Written 100% by Suze, 0% AI

I Am Not Your Best Kept Secret.

I often get comments from people who take my courses or coach with me that I am their secret advantage or inside edge.   While I am flattered, this does not bode well for our future.

The world is changing and so is real estate.   Our best defense against the elements that challenge our industry is to be so darn good at what we do that the consumer needs us.

Being good is not lead generation, beautiful branding or talking about value.    It’s having the skills to get exceptional results for our clients every time. 

Results means understanding their needs and getting those needs met.  While it’s often about money, it is almost always about money and…..  some other element(s) that is (are) unique to each person we serve.   

Negotiation skills and all the nuanced complexity that accompanies them, is the stuff that technology can’t do.

Technology can easily apply rational thought to pricing and help two sides settle on market value.  It can do this better than we can.   Most real estate situations are tricky not because people can’t find a rational answer but because human emotions and complex psychology effect everything we do. 

The skills that are demanded of the REALTOR® of the future are negotiation skills.  Not simply arguing over money in an offer but the complex and nuanced human skills required to help people make important decisions.  Here is a list of 63 negotiation skills that are essential in real estate.  Please click through and read them.  Reflect on their importance.   Ask yourself if you could get better at these skills?  I believe that the exceptional REALTORS® of the future will be “learn it alls”, not “know it alls”.   

Our industry is under attack from the technology companies.  They want the commissions (over $100 Billion) and they may want the infrastructure of real estate itself.  (Over $50 Trillion)  Many industry experts agree that technology companies are behind the class action lawsuit threating the real estate systems that we rely on.

It is time for us all to band together to protect the industry we love.  I am a 40-year veteran in real estate.  I have served in the trenches, built strategy in the C-suites, spoken from stages across the country but most importantly, I have worked closely with thousands of Canadian REALTORS®.   What we do matters. I believe from the deepest part of my being, that the consumer will make better real estate decisions with the help of a highly skilled and ethical REALTOR® than they will by using a software program.  

Less than 10% of REALTORS® across Canada have any negotiation training and less than 2% have advanced skills.   This makes us vulnerable.  A low level of training in our industry leads the consumer to have less respect and less professional trust for all of us.  While this might give you an advantage if you are competing against a poorly trained REALTOR® for a particular listing, the bigger and more important impact is that poor industry standards erode our value in the eyes of the consumers we serve.  If they don’t value what we do, commissions will drop (they are already doing so in the US read this link)  and technology will continue to gain traction.  

While it would make sense to increase the education requirements for a real estate licence, it makes more sense to shift the culture towards more professionalism.  Cultural changes need to come from within the community, not mandated by governance.    

If enough of us honour the importance of learning, promote professionalism in the work we do and share with and mentor other agents with best practices, we can gain the trust and respect we deserve from the consumer.     As Ghandi, said,” Be the change you wish to see  in the world.” 

If you feel that what we do at The Nature of Real Estate betters the real estate industry, and promotes professionalism with consumers, please help us get the word out.   The marketing world has become a battle for clicks and a game to attract attention.  What we have to offer doesn’t do well in this marketing environment. 

How can you help?  Use your logos and designation.  (CNE, MCNE, AREN or PREN).  Post a boast about your negotiation certifications. Comment and share blog posts that resonate with you.  Tell a colleague or three about the courses.   Discuss the importance of negotiation skills with cooperating agents.  Shift to a mindset of abundance when it comes to professionalism in real estate, because when we all get better, our industry gets stronger.