

Understand the client’s connection to the home they want to buy or sell.

(“Is it an investment property, or a family home?” might seem like a basic question, but can make quite the difference!)

Learning everything you can about the client will enable you to provide viable options.

Learn everything you can about all things real estate: the jargon, the overall market, the particular neighborhoods, the houses for sale, all the important statistics, etc.

Learn about innovations in business, architecture, and amenities.

In the end, local knowledge about the individual property and location is of utmost importance!

In the end, individual property knowledge, as well as neighborhood knowledge is of utmost importance!

Clients will soon see you know what you’re talking about, giving you an edge over your competition.

If you have a genuine passion for your career, it will rub off on clients, and they will want to make use of your services.

So, increase your passion with a greater understanding of your industry.

That other old saying sure can be applied in this case: “Knowledge is power.”

“Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.”

― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

6. Synergism: Make the best use of your team and your tech.

What can you expect from your real estate agent when selling your home?

Effective real estate agents ally themselves with the best team for the job.

• Working with a well-known real estate agency is a great start!
  If clients recognize you as part of a reputable company, the work of building a good business relationship is already off to a great start.
• Regardless whether you’re working for a bigger name brand agency or not, you can still empower yourself by building a robust business network!
  You can work in a mutually-beneficial relationship with bond originators, home inspectors, appraisers, attorneys, buyers, and sellers.
  All can benefit from the marketing process, so invest into sharing good referrals across the board!
  Be willing to work with others so that you can close more deals faster.
• The best real estate agents realize the need for a marketing plan, which extends beyond your team, and stretches into the use of your technology. Well-run websites and social media streams are a primary source of leads and referrals. Be aware of what home sellers are expecting from you as their real estate agent!
  Great agents don’t leave this to an “IT guy”: they are knowledgeable and invest in internet-based marketing themselves.
• Get your business running tightly so you can focus on closing deals.
  Evaluate your current systems, look for ways to improve efficiency, and streamline where possible to save time and money.
• Consider hiring a trustworthy administrative assistant if the business side is bogging you down.

“Most entrepreneurs have a tendency toward independence. They like to do things on their own. But if you go to the Entrepreneur of the Year meetings every year, you’ll see that those who win consistently win as a team.”

― Stephen R. Covey , The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.

7. Sharpen The Saw: keep an upward trajectory of self-improvement.

Aside from the principles of professionalism above, top real estate agents are often self-starters:

• They have an entrepreneurial commitment to getting better at what they do.
• They work on their self-confidence and maintain a positive attitude.
• They know how to be assertive without stepping on the client’s toes!
• They make an effort to engage with people.
• Begin to invest in yourself.
• Work on your physical appearance.
• Be presentable at all times.

It is available to all agents to improve their trade.

You can learn from the top real estate performers in the industry.

And while this certainly means that you can approach other agents, meet with them and learn from them, you don’t need to have your own personal Yoda: there is a wealth of good articles, books, and web posts!

Heck, use commuting time in-between client meetings to listen to audio books or podcasts (I’ve been doing exactly that this past year and I’m loving it!).

In these ways, you can be mentored, even if you can’t get one-on-one with inspiring industry players!

Great agents are good at managing their time, energy and attention.

And, this ought to include taking a holistic approach, looking at personal well-being issues such as exercise, diet, and even healthy family time.

Remember, success takes time!

There is no effectiveness without hard work, but by following the steps, you can enjoy a long career as a highly effective real estate agent!

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”

― Stephen R. Covey , The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

I’d like to thank all those who wrote in requesting this article. I hope you find some good insight in the above which you can utilize right away.

I wish you all the best and invite you to keep the conversation going in the comments below!

Other Real Estate Agent Resources:

• Helping You Become a Better Real Estate Agent via Lynn Pineda.
• How To Ensure Success As a Real Estate Agent via Xavier De Buck.
• Top Marketing Tips From 20 Real Estate Professionals via Maximum Exposure.

If you have enjoyed reading this blog post, please make sure to share it across your social media networks!

About the author: The above article “7 Habits of Highly Effective Real Estate Agents” was provided by Xavier De Buck, your top-producing Johannesburg (South Africa) real estate agent with Chas Everitt International Luxury Portfolio, who’s passionate about the property market, technology and the synergy of both! You can read his blog at LuxuryHomesJohannesburg.com.