Have you ever had a client or prospective client (or even a colleague) ask you about a program or a process that you haven’t heard about?Or, have you ever had someone ask you about an area within the field of housing or real estate and you didn’t know the answer? For some people, it’s a horrible feeling when a prospect, a client, or a lead understands more about some real-estate related topic than you do. It might make some people feel uncomfortable.
In Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch’s book APE, Kawasaki writes about trustworthiness. He states, “Trustworthiness means that people can depend on you because you are honest, forthright, and effective.” He continues by saying, “Tell people what you don’t know. No one knows everything. There’s nothing wrong with this. You can build trust explaining what you don’t know. Then people will believe you when you say you do know something.”
If a real estate agent’s job is to provide excellent service and get a deal closed, then he or she needs to be trustworthy, honest, and forthright. For me, this means that I admit what I don’t know, and then offer to find the answer or to find someone who can provide my client with the answer. I then attempt to seek that answer as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Even though we may not know the answer to many of the questions that come our way, there are a few simple methods for keeping up-to-date on the most recent real estate related subjects so that we can demonstrate expertise in the industry.
4 Tips for Staying Updated on Industry News
No matter your niche, there are specific things that you can do to maintain awareness of the latest trends (in addition to starting each day by reading us here at Realuoso). Follow these four quick and easy tips and you will always be on top of your game.
- Google Alerts. Google Alerts is a great way to stay up-to-date with recent events. Set Google Alerts for topics that interest you (short sales, Fannie Mae, or your local real estate market) and you will receive an email alert when any new information about your chosen topic has recently appeared on the Internet.
- RSS Feeds. It would take hours and hours to read all of the online publications to learn about the topics related to your area of service. However, if you sign up for RSS feeds, you can scan a collection of all of your feeds in an RSS feed reader. Skim titles and read important articles without having to spend hours tooling the Internet for the topics that may be of interest you.
- Audio Books. There are certain times of day when, rather than listening to the radio, you can listen to Audio Books about topics that may help you develop professionally. Apps such as Audible are offered for your smartphone and you can listen and learn when you are exercising or driving around town.
- News Radio. Instead of listening to music, why not spend 15 minutes a day listening to news radio—in your car, while you are working out, or between clients? Much of the latest information you may need can be gleaned from listening to the news. Try this, and your clients and associates will be impressed with the timely information you can share.
With the real estate industry constantly in flux, it would be nearly impossible to know the answers and be an expert in all areas of the field of real estate. In addition to always admitting what you don’t know, staying up to date with these four easy methods will demonstrate that you are a cut above the rest.
Melissa is an in-demand business success speaker and author, as well as a real estate broker with thousands of short sale transactions under her belt. She leverages her experience as a short sale insider to motivate thousands of business professionals to plan their careers better, execute more effectively on their plan, and earn more because of it.
