How to Become a Real Estate Area Specialist

How to Become a Real Estate Area Specialist

Do you want to win more listings?

Make sure you stand out as the specialist in your area by implementing these 4 steps.

The fastest way to attract more clients and sell more property is to become THE go-to real estate agent in your area.

In this article we will share with you the 4 key steps to becoming a real estate area specialist, plus why you should aim for this goal.

Firstly, think about the type of agent you really want to be….

Do you want to be the agent who wins the most listings, sells the most properties?

Do you want to get quoted in your local media, become a visible leader in your community and have every other agent scrambling to keep up?

Do you want sellers knocking on your door, already sold on the fact that you are the best person to sell your property?

If you’ve graduated TurningPoint you will know; to truly be the best, you have to be prepared to put in the hard yards to get there.

I’ve not yet encountered a single agent at the top of his or her game who hasn’t put in a great deal of work and focus into setting the benchmark for being the best in their local area.

The great news is, by setting that goal and by following some simple steps, becoming an area specialist is highly and quickly achievable.

Why focus on local?

When you become a visible area specialist, you are setting yourself apart from your competition and giving yourself a key point of difference in your market.

What’s more, it translates to real estate gold; word-of-mouth referrals!

Your local area is full of potential buyers and sellers. As an agent you fulfil a much needed community role, you are the person your community turns to when they need to buy or sell a property – so make their decision to work with you an incredibly simple one.

When you stand out in your community as the agent who has their finger on the pulse, the agent with the best information, and the one with the greatest knowledge, you can have the most powerful conversations.

So let’s dive into the 4 steps to becoming a real estate area specialist and grow your market share.

1. Gather the history of each property you sell

I’m talking about a lot more than the price history here. You want to introduce your buyers to the home in a powerful way so you can gather key history such as:

• Previous owners (are any of the previous owners important/known/famous)
• When the house was built and what was unique about it at the time (the original owners built a fireplace that is still in use through winter and warms the entire home)
• Local area information and how it relates to the particular property (for example: did you know this was the second home built on this street?)
• If the house has any stories that can help buyers to emotionally connect with it when you meet them on open house day.
• What the current owners love about this home (the current owners have really enjoyed the garden and made it a central entertaining area.)
• Any major repairs or renovations that have been carried out recently (go back to the history with things like where the kitchen used to be)
• Any plans that have been approved by council for the home but haven’t happened yet (there is approval to build a carport/granny flat/pool etc)
• Any council plans for the local area (in the next 2 years the local council has committed over $X to X activity)
• What are the nearby points of interest? So things like schools, universities, local parks, beaches, cafes. (It’s a 5 minute walk to Bar Beach, etc)

The goal here is to help buyers feel like they have little known information about their soon-to-be home and are connecting with its history.

2. Form genuine community connections

How many people do you know locally?

I can tell you now; it’s not enough!

To truly be the stand out specialist in your area you need to be the person who knows everyone – not just know about them – but really get to know them.

Chat to local business owners and come to understand the challenges that they are facing.

Integrate their services into yours by forming meaningful partnerships.

What you are doing here is creating your Circle of Influence.

3. Stay ahead of local developments

In the past, I’ve found the agents who know the most, sell the most.

Information about new developments, infrastructure changes, school catchment areas and council bylaws should all be stored in your head so you are ready to answer any questions you are asked.

What’s more, to be the font of all local knowledge, you should be regularly scouring sites like CoreLogic.

You can also check places like Microburbs to find stats gleamed from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Drive to the office a different way every now and then and look around at what is happening in your area – have your finger on the pulse.

4. Be visible and communicate

The more time you spend out of the office, the better.

Have you ever heard the expression ‘out of sight, out of mind’?

It definitely applies to agents who want to nail their local market and retain that all-important repeat business from their community.

Leaders in real estate keep themselves in the spotlight at all times by turning up to local events, by sponsoring community initiatives and by simply taking the time to say hello and ask people what is happening with them.

Something that I share repeatedly during any of my live training workshops is that setting yourself goals and creating a strategy will keep you on the right path.

Make a plan for regularly communicating with your area that you are THE person, the go-to agent who knows the neighbourhood inside-out and upside-down.

There you have 4 steps to becoming a real estate area specialist.

These steps will help you stand out in your market, become the go-to real estate agent, and grow your market share.

A final tip from me – instead of communicating and posting your latest listings and open homes on social media, communicate your love and interest in your local area.

Strategies as simple as sharing snaps of iconic local places and sharing the story behind them serve to keep you front of mind while giving your community something to feel proud of about their suburb.

For even more strategies on how to become an area specialist, step up to your best ever results and be known as the Number 1 Agent in your market, click here.