Editor’s Note: Neel gives some great tips here that would be useful for anyone in the sales industry. While we don’t focus on real estate on this blog, these are great tips for presentation and sales. If you are in a start up business or pitching a new investment to others, you can follow the tips here to improve your effectiveness.
As a real estate agent you’re working in a very competitive industry. How you appear, how you communicate, the way you present yourself can be crucial to gaining the confidence of a client and making a sale. Here are five tips to help.
As real estate agents you’re working in a very competitive industry. How you appear, how you communicate, the way you present yourself can be crucial to gaining the confidence of a client and making a sale. Here are five tips you need to be aware of:
Tip One: Groom and Dress Well
It goes without saying that real estate agents are working in a world of appearances. Yet so many agents don’t always take care of their personal presentation. Small details like scuffed shoes, broken nails, crooked ties or dirty shirts will all count against you when trying to win over the trust of a client or buyer. The best way to dress is to imagine that you’re always about to go for a job interview. In many ways, as an agent, you often are. No one will ever turn away an agent because they are expensively dressed. If anything it only tells the world that you’re successful.
Tip Two: Always Be Confident
As an agent you have to inspire trust and confidence. So you need to be confident yourself. There are many things you can do. Always maintain eye contact otherwise you will appear either vague or shifty. Try to avoid umming and ahhing. Never be hesitant. It’s better to be confident and admit you’re wrong than appear like you don’t know what you’re doing. However, there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Be careful you don’t cross it.
Tip Three: Listen And React
Too many agents make the mistake of being too aggressive with both clients and buyers. They will come in and make their spiel or pitch and try and bulldoze the helpless souls into submission. They won’t even let the poor people get a word in edgewise. Instead a good agent should be tailoring his or her pitch to suit each individual. The best way of doing this is to listen and react to what the customer is saying. They will then empathise with the agent and also feel that the agent appreciates their needs. Ask them questions about themselves, find out what they want and then you’ll be able to act accordingly.
Tip Four: Be Well Researched
As an agent you’ll be expected to have the answers to a million questions at your fingertips especially in tough markets for investment property Sydney or other major centres. Both buyers and sellers will always assume that you know everything there is to know about each property you’re entrusted with. It’s very unfair, of course, but you need to meet that expectation. If you’re fumbling through folders or documents or say you’ll have to get back to them with an answer you’ll seem unprofessional. So you have to be on top of all the information about each property you walk into. You could be asked anything from the cost of strata levies or where the nearest public transport is to codes of laws on renting. A good agent will be prepared for all these questions and will therefore inspire confidence.
Tip Five: Be Calm and Personable
Your demeanour and personality will count for a lot to buyers and sellers looking for a home or investment property in Sydney. If you seem stressed or angry or surly that will put people off. You need to show that you’re calm and relaxed under pressure. You also need to be personable and give off an air of being friendly. This will make you more approachable and you’re more likely to win over the trust of buyers and vendors. Whether you’re from the country or real estate agents Melbourne or Sydney based, personality is always important.
Neel is freelance writer. He’s published more than 500 articles on various topics, including Law creative.
