Over the years you’ll gain an eye for being able to identify talented staff who you may want to add to your ranks – until then, here are 4 easy ways to spot potential talent for your real estate agency.
1) Life Experience
Having a broad spectrum of life experience is really key to draw on. We’re not interested in clones of people who you already work with – and assembling a great team of people is all about having a mix of experience. You’ll also want to employ a variety of people including men and women, as well as younger and older staff.
Don’t just look for real estate experience, as often this won’t get you very far. The best employees will have good life experience – which will see them connect with people much easier. This is especially important when working with clients.
It’s also important for your agents to have their own affairs in order – remember that real estate is about solving problems for people, and you can’t do this if your own life is down the pan.
2) Having Heart
Real estate is a people business, and as such it’s important to remember that you need a heart – you can’t be a money-generating robot for your entire career. There’s an innate need to connect with others in real estate, whether that’s with clients or colleagues.
Clients who are made to feel uncomfortable by a big ego or someone who isn’t very personable, will probably pull out or decide not to go with your agency to begin with.
The best agents will be naturally charismatic, not over the top or fake. It’s important to be humble and enthusiastic, so that your clients get a real sense of your personality – this can inspire them with confidence that you’re the right person for the job of buying/selling their home.
3) Ignoring The Gender Stereotypes
It’s 2018 guys, we don’t live in the 1960s anymore – there is no place for gender stereotypes. You’ll want to look for agents who feel the same here, trust me.
When interviewing potential staff, any hint of chauvinism will be an instant deal breaker. You’ll want to look for men who do just as much as their partner at home. Conversely, you’ll want to see that women you hire can get tough if they need to – a trait which is often wrongly seen as purely masculine.
At the end of the day, gender has no effect on how good a real estate agent someone is, and you shouldn’t be hiring people who see it any other way.
4) Goal-Setters
We want people in our team who want to get the best out of their job – this means people who are happy to set their own goals and to work towards achieving them. These goals could be as simple as improving their lifestyle, education or getting onto the property ladder themselves.
People who have their own businesses or have bought/sold property before are good fits, as they’ll know what it is to set goals and to work towards them – an invaluable quality for a real estate agent.
Lastly, there’s passion – and not to be recognised as a footnote. Passion for life, success and for people is what drives the real estate industry – so make sure you hire people with buckets of it.