I recently had a good 2-hour coffee break with a close friend. She’s semi-retired after leaving her senior manager role in the corporate world around 2 years ago. She told me that she recently joined a real estate agency as a REN. I congratulated her because this is a great career. She sheepishly replied that she had not announced to the world because some of her relatives asked why become REN? She was a senior manager in a MNC before this! I told her this, ‘My dear, your friends, relatives and even acquaintances will STILL buy property whether or not you tell them you are already a trusted REN to them. If you tell them however, they could then buy / sell through you instead of some stranger who’s a REN.’ I shared with her three tips for a start. (Tips from a non-REN like me. Oops…)
#1 – Tell the world that you are now a REN! If you do not, then after a few months, you have not much viewings and not many properties to sell and you tell yourself that this is not for you. When your good friend knows you are a REN, they may also share with their friends that you are a REN if their friends are buying a property and this goes on. This is why when the commission starts and you work even harder, it increases! You get two closures per month and 12 months later you have 24 closures. Next year, half of these 24 people recommends you and you get another 24 by yourself and the total is now 36. By the 3rd year, you still get 24 closures by yourself but you are now closing more than 40 deals because of recommendations! (but you must be a good REN, look at the next tip)
#2 – Be a good REN please. E.g Customer wants to sell his land. You need to also understand how the land could be used by the potential buyer. If the potential buyer uses the land to build a bungalow for example, what would the cost per sq ft be like? (Knowledge) Customer wants to buy a landed and their budget is limited, you need to be able to tell them straight in the face that it’s either cheaper but further or more expensive but nearer. (Facts) If a customer wants to sell his home of 20 years but wants a super high price for it, you need to be able to tell him rationally that NO ONE has any emotional attachment he has for the house. They are not buying because you have STAYED there for 20 years. (Persuasion)
#3 – Get a mentor. Half the battle is already won if you have a good mentor. Of course, this may be your team lead or the real estate principal or even your seniors. Get someone who’s already successful and is willing to share. Just remember to follow his / her advice. Have coffee with them every time you face any issue. By the way, the best is to join an agency where your good friend is already doing well. You are thus joining a proven team and the success rate is now much higher. Please do not join an agency where everyone is for himself and the principal is nowhere to be found.
I have so many friends who are successful RENs and frankly, their monthly earnings are sometimes more than the yearly earnings of a junior staff. Plus they could even take one month break and bring their families for vacations. By the way, a career as a REN may not be for everyone yeah. If you hate dealing with troublesome people, hate bringing 10 different people to view a property before one buys, hate waking up early occasionally during the weekends for a viewing and hate having a sudden five-figure commission then skip this career. If you work in the corporate world, you get fixed salary every month, how nice. Anyway, you will still have to deal with troublesome colleagues. Haha.
written on 22 Feb 2019
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