Being Downright Professional Does Pay

by SANTOSH
(Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)

With over twenty years of working as an estate agent, during which I have seen both upswing and the recessionary nose dive that the business has gone through, I have the following tips to share with those would like to benefit from the experience of others.

1. It is a flexibility of approach as far as strategies are concerned, that pays. An astute agent would not stick to any golden rules; these have to be open to change as the property market demands.

2. One has to adopt different strategies in one’s area of operation depending upon whether it is old and established, in the middle of its development or in a state of being totally undeveloped.

3. Identifying the geographical boundaries one would like catering to is a must and acquiring thorough insight of the projects coming up, the estimated property rates and the class of the potential clientele specific to that area goes a long way in giving you that extra edge over your competitors.

4. It is better to have no expectations at all from your circle of close friends and relatives that they will ever be your client or help you in getting you business. They mostly do not look to your efforts as professional and take your income from commission as being easy money. I would even go the extent of advising my fellow agents to avoid investing time on this category as very often, they don’t attach any value to it!

5. One more change that has overwhelmed this line of work, as it has any other, is the use of computer based tools now in our hands. Do employ these optimally but be clear in your mind nothing can provide an effective substitute for your personal presentation.

6. Restrict your interactions with you clients, both existing and prospective, to professional limits. While normal courtesies of business need to be offered, an effort to impress any one by trying to befriend, is likely to be counter-productive.

7. Your behavior with customers should, at no point of time, should smack of “pestering” them. Explain fully the pros and cons of going in for any property but never try to persuade beyond a limit; it will seldom pay.