3 traits of great agents
Issue 111 - November 25th, 2022
One of the unique things about the real estate brokerage industry is that you don’t have to have a special degree; you don’t have to go to a specific school to land a job; you don’t have to even graduate from college to get into this business.
YOU DO have to be willing to put in hard work and push yourself to succeed every single day, and this factor alone is what starts to separate the good agents from the great ones. Some other things that I have noticed over my decade-plus time in this industry is that the top 1% of agents all possess some similar traits that have no doubt played a part in their success.
Bias Towards Action
What is bias towards action? The action bias describes our tendency to favor action over inaction, often to our benefit. However, there are times when we feel compelled to act, even if there's no evidence that it will lead to a better outcome than doing nothing would.
Sense Of Urgency
Having a sense of urgency means you always see things as urgent and want to take care of them as quickly as possible. Someone who has a sense of urgency doesn't wait for things to happen and then react, they proactively address situations as soon as possible.
Creativity
Real estate agents wear many many hats from marketer to networker to psychologist to deal maker and many things in between. A strong characteristic of the top agents is their ability to creatively find ways to make things happen. No real estate transaction is alike and every single deal presents new opportunities and challenges. If you take a cookie cutter approach to deal making then you won’t make it very far in this industry. You have to compound your learnings over time, deal by deal, to continue to improve your deal-making skills, and I honestly think you learn something new on every single transaction. The best of the best are artists in a sense when it comes to negotiation and deal-making, and creativity is a superpower when dealing with multiple personalities on complex transactions.
Outside of these 3 traits, there are numerous other things that contribute to an agent’s success and each agent has strengths that play into their particular market, client type, and business, but the overwhelming majority of top agents I have worked with in my career possess all 3 of the traits above in a super strong and clear manner. Great agents are relentlessly focused on pushing the ball forward and finding ways to create new business, keep people happy, and get deals done. They love every single minute of the transaction process. They love the speed of the industry and find true joy in helping people navigate such a complex process in their life.
Newsworthy Links To Share
Fun fact: According to a story in Business Insider last week, of the 1.2 million Airbnb listings in the US, 62% have been added since 2020. That’s 744,000 new short-term rentals, likely in markets where inventory and affordability were already a problem. People sometimes wave off things like this — think ibuying, and institutional buying too — as not big enough to materially impact the housing market. But if several new small things happen at once, very rapidly, well, the aggregate impact is not trivial, and the hangover is real. (1000 Watt)
Power Buyer Homeward Cuts Another 25% of Staff: Power buyer Homeward laid off 25 percent of its staff in the second round of cuts in three months amid housing market shift.
Facebook tells state it'll cut 222 jobs in Austin
Park on the street! Around 20 U.S. cities have thrown out parking requirements for new developments as many people now rely on public transit (when they do go into the office). This trend is likely to continue, but only in cities with strong public transit networks. A city’s investment in public transit will likely result in the eventual elimination of parking mandates, which incentivizes affordable housing construction. (CRE Daily)
New NAR president sees agents, brokers as 'the driving force for good': Kenny Parcell, a 25-year agent and broker, brings a passion for advocacy, service and communication to his new role as 2023 NAR president.
Will they survive? Ribbon reduces staff by 85%, retains less than 30 employees
JLL Really, Really Wants to Be a Single-Family Megalandlord: JLL’s joint venture with Amherst aims to amass a $500 million single-family rental portfolio over the next two years. (Real Deal)
Why Warehouse Giant Prologis Is Betting Big on Electric Vehicles: The industrial real estate landlord has installed new electric truck charging stations in Los Angeles County.
Luxury Presence released a set of marketing technologies: The Los Angeles-based company has released a three-pronged set of related marketing add-ons designed to help real estate agents find and secure leads. (Inman)
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