When it comes to choosing a profession or pursuing a different line of occupation, the first thing you should think about is whether you have a passion for it. A lot of people choose real estate careers because the craft can be learned rather quickly, the business is ever-changing so it rarely gets boring, it offers good learning potential, and to a large extent you get to be your own boss.
While these are all noble goals and pursuits, honing a few key attributes can also help with jump starting your career. Check out a few characteristics you might want to develop and cultivate in order to be successful as a real estate broker:
You’re great with people
First thing’s first: if you don’t possess good people skills and aren’t interested in working with others, then real estate brokerage is definitely not the best career path for you. Since you’ll be working with all kinds of different people on a daily basis, it would certainly help to develop this skill set in order to handle the daily challenges this job will throw at you. Assertiveness, patience, likability and the talent of recognizing people’s needs are all of paramount importance for a booming career in real estate.
You’re confident about your skills
You can know all the ground rules, be aware of all the latest trends and rehearse your open house monologue a thousand times, but if you don’t know how to present all these in a confident manner, you likely won’t get too far. Being sure of your skills and knowledge will help you go a long way in this line of work, so make sure you put an emphasis on this characteristic and develop it constantly.
You appreciate architecture and design
Sincere appreciation goes a long way and your passion will show in every word you say to your clients during an open house weekend. It doesn’t hurt to have an honest interest in architecture and design. Even if you don’t necessarily like some decorative elements or new design trends, try to find a few key aspects that you can admire and appreciate and emphasize them during your house tours.
You can negotiate and persuade
Those who shy away from negotiating prices (or talking about money in general) might not really enjoy their career as a real estate broker. Having the skills to persuade clients and to haggle are both essential in being successful in the housing industry. Granted, this is easier said than done, because negotiating is something of an artform that you’ll have to perfect—you need to take into consideration both your client’s needs and assets as well as your own , which might not be in perfect harmony a lot of the time.
You’re an expert communicator
You can be in possession of all the technical knowledge in the world, but if you don’t know how to communicate that information to your clients, it’s not going to be worth much. This is a skill that can be learned, cultivated and advanced over time and even if you think you are quite good in this regard, it never hurts to deepen your knowledge. This not only adds to your career as a real estate broker, but also helps with managing your day-to-day chores and tasks as a human being.
You’re always on top of housing trends and the state of the economy
In this industry you’ll continuously need to do research, read, and inform yourself about not only the latest trends in housing, but also the newest designs, technological developments, economic shifts and political changes as well. Knowledge about all aspects in your town’s daily life can help you foresee the direction the housing market will take and will make you a much better advisor when it comes to local real estate. The upside of this is that the work never gets boring and you can learn a lot, but it can also be tiring to try and keep up with so many things at once.
If you do not excel in all these aspects, don’t worry too much about it. Every skill can be learnt if you’re open to it and if you’re keen on strengthening your weaknesses. Remember that this is a field in which you’ll constantly need to study in order to keep up with fast-paced technology and an ever-changing economy, as well as with the design and architecture trends which all greatly impact and influence the real estate market.
