The Advantages of Using a Newer Real Estate Agent
The more cynical are likely to see it as merely jumping on the latest bandwagon. As soon as the market calms down, or other sectors of the economy heat up, they sneer, those same people will be off doing something else.
That may be true for some, but don’t tell that to Aparna Verma. To put it more precisely, you may not have the chance to tell this Fremont-based agent, even if you wanted to. “I can’t talk now,” she says. “I had several houses sell over the weekend, and I have a lot to do.” Verma, who changed to real estate from the tech sector about two years ago, is clear proof that a “new” real estate agent doesn’t mean a sub-standard one.
In fact, many new agents bring skills that bring an additional competitive edge. “Real estate gives me the ability to use my coaching skills when I help someone buy or sell a home,” explains Oakland-based agent Sharon Whipkey, another newer real estate agent.
That approach gives Whipkey an advantage over more traditionally-focused agents. “I think there are real estate people who sell,” she explains. “I don’t sell. For me, it is my job to sort out what my clients really want, and to help them find it. With buyers, that means making sure they find a house they’ll enjoy, rather than just trying to make a sale.”
For Whipkey, that means really listening to what clients tell her, and offering options they may not have considered. “I had one client who said, Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½I could be here, I could live here,’ in each house they saw. But they never made an offer. Then, I took them to an older home, and they became much more animated. Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½This is really terrific,’ they said. It was obvious that that was what they were looking for, but you have to really listen to realize the difference,” she says.
Whipkey gives another example of a client who is on the fence about whether to look at condominiums or small homes. “If you don’t want the work, you might still want to work out how much it would cost you to buy the house and hire people, such as a gardener, to do the work your HOA dues would pay for. If you’re willing to do some hiring, and the costs work out, it might be more cost-effective and more enjoyable for you to purchase the house,” Whipkey notes.
Of course, she adds, the decision is up to the client. “I had one client who definitely wanted the condo, no doubt about it. She really wanted things clean, simple. But by bringing up this observation, she clarified what she wanted, and I was more certain she would be happy with her choice.”
In fact, Whipkey’s approach of “not selling” explains precisely why she and other new real estate agents are so successful.
Jeff Herrmann, a career change and resume consultant based in Tracy, says that the traditional sales background might even be a bad fit for a career in real estate.
“In most industries, you don’t need a license to sell,” Herrmann explains. “But you do for real estate. And that introduces an entire dynamic to the industry that many people with traditional sales backgrounds struggle with – they have to sit and learn.”
Herrmann says the very nature of real estate work often conflicts with the nature of someone who has been a successful salesperson in other fields. “Salespeople tend to live off activity, and you have that in real estate, too, but you also have to be meticulous,” he notes.
“And in real estate, it is less likely that a salesperson can delegate the detail work of putting together a proposal, going over a contract line by line, and so on. Someone who has been a salesperson in the corporate arena is used to having an assistant, if not a whole team of people, who are busy doing the more detailed, nitty-gritty work.”
“It’s the combination of being a people person, and also paying attention to detail, that makes someone a better real estate agent. So someone from a people-oriented, customer service background will probably make a much better agent,” he explains.
