The Art of Being A Top Producing Real Estate Agent: Strategies for Success

Success in real estate requires more than a license and a desire to sell.

It demands a strategic approach to delivering services and relating with other players. Whether you’re a seasoned or budding agent, your game plan needs these strategies.

This article will detail nine principles that set apart the most successful agents. We will draw insights from industry veterans and top achievers to explain innovative tactics that take you to the top of the food chain.

If this sounds like what you’re looking for, keep reading.

1. Specialize in a Niche

Becoming a niche expert is a surefire way to make a mark in real estate. Specialization means you focus on expanding your skillset in a segment within the real estate industry. A significant benefit of specializing is you get a competitive edge over generalists.

Think about it. Leads with a specific niche in mind are more qualified than those shopping around for anything. Specialization means you secure quality prospects who are likelier to convert to clients.

With time, your expertise in a niche can earn you leadership roles and other opportunities to establish yourself as a thought leader.

We can’t forget to mention you can get higher commissions and charge higher rates when you’re a known expert in a segment.

Niches in Real Estate

Real estate is a vast industry with a seat for everyone at the table.

Here are some segments you can specialize in:

• Luxury real estate: These properties cater to wealthy clients, and their prices fall into seven figures. Luxury property transactions are less frequent but will earn you hefty commission rates. 
• Commercial real estate: These properties, such as office buildings and industrial facilities, exist for business.
• Rental real estate: You will specialize in residential properties for tenants under leases. 
• Student housing: These properties are near learning institutions and cater to students.
• Fixer-upper real estate: This segment involves properties needing renovation or repair. As an agent, you will improve and resell them for profit. 
• Military Relocation: In this niche, you will assist military personnel with buying or selling properties when they move.
• Historical real estate: In this segment, you will deal with properties requiring restoration and preservation.

2. Build a Strong Network

A famous business saying goes, “Your network is your net worth.”

Starting a successful agency from the ground on your own is rare. Strong connections are how you find potential:

• Clients
• Partners 
• Opportunities

Often, many lucrative deals don’t appear on public listings. Networking gives you access to those off-market and pre-market properties.

An invaluable benefit of networking is combining resources, knowledge, and expertise with others.

This collaboration allows you to take on more projects that can otherwise overwhelm you. Additionally, you can share risks and maximize returns.

Aside from risk management, you’ll need advice from time to time. Networking means you get emotional support and guidance from experienced professionals who overcame similar challenges.

Tips for Networking in Real Estate

You must learn to connect with other professionals to reap the rewards of a robust network.

Here are some nifty tips you can use to expand your tribe:

Attend Industry Events

Networking relies on you being a social butterfly.

Look for real estate:

• Conferences
• Seminars
• Networking events

These events are excellent opportunities to meet like-minded professionals, potential clients, and industry experts.

Join Real Estate Organizations

Become a member of real estate associations, such as the National Association of Realtors and the Americal Real Estate Society. These organizations often hold regular meetings where you can connect with other industry players.

Prioritize Providing Value

When networking, focus on providing value to others before expecting something in return.

There are many ways to offer value to professionals who have it all;

• Offer advice
• Share resources
• Show genuine interest in the success of their agencies

Collaborate with Other Agents

Partner with other real estate agents or brokers on joint projects, investments, and co-listings.

Doing so exposes you to their networks of professionals. Use this opportunity to:

• Expand your connections 
• Broaden your reach
• Scout for new business collaborations

Host Events

Organize workshops, seminars, or webinars to position yourself as an expert and let other professionals find you.

3. Create an Online Presence

In 2022, 41% of homebuyers first searched the Internet for properties.

It’s impossible to ignore the power of an online presence in your pursuit of clients. An excellent online space attracts a global audience and separates you from the competition.

Additionally, an online presence ensures that your services are available 24/7. Leads can explore your listings and contact you at their convenience, even outside regular business hours.

Thanks to this benefit, prospects will view you as a reliable agent.

Tips for Building a Robust Online Presence

There are many ways to exist on the Internet.

Here are helpful ways to carve out an online presence:

Create a Website

Your website is the foundation of your online presence and the first contact point for leads.

A professional website creates a positive and lasting first impression. Doing so shows people you are a legitimate agent who is trustworthy and an expert in real estate. 

Additionally, a website is a powerful lead-generation tool. Interested leads can show interest in your services through contact forms and live chat features like chatbots.

A professional website should have several features to make it appealing and user-friendly. The essential elements of a real estate website include the following.

• A clean web design: Your site’s layout should reflect your brand without overwhelming people. Avoid crowding elements and use consistent fonts, colors, and imagery. Take care to use minimal animations and scrolling texts.
• Straightforward site navigation: Your website’s design means nothing without an intuitive navigation that makes finding information easy. 
• High-quality media: Invest in professional cameras and editing tools. Alternatively, hire real estate photography professionals.
• High-quality content: Ensure you give information that provides a unique perspective on a real estate topic. Remember to pounce on trending matters as they happen. 
• Search functionality: This feature makes it easy for leads and clients to find specific content on your website.
• Contact information: Your website should feature your contact prominently to make it easy for leads to find you. 
• A testimonial section: We’ll explain why you should make reviews prominent on your website later. 
• About us page: Dedicate a page to showcasing your expertise. You can mention your real estate awards and accomplishments here. 

Pro tip: You must make mobile-friendly websites to cater to the 56.8% of internet users who access it on their phones.

Optimize for Search Engines

As a real estate agent, you know one of the best ways to exist on the internet is as a high-ranking search result. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a practice that aims to place you there. It involves refining your site with search engines in mind.

You can optimize your website yourself or hire an SEO expert. The core elements of SEO are:

• On-page SEO
• Off-page SEO
• Technical SEO

Collaborate with Influencers

Influencers are famous internet personalities who can sway people’s spending habits, including property buyers and sellers. 

Influencer marketing is a wildly successful strategy thanks to the 61% of consumers who trust recommendations from these personalities. 

Influencers’ ability to expand your exposure makes them an invaluable tool for nurturing an online presence.

Open Social Media Accounts

For 4.8 billion people, about 60% of the global population, use social media. Who wouldn’t want to capitalize on this vast audience? 

Hop onto popular social media platforms to connect with leads and promote your services.

Online Advertising

Paid advertising is an excellent way to establish your online presence. The most notable way to advertise online is through Google Ads. This platform lets you bid on real estate keywords so your ads will appear when leads search for them. The best part is you appear at the top of every search result page.

4. Provide Outstanding Customer Service

Your client interactions significantly contribute to your success as a real estate agent. 

Exceptional customer service equals satisfied clients who are likelier to share their experiences with their networks.

This way, you earn word-of-mouth referrals, a precious asset in real estate. 

Outstanding service ensures clients come back for more. People who enjoy working with you will return when they need to buy or sell another property. 

Additionally, they’re likelier to overlook little hiccups and remember your overall enjoyable service.

In your quest to provide excellent service, you may fall for common pitfalls many real estate agents make.

Look out for these mistakes to ensure your efforts come off as helpful and not inconvenient:

• Overpromising and underdelivering: Making promises you cannot keep only disappoints clients and breeds dissatisfaction.
• Lack of transparency: You may think you’re shielding your client but eroding their trust in you instead. Always be upfront and transparent with your clients about any relevant information, potential issues, or challenges related to the property or transaction.
• Lack of communication: Respond promptly to your clients’ messages and calls. Ensure you inform them if you cannot and give a timeline for when you will contact them back.
• Overstepping boundaries: Always respect your client's privacy and boundaries. Being pushy makes your clients uncomfortable and less likely to work with you again.

Tips for Providing Excellent Customer Service

Implement these tips to ensure your customer service stands out from other agents.

• Listen attentively to your client's needs and concerns. Remember to show genuine interest when interacting with clients. 
• Personalize your service to each client's specific preferences. General service often feels ingenuine. 
• Anticipate potential concerns and offer solutions before your clients ask for them.
• Manage your client’s expectations regarding transactions, timelines, and inevitable challenges in real estate. 
• Provide support even after the transaction is complete. Following up and offering assistance with post-sale issues is part of ensuring customer satisfaction.
• Ask for feedback to gauge your client's satisfaction with your services. Accept any constructive criticism and use it to refine your approach.

5. Keep Your Expenses in Check

The unsaid motivation of a real estate agent is to make money. One of the vital metrics of a successful real estate agency is profitability. You must cultivate strict financial discipline to achieve success.

Benefits of Controlling Your Expenses

Look through these short-term and long-term benefits of controlling your costs to understand how they contribute to your success.

Better Risk Management

Controlling your expenses minimizes the risk of your agency straining financially.

Doing so ensures you stay afloat during catastrophic economic events. Examples of such events include a decrease in property demand or a recession.

Financial management also insulates you from liabilities, such as debt, that can bring on bankruptcy.

Competitive Advantage

Minimizing your spending also gives you a competitive edge.

How? Low operational costs mean you can afford to offer lower rates to leads while maintaining a healthy profit margin.

Boosts Employee Motivation

Controlled expenses mean you can pay your employees well. The work environment in your agency skyrockets. You also have enough finances to offer them incentives such as bonuses and higher commissions.

Investment Opportunities

Keeping your costs in check means you have enough to diversify your business. You can invest in other profitable opportunities that expand your expertise.

Expenses You’ll Incur as an Agent

Let us lay out some costs to monitor to make significant profits.

Licensing and Education Expenses

You must get a license to begin working as a real estate agent. Sometimes, you need one in each state you operate in. An in-depth licensing cost analysis estimates it may cost agents $1,595.

Additionally, many states require you to complete continuing education courses to renew your licenses periodically. These courses often come with associated fees and can build up fast.

Operational Expenses

Operating expenses refer to your day-to-day costs and can get out of hand fast. 41% of business owners struggle to pay rent for their office spaces. They include:

• Employee salaries and benefits
• Office rent
• Utilities
• Office supplies
• Insurance
• Subscriptions

Advertising Expenses

Promoting your services costs a pretty penny and can get out of line fast.

Knowing how much to spend on marketing is challenging. However, keep it less than 10% of your total earnings as a hard rule. Examples of advertising expenses include:

• Online advertising: Property listing websites, Google Ads, and email marketing.
• Print Advertising: Traditional print media such as newspapers, magazines, brochures, and flyers.
• Signage and billboards
• Photography and videography
• Open houses and workshops

6. Sharpen Your Negotiation Skills

A core part of your job is representing your client at the negotiation table.

The outcome of that process has a significant impact on your reputation and overall success.

People are happy to recommend a skilled negotiator and may ditch you if you don’t meet their expectations.

The Real Estate Negotiation Process

Perfecting this skill begins with knowing what goes on at that negotiation table. Here are the typical steps of a bargaining table.

Planning

The first step is understanding your client’s:

• Priorities
• Requirements
• Expectations

Knowing this will help you tailor your approach.

Ask about what your client is willing to compromise on as well. Learn their deal breakers before you negotiate anything.

Additionally, research the property's history, current condition, and relevant market trends. The more you know, the more you can disarm the other party and win a favorable offer.

Remember to research the other parties. Learn their motivations, typical timelines, and other factors influencing their decision-making process. No detail is too small.

Something as mundane as their favorite coffee franchise can be significant.

Based on all this research, outline your objectives for the negotiation.

Define your client’s terms, such as price and timeline. Advise your client to have realistic expectations based on how a typical negotiation looks like in your agency. Help them anticipate potential challenges that can delay the transaction.

Afterwards, gather all the documents you know the other party will need to see. Finally, make a plan B if negotiations go differently than planned.

Offers

The next step is to prepare and present your offer. 

Work with your client to draft a written proposal with all the terms they expressed in the first stage. Remember to include a legal professional to ensure your offer complies with real estate guidelines.

Responses

The other party can accept, reject or make a counteroffer. A counter means they’re open to renegotiating on different terms. Remain objective and professional to get the best prices and terms on behalf of your client. 

You can also make a counteroffer as much as you want to. If you cannot reach a mutual agreement, cut your losses and search for another property for your client.

Inspections

If the other party accepts your offer to buy, the property goes into escrow. You’ll work with the other party’s agent to schedule an inspection. As the buyer’s agent, you should hire an inspector to examine the property.

The inspector will look for structural issues and safety concerns that affect the property’s value. Once they complete the inspection, they’ll give you a detailed report of their findings. Help your client understand these findings and advise them on how to move forward.

Based on the report, your client can request repairs, concessions, or a price reduction to cover any problems uncovered. Communicate these requests to the other party’s agent and renegotiate the purchase terms.

If you agree on repairs or concessions, the deal will close. If you can’t agree, you can terminate the contract during the inspection contingency period and get your earnest money back.

Closing

In this final stage, you’ll sign all relevant documents. Your client will complete the downpayment and receive the property.

Tips to Win a Real Estate Negotiation

You will be a critical player in the above stages. Here are some nifty tips to sharpen your negotiation skills.

• Stay calm. Negotiations are intense and full of heightened emotions. Keep your emotions in check and avoid outbursts or making irrational decisions. Remember, your client is looking to you for assurance. 
• Promptly respond to offers, inquiries, and counteroffers. Delaying communication is not a power move in a negotiation. The other party may have many proposals and only accept yours if you respond quickly.
• Rely on objective data such as recent sales and inspection reports to justify your client's position. 
• Build a good rapport with the other agent to make negotiations more productive. In doing so, you can create a professional relationship afterwards. Remember to expand your network constantly. 
• Get everything in writing. Oral contracts are challenging to prove if anything goes wrong. 
• Always show how the deal will benefit the other party. 
• Know when to walk away.

7. Encourage Testimonials and Referrals

Even the best marketing strategies can’t beat the power of a referral.

9 out of 10 people trust a customer’s opinion of a business more than what the agency says of itself. This phenomenon may be because testimonials that detail clients' positive experiences and emotional connections resonate with leads on a personal level. 

Testimonials from satisfied clients act as social proof and build credibility. They prove you have a solid track record of successful deals. Testimonials also help you stand out against the competition by showing your exceptional services in detail. 

Aside from marketing, you can use testimonials to learn how to improve. The reality is that sometimes you’ll get a negative review. Analyze that feedback to know where you need to improve.

Tips for Getting Testimonials and Referrals

Getting referrals is a skill that requires finesse.

Here are some invaluable tips to help you secure positive word of mouth:

• Deliver outstanding service to your clients throughout the buying or selling process. A happy and satisfied client is likelier to refer you to their friends and family.
• Encourage clients to provide testimonials by offering a small incentive like a discount on your services.
• Create a testimonials page on your website or social media profiles. Include people’s names and photos along with their reviews to add authenticity.
• Set up profiles on popular review platforms such as Zillow or Yelp and encourage your clients to leave reviews on them. 
• Refer clients to other businesses to make them likelier to refer others to you. 
• Host client appreciation events like small gatherings, seminars, or parties. Don’t underestimate the number of referrals a good party can earn you.
• Stay in touch with your previous clients by sending them thoughtful holiday greetings, helpful homeownership tips, or newsletters. The more you maintain a relationship, the more they'll refer you to friends and family. Ensure your communication feels personal and not generic; otherwise, you’ll land in the spam folder. 
• Simply ask for a review or referral. While you may want your services to speak for you, sometimes all it takes is making a request. 
• Nurture strong relationships with other professionals. They can refer their clients to you if they trust you and the quality of your services.

8. Stay Ethical

Real estate is not a lawless industry. There are specific standards of practice that guide agents. These guidelines help build solid professional reputations. Additionally, these codes have a butterfly effect. Clients are likelier to trust and recommend you when you show integrity.

Ethics reduce the chance of clients making complaints or disputes. They protect you from potential liabilities that tank your success as an agent. 

Building your career on ethical principles guarantees you’ll have a successful and fulfilling real estate practice.

Who Does the Code of Ethics Protect?

In addition to ensuring agents maintain professionalism, these standards protect other parties.

• Clients and customers. The code of ethics protects clients' interests, such as buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants. 
• Other real estate professionals. These standards ensure fair competition, respectful interactions, and cooperation among real estate agents and brokers.
• The public. The code of ethics maintains the public’s trust and confidence in the real estate profession by promoting transparency, honesty, and integrity.

Elements of the Real Estate Code of Ethics

Different associations, such as the National Association of Realtors, have guidelines. 

Here are the overall considerations of a standard of practice:

Honesty and Integrity

You must present accurate information and not misrepresent any property or transaction details to your clients. Don’t exaggerate information or conceal specific facts from other agents during negotiation.

Disclosure

If you’re representing a seller, you must disclose all relevant information about the property to the buyer and other agents. This information includes potential issues or defects that affect its value.

Confidentiality

You must keep sensitive information your clients share confidential unless the law requires you to disclose it.

Fiduciary Duty

You must always work as an agent in your client's best interest. That means that their needs come above yours.

Non-discrimination

You must treat all clients fairly, regardless of race, color, religion, disability, or other protected characteristics.

Uninformed Dual Agency

Dual agency occurs when an agent represents the buyer and the seller in a transaction. If this situation arises, you must get informed consent from both parties before proceeding. Remember that dual agency is illegal in some states.

9. Stay up-to-date

The real estate industry evolves fast, and new updates overturn old systems now and then.

As a real estate agent, your success hinges on your ability to keep up with this evolution.

First, understanding market trends, such as:

• Property values
• Inventory levels
• Interest rates
• Buyer/seller preferences

These trends let you make informed decisions and offer better advice to your clients. As a result, you’ll provide top-notch service that guarantees satisfaction and earns you referrals. 

You can also position yourself as an expert people turn to, to understand how the industry is changing. Not to mention that staying updated helps you foresee and adapt to economic or policy changes that make agencies crumble. 

If you’d like to stay up-to-date, here are some helpful tips:

• Subscribe to notable real estate publications, magazines, and newsletters.
• Follow reputable real estate blogs. Set up Google Alerts for specific keywords to receive emerging news directly to your inbox.
• Enroll in real estate training courses, workshops, and seminars. 
• Join local real estate associations and attend their meetings and events. 
• Network with other real estate professionals to discuss trends and current industry news. 
• Regularly visit government websites that provide data and reports related to real estate.
• Work with a mentor with experience and expertise in real estate.

Conclusion

Thriving in real estate requires dedication and passion for the industry. 

Additionally, specializing in a niche sharpens your expertise and builds you up to be a successful real estate leader. You must constantly find ways to expand your network and invest in professional relationships.

Consistently provide outstanding service to ensure all your clients leave satisfied and willing to recommend you to their family and friends. Encourage them to leave you glowing reviews and use them as an opportunity to tune your services. Nurture your negotiation skills and stay ethical to protect your client’s interests. Check out my three-day unstoppable mastery class to outlast any market!