ARE YOU CUT OUT FOR A REAL ESTATE CAREER?
by Rich Mintzer
Five million Americans are employed in the real estate industry, as agents, brokers, mortgage brokers, developers, appraisers, and a variety of other jobs. And despite periodic economic downturns, the industry continues to grow.
There are potential fortunes to be made in real estate," says Rich Mintzer, author of Start Your Real Estate Career (Entrepreneur Press, May 2006, $12.95, ISBN: 1-599180-014). Are you cut out to be one of them?
To work in real estate, you must enjoy spending a good portion of your day outside the office environment. In addition, you must be comfortable creating your own schedule and flexible enough to recognize that your schedule may change often.
You should be a people person, able to establish a comfortable rapport with each client. You'll have to listen and process what your clients are saying, and respond to their needs and concerns.
Successful agents have to be familiar with doing research both online and in libraries or courthouses. Though most information is available on the internet, there may be physical documents that need to be found to verify information about a property.
Real estate is a sales job. To sell successfully, you need to have a product you believe in, a fair price point and a competitive edge that makes your product better than others. You must be honest, sincere, and personable.
Nearly 90 percent of the commissions from real estate transactions go to the top 10 percent of producers. You must be proactive, researching and generating leads; finding the right demographic groups and reaching out to potential sellers through strategic marketing; carefully analyzing the market; and promoting yourself.
Other skills and abilities that will help you succeed in real estate include flexibility, perseverance, stamina, motivation, and the ability to solve problems. You should also have the ability to remember names and faces, good number skills, driving skills, communication skills, a sense of humor, and the ability to listen.
If this sounds like you, then you're probably cut out for a career in real estate. To learn more about the opportunities available and how to land the job of your dreams, check out Start Your Real Estate Career, which is now available at all fine bookstores and online booksellers.
For more information, check out www.entrepreneurpress.com.
