Essential Real Estate Skills

Regardless of how your market is performing, you'll succeed in real estate if you can master these essential skills.

By Kelle Sparta
June 2010

The real estate profession changes every day, but the qualities you find in top-performing practitioners do not. The details may shift as technology rolls forward, yet the underlying skills are always the same. If you can master these, you'll be successful in any market.

Skill 1: Meeting New People
The simple fact is that if you never meet anyone new, you will never have anyone new to sell to. Whether you encounter them for the first time in person, online, or over the phone doesn't matter. Get one-on-one with them in a conversation about their needs, and you've at least started down the path to success.

Skill 2: Making Personal Connections
You don't have to be the best at everything to succeed in this business. You just have to be competent and likeable.People buy from people they like. Develop the ability to connect with your clients and make them trust you, and 90 percent of your sales process is done. Want a quick way to engender trust? Tell the client something that it's not in your best interest to tell them. Show them that honestly is more important than anything to you.
Now, this doesn't mean to tell them that you got sued last week — that will make people nervous. But it could mean mentioning that the houses in another neighborhood have the same amount of space and are less expensive. They know that you get paid more if you sell them a higher-priced house. Showing them something in their best interests instead of yours makes you trustworthy.

Skill 3: Following Up on Every Lead
Follow-up is a big area where agents fail. If you aren't going to take every lead you get and work it to death, then you'll never be a top performer. Working every lead until it either closes or is clearly not a lead anymore is critical to building the solid pipeline that's required to keep your business continually producing. This means that you need a system to make sure that nothing gets dropped or forgotten. Throw away your Post-it notes; they should never be used as a place to write down a lead. All leads need to be kept in one place, and all of them need a minimum amount of information. That includes:
•The person's name

•Contact information

•What property they contacted you about (or where they came from if it wasn't from a property)

•What their timeframe is for moving

•If they're buying, selling, or both

•If they're buying, what they're looking for and in what area

•What their emotional hot buttons are (what they get excited or angry about)
If you don't have all of the information you need, don't be afraid to contact them again for more information. And once you have the information you need, continue to contact them on a regular basis to make sure they stay on track. Don't worry that you'll be bothering them—instead, worry that they would otherwise forget who you are or feel ignored by you.

Skill 4: Asking for What You Want
This is typically a big problem with real estate rookies, but you'd be surprised how many veterans forget this piece of the puzzle, too. It's not always easy, but you have to ask for things to get them. Ask for the sale. Ask for the appointment. Ask for the phone number of the person your client wants to refer.
Don't wait for people to call you, for the clients to say they're ready, or for the buyers to tell you that this is the house they want. Be direct. Ask them, "Is this the house you want to buy?" "I'll get your house on the market tomorrow if you'll sign right here." "Which is better for you: Monday at 6 p.m. or Wednesday at 3 p.m.?" "Why don't you give me your friend's number and then you don't have to think about it anymore?" All of these are great closing questions used by some of the top practitioners in the industry.

Skill 5: Setting Appropriate Expectations
Once you have the contracts signed and your clients are committed to the process, then it's all about meeting expectations. And make no mistake, there will be expectations—whether you set them or your clients do. This is why it's important to set those expectations yourself; you don't want to get blindsided by something the clients decided to expect without consulting you.
The best real estate professionals are masters at setting expectations. They know what reasonable timeframes are, and they don't make promises they can't keep. They let clients know immediately if things need to change and they set the new expectations quickly and decisively, leaving no room for the clients to wonder (and worry) what happens next.

Skill 6: Taking Care of Details
You must treat you business like a business. This means that having a system in place to make sure that deadlines get met, appraisals are ordered, home inspection responses come in on time, appointments aren't forgotten, and problems are solved. You should even have systems to make sure that your clients—and, if you're really smart, the other side's clients—have handled all of the details that they need to attend to. Hold on to every deal and work it until it closes, letting nothing go. In saving multiple deals from certain death each year, top performers improve their closing ratios and increase their per-hour earnings.

Skill 7: Paying Close Attention to Money
Lots of agents tell me that it's not about the money for them; it's about the people. And that's great. I love helping people, too. But if you don't focus on making money, you're not going to make any. Real estate is your business, your livelihood, and you deserve to be compensated for the skills and services you provide. If you stop paying attention to the money, you'll do things like:

•Negotiate away your commission.

•Not take a referral fee "to be nice."

•Work on listings that will never pay you anything close to reasonable compensation for the amount of work they are because you "feel bad for the person."

•Take overpriced listings so that the sellers will like you.

•Not make buyers sign contracts.

•Stay with a broker who pays you a below-market split.

All of these things result in you working too hard and not making what you deserve. It's not your job to right the wrongs of the world. It's your job to make a living for yourself, preferably a really good one. It's not about the number of deals you do; it's about how much money you get to keep when the deals are done.
You have to focus on the money if you hope to be successful. If you're not making a profit, you're running a charity, not a business, and you don't get grants like charities do to make ends meet.
You have to keep up with changes in technology, industry regulations, buyer and seller priorities, and economic conditions. But the skills that I've listed above will take you further than any new flashy marketing plan or social media technique. No matter what's going on in real estate, these skills will be the difference between a good agent and a great one.


Kelle Sparta is the author ofThe Consultative Real Estate Agent: Building Relationships that Create Loyal Clients, Get More Referrals, and Increase Your Sales(AMACOM, 2005). She is also the founder of Sparta Success Systems , a real estate training company.

American Anthem - Norah Jones

Lots More Free WiFi for Wichita

07/01/2010 Beginning today, ALL the Wichita Public Library locations will officially begin providing wireless internet access to customers in ALL library locations. The WiFi is free to use–just log on with your Wichita Public Library card and password. If you have Windows, you can print from your device for only $0.10 a page. (The free WiFi is funded by a grant from the Knight Foundation, which is also enabling the library to offer more free technology classes and expand public access to computing, so be on the lookout for that.)

Also beginning today, July 1, all company-owned Starbucks are offering free, unlimited WiFi to customers.

To see every new library and Starbucks WiFi location, along with lots of others, check out Wichita on the Cheap’s freshly-updated map of Free WiFi in Wichita.




By Wichita on the Cheap at http://www.wichitaonthecheap.com/

Chipotle's No Junk campaign turns spam into healthy school lunches

Chipotle's No Junk campaign turns spam into healthy school lunches

Deadline for closing on tax credit.

A little article that was included in an email from the Kansas Association of Realtors. I hope this information may help you:




Over the past few weeks, you may have seen several articles in the media that the United States Senate had extended the closing deadline to qualify for the $8,000 first-time homebuyers’ tax credit and the $6,000 homebuyers’ tax credit. Unfortunately, these media reports have been premature and no legislation has been passed by Congress that modifies the closing deadline for the homebuyers’ tax credits. For the time being, you should notify your clients and customers and proceed with the knowledge that the closing deadline for the homebuyers’ tax credits will continue to be June 30, 2010.


As you will recall, an individual must have entered into a binding written contract on the home prior to April 30, 2010. Once that requirement was satisfied, that individual had until June 30, 2010 to complete the closing on the purchase. If the home is not closed prior to 11:59 PM on June 30, 2010, then that individual will not be eligible to claim the homebuyers’ tax credit. The amendment to the statute (which has not been approved by Congress) would extend that closing deadline until 11:59 PM on September 30, 2010.

The National Association of REALTORS® is actively pursing all available options with senior Congressional staff to secure passage of legislation that would extend the closing deadline for the homebuyers’ tax credits to September 30, 2010. However, it is uncertain at this time whether those efforts will ultimately be successful. If Congress does extend the closing deadline for the homebuyers’ tax credits, we will be sending you immediate notification. In closing, please be aware that nothing has changed for the time being and the current closing deadline for the homebuyers’ tax credits remains at June 30, 2010.

Luke Bell


Vice President of Governmental Affairs

Kansas Association of REALTORS®







If you have any questions about the information provided, please let me know.

Tech savvy

I was in the middle of emailing a client today and sending a text to another all after leaving a voicemail for a lead. How did people do this job before technology? I love how quickly I can get things done and how quickly I can respond to my clients. I can answer their questions almost as quickly as they think of them. Every person has their prefered method of communication which I am happy to accomodate. Some still like an "old fashioned" telephone call. Others love email which can keep track of all your previous back and forth. I have others who prefer social media.
From such outlets like Twitter and Facebook to phone apps we have significantly broadened our horizons for marketing. Technology like laptops and smartphones have given us the ability to work anywhere. What is the one thing you use that you could not imagine doing your job without? My newest toy is a fax/copier/printer/scanner combo that allows me to skip the office all together on most days. I love it. I think technology has helped pave our way into a future with quicker, faster, and kinder customer service. Don't you?

And so it begins.....

I just helped one of my husband's friends buy a house. He knew where he wanted to buy and even had the home pretty much picked out. He wanted something close to his parents and something with some room to breathe. I can understand that. I love that we have family close by. One of the reasons we have never really considered moving is knowing that all of our loved ones are no further than a fifteen minute drive away. When you think of where you want to spend the next five to ten years family is a large consideration. For some, it is a requirement that they be just down the block. For others, at least across town. I know a couple that wanted to find a home that would also accomodate her grandmother who would be living with them. I always find it fascinating what motivates people in their decisions and how similar they are to mine. I love that some people will look for a 5000 square foot home with 6 bedrooms and others will fall in love with an 800 square foot condo. My job allows me to help everyone find exactly what they are looking for no matter what that is.