Learning a new skill or two is not always that bad for a real estate professional, especially if it means landing more clients, closing sales more quickly, or building genuine relationships with your customers.
Here are the following skills real estate professionals should learn this year:
1. Blogging
Blogging is one of the best forms of communication for prospective homebuyers. This is because the blog is the new resume, and people connect more to real estate professionals who approach topics with a personal touch (ex. based from experience, based from a true story) as compared to by-the-book, script-saying counterparts who often station at coffee shops or malls. When writing your blog entries, ensure that your thoughts and ideas are backed with real estate know-how, logic, and at least a couple of legitimate online or book resources.
Pay attention to: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
There is a saying about search results that goes, “If you wanna hide a dead body, place it on the second page.” As such, it is important that you understand what your potential homebuyers type in on Google. Learning basic SEO is the cheapest way to direct more organic traffic (natural views that are not influenced by paid ads), and as a result, increase your online blog’s visibility.
2. Community Management on Social Media
It is common knowledge that every urban Filipino has a smartphone or has access to one. And as Filipinos spend a large chunk of their time on social media, it makes sense to utilize the social network to build your reputation as a real estate expert and eventually, a go-to person for buying or selling properties. More often than not, social media is the fastest and the most accessible way for prospective homebuyers to consult with professionals about real estate matters.
Pay attention to: Spam and Unwanted Content (third-party links, ads via comments)
Because the Internet is a free for all, your social channels will most likely include the occasional social addicts looking for any avenue to increase their “follows” and those who seek discord or war simply for attention (see trolls). If you encounter them in your social feeds, exercise patience by being polite when replying to them or choosing to ignore them. You can also moderate comments on your social feed by hiding their responses.
3. Public Speaking
In the cutthroat industry of Philippine real estate, those who stand out are people who are actually making noise in the community, literally. They engage in forums, network with equally talented professionals, teach in seminars, and perhaps most importantly, seek every opportunity to speak to a group of people who would care to listen. Public speaking in groups will make you more memorable as a real estate professional and a local leader in your field.
Pay attention to: Local Meetups, trade associations
Local meetups are a great avenue for real estate professionals to practice their public speaking skills. Local meetups are smaller in number of attendees, which means less chances of getting stage fright. You can work your way up to speaking at events hosted by trade associations like Philippine Association of Real Estate Boards Inc (PAREB) and Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations Inc. (CREBA).
4. Smart Tool-As-Service (STAS)
More often than not, mobile users, including real estate professionals, tend to utilize apps for their personal use. But why not use these apps to give service to other people? Real estate professionals can optimize their current real estate services through mobile apps.
Need to bring prospective homebuyers to open houses in Antipolo or Cavite? You can schedule one by using carpooling apps to help you organize these “trippings.” Instead of carrying bulky folders of your Taguig property portfolio to your client meeting, why not use your phone to access to a property’s Explore Page? Need to update your current property portfolio? You can upload a new listing or edit your existing listings to a mobile-responsive property portal.
Pay attention to: Local brand ambassadorship
If you are using a mobile app made locally or has a satellite office in the Philippines, it wouldn’t hurt reaching out to the companies and offering your brand awareness services. Since you talk to people on a regular basis, companies are usually amenable to this kind of influence, and in exchange, may give you special deals or discounts.
5. After-Sale Customer Service
Real estate, after all, requires a human touch. This means that your connection with your homebuyer shouldn’t end after making the sale. Following them up about their recently bought properties to sharing real estate news or greeting them on their birthdays will help nurture customer-agent relationships. And strong relationships even with the most frustrating customers will turn into more solid leads and closed sales in the future.
Real estate broker and ZipMatch co-founder Chow Paredes put it aptly:
There’s value to every client, especially when you’re selling real estate. They can come back to you for referrals, or come to be to sell their properties… If they consistently see that as a broker and as a licensed professional, you’re there along the way, they will always remember you and come back to you.
Pay attention to: Unsatisfied or disgruntled customers
As much as you want to disconnect your communication with homebuyers who were not satisfied with your service, there is a major benefit in the end when you successfully turn them into loyal fans. Unless they tell you to stop communicating with them, it can never hurt to empathize with your angry customers, regardless of whose fault it is. Focus on finding solutions rather than offering them apologies (or sometimes, flowers).
Master these skills and you’re on your way to getting more leads, and more deals closed. Make more quality connections with homebuyers using ZipMatch Pro.
