Focusing on Transitions not Transactions

In today's real estate market, agents need to find a way to distinguish between themselves and the rest of the agents out there. They need to find a way to add value to the transaction. Buyers can find information about listings on the internet. Sellers can list their homes on ISoldMyHouse.com and other FSBO sites. More and more, the primaries in a transaction are asking themselves why they need us.

As any good real estate agent knows, buyers and sellers need us much more than they realize. We may be a line of defense between themselves and the parties on the other side of the deal. Or perhaps we are a hand to hold through the stress of the process. The fact is we do much more than simply putting buyers and sellers together in the same room. The best of us are one part entrepreneur, one part expert negotiator, one part problem solver, and one part counselor. But how do we get this idea across to our potential clients?

We need to shift our focus away from the houses that we help transfer and onto the services that we provide to our clients. We need to focus on the intangibles in the industry. Anyone can find a home for you, but how many people are capable of keeping you on an even keel all the way through the process, no matter how choppy the waters get? That takes patience, skill, good problem solving abilities, and true compassion.

At Sparta Success Systems, we focus on creating training that allows agents to develop just these skills. Whether you are a new agent just coming into the industry, or an experienced agent looking to improve your people skills, we are there to help you find your way to a more significant relationship with your client. And, as you learn to create those relationships, we also teach you how to transform those clients from happy past customers into raving fans who continually send you referrals.

For new agents in particular, learning these skills is primary. The single most important factor for converting a lead into a client is people skills. Agents need to have confidence in themselves and their abilities, and they need to be able to convey that confidence to the client. No amount of memorization of scripts and dialogues will give them that confidence. Some people think you have to be born with it. We disagree.

At Sparta Success Systems, we teach confidence. We do that through offering insight into the emotional side of the transaction. We teach agents about the feelings that buyers and sellers are experiencing. We teach them how to develop rapport through effective listening skills and we train them on how to handle themselves, their clients, and the other agent to keep the deal on course. Universally, our students say that they feel better prepared to get into the field after taking our classes than they ever have before with other training. This is because of the big picture approach we take when training them. Every broker knows that if you can connect with the client, then you'll get the deal. We teach new agents to connect.

Relational Real Estate(TM) is the practice for the new millennium. This is the value-added proposition that most of us are looking for. Get closer to your clients. Get to know them on a more significant level. Let them know that you understand their wants, fears, desires, and dreams. Do this and you will never worry about losing your clients again. They will come back to you year after year and they will bring their friends.

That's how we treat our students. And that's how they respond. It'll work for you too.