8 Pro Tips for Training Real Estate Agents
Training real estate agents is critical to the success of any brokerage firm or listing service. Since new agents come from various backgrounds, you may find that they may or may not already have the sales and marketing experience needed to be successful. And, even if someone has previous sales experience, that doesn’t always translate directly into marketing and selling real estate. They’ll need to be trained to understand the market and identify opportunities to help them get inventory sold!
Training Real Estate Agents to Get Results
If you’re a sales manager or office manager who supervises agents or brokers, it’s important to keep in mind that there are a number of reasons why real estate agents don’t succeed – all of which need to be addressed in your training programs.
To help you get your team ready for action, here are eight pro tips for training real estate agents to help them succeed.
1. Nurturing Leads and Prospects
Real estate is a numbers game and agents live or die based on how well they follow up on leads and prospects. Also, buying and selling real estate can be a long process. Every prospect is at a different point in their property search. Training real estate agents and brokers to think ahead, nurture leads and keep prospects engaged during the process can add more money to the pipeline.
2. Perseverance
Unlike many occupations, real estate agents often operate independently, even if they are part of a team. With no one looking over their shoulders, individual perseverance is essential and goes hand in hand with nurturing leads over the long haul. Perseverance is hard to teach, yet it is a crucial training component. Teach agents and brokers to keep doing the necessary work so they can reap the rewards later.
3. Basic Communication Skills
Don’t assume that someone can write a clear property description or communicate clearly either on the phone or in person. Communication is a skill that requires practice, especially when there is a specific message that needs to be stated. When you train an agent to communicate and encourage them to practice their message, you equip them with the most basic skills to interact with leads and clients.
4. Technology
These days, technology has made it easier and easier for real estate agents to show their properties to buyers. However, not everyone is tech savvy. Technology is complicated and can be intimidating. For some agents, this could be as basic as teaching them to use a mobile app. Regardless of the topic or tool, training real estate agents is essential to helping them master the technology instead of being intimidated by it.
5. MLS Listings
These days the vast majority of people start their home searches online. During their search, odds are that the information they see comes from a multiple listing system (MLS) like Triangle MLS, for example. Even if an agent knows to use technology, they have probably never encountered an MLS database. Agents use an MLS to post their listings and view thousands and thousands of other properties in their area. Because the average person has never used an MLS before, training real estate agents to use these systems is very important.
6. Marketing
One of the major keys to real estate success is marketing. Even though technology has made marketing more complex, the principles of marketing haven’t changed. Training agents to market themselves and their listings gets them in front of more people and creates more leads.
7. Scheduling and Time Management
New real estate agents with few leads and prospects may not need schedules and time management. But as their business grows and they become busier, they will need to watch their schedules more closely. Training agents on time management and scheduling gives them a framework to grow into.
8. Ongoing Training
Getting licensed is an intensive process during which a person studies and prepares, sometimes for months. Passing the exam and becoming fully licensed is an accomplishment and a relief. But being a licensed agent doesn’t mean they are a real estate expert. Ongoing training is crucial to an agent’s success. Along with continuing education, periodically revisiting all the tips listed above helps agents to stay on track with their professional development.