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It doesn't really make a difference which survey you read, but similar to the annual poll done by Harris Interactive, real estate agents almost always find themselves at the bottom of the "most prestigious" occupations list.
The Ugly Truth
Why?
It would seem that many of the best-paying jobs actually rank as the least prestigious -business executive, stockbroker and real estate agent - but to come in dead last with almost one-third of respondents rating real estate agents as having "hardly any prestige at all" is not good.
We need to collectively do something about it. And just changing our title from real estate agent to sales associates to Realtor(r) isn't really going to make any meaningful difference.
As an industry we have to get out of the "selling," "deal making" and "quick sale" mentality. We need to transform our image into that of home and lifestyle planners, real estate professionals, advisors and/or consultants.
Paradigm Shift
Remember that at one stage insurance agents sold us "death" policies. Now twice reengineered they are financial planners providing life insurance and estate planning. It may only be words but using the correct ones can and will significantly contribute to changing the perception of who we are, what we do and how much we should be paid for providing that service.
Real estate leaders and brokers need to drive this paradigm shift otherwise it may never occur. Concurrently this period of change needs to be accompanied by a significant increase in the level of education. During the last five years, with the influx of more than a million new agents, not enough time was allocated to education. Throughout the hectic hot property market the industry's overall lack of emphasis on education has caused its already low perception and poor image to ashamedly become the "dumbest" bunch of agents ever. At the same time consumers have expanded their knowledge of buying and selling homes and so for the first time we find ourselves at the crossroads of being outsmarted on two sides - a more technology savvy consumer and by a new crop of smarter industry entrants.
With the proliferation of listings and World Wide Web distribution of property information, almost every topic related to house buying, selling, financing and improvement is covered extensively and freely available. Consumers have gained new found leverage with this knowledge and are using it to participated to a much larger degree in the home buying and or selling process.
Knowledge Reform
According to the 2007 Swanepoel TRENDS Report (published February 2007) Trend #5 entitled "The Swinging Door" states that the general lack of knowledge and basic skills in the industry is evident on numerous levels. In the first instance 58% of all agents have been in the industry less than 5 years and 34% less than one year. Less than 20% of all agents hold a real estate designation or certification and 7% of all agents are responsible for approximately 93% of all real estate transactions. In the 2007 RIS Media Power Broker survey (published April 2007) brokers themselves identified training as their #1 concern and challenge.
So the next few years are going to determine whether the industry as a whole is able to upgrade its skills, suitably qualify them and reposition the players as true real estate professionals. Some recent moves that show promise include:
RE/MAX University
Few national franchisors have stepped up to the plate as REMAX has. Using RSN, their proprietary satellite television network, the company has effectively used it as a vehicle to offer an impressive selection of online courses, interviews, management training programs, some designation programs via NAR and coaching offered by Buffini and Company.
Keller Williams University
Considering education as the cornerstone of the franchise offering, Keller Williams (www.KWuniversity.com) makes available for their associates a variety of skills classes, mentoring programs, CE courses as well as their highly publicized "Millionaire" program.
Other Initiatives
Numerous independent regional brokers such as John L. Scott Real Estate and certain other national franchisors such as EXIT, Weichert Realtors and Coldwell Banker have also invested thousands of dollars to create various levels of in-house training and "universities".
But the industry has barely acted on the opportunity and most brokers grapple in creating and offering a meaningful number of quality courses. For those tens of thousands of smaller to medium size brokers who still need to take the plunge the eUniversity from RealtyU (www.REeUniversity.com) offers a comprehensive, quick and cost efficient option.
Private Label eUniversity
RealtyU, the largest career development company in the real estate industry, rolled a considerable selection of their prime and most popular educational offerings into one, turn key, private label online real estate University. Already training over 300,000 agents through its extensive school network of 200+ locations countrywide and its suite of 32 Web sites, RealtyU has incorporated into eUniversity core services such as skills based training, mentoring, tele-seminars, webinars, business planning, real estate designations, CE and even pre and post licensing courses.
Why is 2008 the Year?
The buoyant real estate market from 2000 to 2005 allowed almost anyone, qualified or not, to enjoy the fruits of a strong sellers' market. The Swanepoel Trends Report reported at that time the average productivity of real estate agents actually declined with over 30%, dropping from 13 transaction sides per agent in 2000 to 9.5 sides in 2006.
With the current decline in transactions, the increased competition in new business models and increasingly smarter consumers, education has now become the number one differentiator.
Showing the consumer that you know more than they do about the real estate process, the neighborhood, etc., and that you truly add value to the transaction through your knowledge of staging, or the luxury homes market or the skills you have working with the different generations, will set you apart from the hundreds of thousands of agents and realtors that still think they are just "selling" home.
The task of "raising the bar" rests squarely on the shoulders of agents, but the responsibility of getting them to actually "kick it up a notch" rests on the brokers. Just like parents need to guide, assist, finance and encourage their children to get the best education they can, so we as brokers need to help drive our team to a higher level of knowledge, skill and professionalism.
First Among Equals
Independent contractor or not, brokers must now make agents drink from the fountain of knowledge - if they don't want to, then accept that as a sign or a signal that they do not take their real state career seriously and its time to cut them loose. The time has come for the real estate industry to stop sustaining part-time, unqualified, non-selling sales agents and build a cadre of knowledgeable real estate professionals.
It's not just a play on words. It's adopting a new "mindset" to empower agents to offer more value to the real estate transaction. This can only be achieved when everyone is willing to broaden their knowledge and attain a higher level of proficiency.
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