Tuesday, October 9, 2012

How to Become a Top Realtor in Your Area

If you have recently begun a career in real estate, you should know that things are not always what they seem. The top producer in a company may make it look easy, but the fact is a career in real estate is not so simple. The top producers did not get there by luck. They took the necessary steps to put them at the top. These steps are not always easy to figure out, however, the following information will help you to become a top producing real estate professional. Get your systems in place. This means your website, database system, assistant, branding material, promotional material, vendors, follow-up system, marketing strategy, farming area, etc. Let us just talk about a few Farming is a term that is used in real estate that simply means an area that is your territory. Many real estate agencies will allow you to choose the area in which you wish to concentrate on. It might be in your neighborhood or it could be in an affluent section across town. The farming technique will allow you to be known in that neighborhood as the real estate agent to go to. Many wonder how big their farm should be. This is entirely up to you and how well you want to do. If you farm an area of 100 homes, you may get a couple of listings every couple of months. Farm an area of 1000 or more homes and you will probably end up with 3-4 every couple of months. The more homes you farm, the better your chances are. The thing to remember is it takes repetition and time to create you as a household name but it will happen! Another method that top producing real estate agents use is branding. Branding is the process of applying repetition and consistency in your business and leading potential clients to believe you are the best in the business and thereby, the only one to call when it comes time to selling or buying real estate. The key to branding is to invoke this brand in everything you do and make sure you back up your brand by providing excellent service. The fact is branding can and will eliminate your need to the more traditional marketing. It is a slower process, but if done correctly, will last you throughout your career in real estate. The outcome of branding is that when anybody, especially those in your targeted market, thinks about real estate, they will immediately think of you. In their eyes, the only one to call is you. One sign of a successful real estate agent is the assistant. Many top producing agents find themselves to be more effective by hiring a personal assistant to handle the time-consuming aspects of their business. Your assistant should be handling items that take up too much of your time, such as advertising, staying in touch with past clients, mailings, transaction management, etc. It is also wise to make a list of the skills you lack, such as technology skills on the computer, and hire an assistant who has better skills than you do in these areas. If you do not have time to train an assistant or you just do not want the liability you should hire a Certified Virtual Assistant (CVA). These, of course, are only a few of the techniques and methods used by top producing real estate agents. To be successful, you must have a dedication to providing excellent service to your clients and you must enjoy what you are doing. Helping someone to fulfill their dream of home ownership is one reason why many agents become top producers. To become a top producer, you simply have to want it and commit to it by taking the required steps.