If you own or operate a listing service or brokerage company, prioritize training your agents to understand the market clearly and spot opportunities that will get their inventory sold pronto!

The Importance of Training

There are so many obstacles that real estate agents encounter in their daily jobs. It’s no wonder that not everyone who enters this profession succeeds. As a sales or office manager who supervises brokers and agents, you’ll need to bear all these obstacles in mind.

Once you understand them, you can tailor your training protocols to give your agents the tools they need to survive and thrive amid the ever-changing real estate market.

Read on for a comprehensive guide that will teach you how to train your real estate agents to attain maximum success.

No. 1: Training to Harness Prospects and Leads

The key to being a good real estate agent is being able to follow up on promising leads and prospects consistently. Buying and selling real estate can be a long, drawn-out process, and every prospect will be at a different phase in their quest for property.

You need to train your agents to plan ahead, keep up to date with leads, and keep their prospects engaged at every step of the way. This way, your team can minimize client loss, and maximize client satisfaction and revenue generation simultaneously.

No. 2: Teaching Agents to Persevere

Real estate agents may form part of a greater team, but they largely operate within their own jurisdictions. This is why it’s important to teach agents the skill of ongoing persistence. Persistent and diligent agents are better equipped to work without the constant help of managers and superiors, and are better able to take advantage of leads.

It can be tricky to teach perseverance, especially since it’s more commonly considered as a personality trait. However, training programs do need to include this skill in their regimes. Training agents to keep working hard regardless of external circumstances will allow them to grow and develop within their own personal capacities on the job.

No. 3: Teaching Good Communication Skills

Property salespeople need to have excellent communication abilities to engage with clients effectively. Your training program must teach your agents to communicate clearly and regularly, in person, in writing, and online.

Encourage your staff to practice relaying their messages so that they have the skills necessary to interact professionally with clients and leads. They need strong negotiation skills too, so ensure that your training programs include new negotiation techniques that offer examples of effective client-agent negotiation.

No. 4: Focus on Ongoing Development Through Technology

Technology has revolutionized virtually every aspect of modern real estate. It has made it easier than ever for agents to communicate with clients, show properties to buyers, and close fast and lucrative sales. However, not all agents are tech savvy. This can unfortunately set them back in the age of technology.

Your training and development protocols should ensure that your agents can use smart devices and mobile apps, and list properties and upload images on your firm’s official website. You must train them to use virtual communication and meeting platforms like Zoom, which have become the gold standard for professional correspondence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using a learning management system (LMS) for training agents is another way to use tech to boost the efficacy of your development programs. This approach also enhances your agents’ productivity. LMS modules allow you to develop, publish, distribute, and track your agents’ training digitally and on any smart device.

No. 5: Implement MLS Listing Training

Nowadays, a huge percentage of potential clients begin their search for property online. Most of these people view information on properties through multiple listing systems (MLS systems) like Triangle MLS. Most agents are only vaguely familiar with MLS databases, but it’s essential that they learn as much about them as possible.

Successful agents are those who use MLS systems to post their own listings and view hundreds of other properties in a given area through convenient online portals. These systems are quickly becoming the norm in modern real estate, so it’s essential that your staff can use them effectively.

No. 6: Focus on Marketing Skills

As with all businesses, marketing is a crucial facet of the real estate business. The advent of digital marketing and social media marketing have made sales somewhat more complicated, but the core principles of marketing are still solid.

You can empower your agents to create more leads and sell properties faster by training them to market themselves and their services properly.

No. 7: Teach Time Management and Scheduling

As your real estate agents’ businesses grow, their schedules will become increasingly busier and more complex to manage.

Busy agents need to learn how to manage their time and schedules to meet the needs of all their clients adequately.

No. 8: Promote Continual Education

Ongoing training is an essential part of the training and development process. Becoming licensed is a process that can take months of studying and preparation, and after passing their exams, many agents avoid further training on the matter. However, ongoing training can mark the difference between an estate agent and a real estate expert.

Continuous education will help agents pursue constant professional development while maximizing the revenues they can bring in for your firm. If your business is booming and you find that ongoing training is becoming problematic, you can look at outsourcing options.

Webinars and online real estate training courses can help boost agents’ prospects in their industry. Sites like Real Estate Express, Kaplan Real Estate Education, and the National Association of Realtors Center for Realtor Development all offer courses that can provide valuable skills and inspiration for proprietary educational programs.

Alternatively, you can partner with a PEO that not only handles HR, payroll, and other admin tasks, but takes charge of training too. The best PEO companies assist with training and development, leaving you free to focus on growing your business.

Promoting Learning On An Ongoing Basis

Training and development in the real estate industry should always be an ongoing process.

Successful estate agents are those who embrace continuous learning opportunities to improve their communication, negotiation, as well as technological and personal marketing skills.

While Millennials have been able to navigate the housing market successfully, it’s time to prepare for the next generation of homeowners: Generation Z.

Understanding Generation Z

To assist the new generation, we need to know exactly what we’re dealing with.

Generation Z refers to those born between 1995 and 2012, and includes approximately 75 million people. While they’re still relatively young, this generation knows exactly what they want, and will endeavor to get exactly that.

If you can’t meet their needs, they’ll find someone that will.

The digitally connected world that Gen Z has grown up in has given them the ability to make more informed decisions and compare all available options before making a commitment. This means they’ve become accustomed to instant gratification and are accustomed to being surrounded by far more possibilities than previous generations.

Additionally, they’ve grown up in a world filled with opportunities, and have had far more financial freedom than the generations before them.

Taking on the real estate market

If you can attract the Gen Z market and add them to your farm, you may experience an influx of business.

During the 2016 REALTORS® Conference and Expo in Orlando, real estate experts consulted a panel made up of the Gen Z group about their views on the housing market. They found that 97 percent of them are looking to own a house during their lifetime—81 percent of which stated that they will use a real estate agent to assist them.

As a tech-savvy generation, they’re looking for brands that make use of apps, social media, and other digital platforms to reach out to them. When it comes to making purchasing decisions, Gen Z will often shop around online to find the best deal, and the same can be said for property.

Saving money is a priority for many, and they’ll always seek the most cost-effective way to get something done.

As a real estate agent, you need to listen to what they want – and deliver on exactly that.

But delivering on this need needs to be properly managed and executed, otherwise the relationship won’t work.

A recent survey found that that:

• 27 percent of this generation listed understanding their needs as the most important quality of a real estate agent
• 18 percent looked for knowledge of the local market
• 15 percent looked for experience
• 9 percent looked for negotiation skills
• 7% listed the cost of working with an estate agent as an important factor

These figures illustrate the mindset of Gen Z and reiterate the importance of understanding—and meeting—their needs.

First-time homeowners

In the above survey, 86 percent of the Gen Z group surveyed stated that they want to buy their first home before the age of 35. However, they are aware of the potential obstacles that stand in their way.

42 percent stated that earning enough money to afford the home is the biggest obstacle, with 21 percent being worried about affording the down payment, and 20 percent still paying off student loans.

What makes Gen Z different from previous generations?

The biggest differences would be their belief system and how they make decisions. They’re more open-minded because of the readily available information they’ve been exposed to online.

Additional differentiators include:

• The American Dream is no longer applicable
• Student loan debt is an all-consuming burden that causes a great deal of stress
• Terrorism is a concern as they lived through 9/11
• They’re more risk averse, with rates of drug abuse, alcoholism, and teen pregnancy being lowered substantially
• They’ve embraced an ever-evolving digital world
• They rely on technology to get things done
• They embrace diversity
• Inequality is no longer tolerated as minority groups fight for their rights
• Becoming their own boss is the ideal career path
• They’re more conservative with their finances

What does this mean for real estate agents?

First, you may need to rethink how you market yourself and do business.

It’s clear that Gen Z will use technology to make a decision. If you don’t have a strong online presence, follow tech trends, or market yourself and your product digitally, you’ll miss out.

Should you be successful in finding them a home, word-of-mouth recommendations and positive reviews will more than likely follow. Gen Z loves personal recommendations, and they’re happy to share their positive experience with others – especially in digital format.

Things to remember when it comes to Gen Z:

• They value transparency, and this builds a foundation of trust when it comes to any relationship
• Your online presence needs to share the right messaging
• You need to use the correct online platforms to reach them – YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook are the most commonly used social media platforms
• Consistency is key when it comes to communication
• You need to be prepared to respond to their needs as soon as they arise, delayed responses are a major deterrent

If anyone from Generation Z gets in touch, they’ve probably done plenty of research to ensure that you’re the right fit—and they’ll more than likely have a backup plan in case the relationship doesn’t work out.

You need to be flexible in finding their dream home, while following whatever checklist they’ve supplied as closely as possible. They’ll have done their research and know that what they’re looking for is not unattainable,

Now more than ever, you need to find a digital, competitive edge to remain relevant and outshine your competitors. Gen Z is a new breed of buyer, and you must act accordingly to get them in your farm.