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“Change is inevitable, and the disruption it causes often brings both inconvenience and opportunity.”

Disruption, disruption, disruption – it’s all we hear these days about many industries but in particular about disruption to the real estate industry.

With the media’s relentless reporting on disruption to the industry, many agents are feeling fear and anxiety around what the future holds for them and the industry as a whole – particularly in a soft market.

Change is going to happen. Industries come and go or adapt and change over time. Horse and cart to car to driverless car; town criers to newspapers and print media to the Internet; a booming coal industry to renewable energy. The emergence of the Internet and the effect that has had on everything from the way we get our news to how we carry out our research, marketing and connecting to other people, has probably been the biggest change in our lifetime. Then there is the ‘sharing economy’. Uber has made such a huge impact on the taxi industry that we refer to things now as ‘the Uber’ of this or that. Airbnb, also under the banner of the ‘sharing economy’, has also had an enormous effect on the hotel industry.

The effect Uber has had on the taxi industry, although many of the taxi companies may not agree, is that they have finally realised they need to lift their game. The ability to rate the Uber driver on all aspects of the service will hopefully result in the taxis also offering better service, cleaner cars, functional apps that connect us with the drivers, geo mapping and perhaps, better pricing.

Real estate agents do not, as an industry, have a good reputation. People complain about real estate agents and their service, or the lack of service, they offer. Real estate agent commissions are higher than any other industry’s and if the service is substandard, is it any wonder the industry is ripe for disruption?

But does that mean that the role of the real estate agent is over? It may be at some stage in the future but disruption to the real estate industry doesn’t mean that everything will change over night. Nor does it mean that there won’t be opportunity with that disruption.

So what can you do to survive disruption to the real estate industry? Here are our top five tips:

1. Authentic Service

This is the most important tip and one that I am constantly astounded needs to be reiterated. Real estate is not a 9 to 5 job. It’s not about offering great service to your current clients or to someone you may be trying to win a listing from. A real estate agent’s job is 24/7. Everyone knows someone who wants to buy or sell or rent a property whether they are the local barista, one of your suppliers or your neighbour. If you are authentic and friendly with every contact you have, you will get referrals. It’s about going above and beyond with your clients. Always follow up and do what you said you’d do, even if it’s just a phone call back at a certain time. Be reliable and show respect for everyone. Real estate is a people’s business, so treat everyone how you expect to be treated.

2. Branding You

If you want to survive disruption to the real estate industry you need to stand out. Whether you work for a large franchise or a small independent agency, you still need to brand yourself. People want a person to help them not a ‘franchise’ or ‘office’. You will need a marketing strategy if you don’t know how to do this because it’s not just a matter of posting on social media and hoping you get results. You may need your own branded website and you will definitely need your own social media pages separate to your personal pages or your agency pages. A good strategist will look at your competition and analyse what is working for the top agents and then give you advice about how to increase your reach. Start a blog  and definitely incorporate video. Your strategist will include video in your appraisal. YouTube is 2nd largest search engine and owned by Google and cannot be ignored.

3. Stay Informed

Stay up to date with what’s happening with your industry. Know exactly what companies like Purple Bricks and Brickx offer. Understand their advantages and their disadvantages. This is not the time for burying your head in the sand and hoping these businesses will go away. It’s also important to stay informed about technology even if you don’t understand it completely. Virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence are all affecting the industry. As these technologies are developing rapidly, their effect will increase exponentially.

4. Be Efficient

Focus on how you can embrace change to help you become more efficient and more effective at your job. Set goals, long term and short term, and keep to-do lists. Find apps and software that help you manage your properties and contacts properly. The gold is in your database.

5. Plan

Make sure you have a good plan. Commissions are being eroded. How will that affect your business? What other services or products can you offer? How can you add value to what you are doing? How can you increase the volume of listings? Be creative and proactive.  To survive disruption to the real estate industry it’s very important to plan.

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People resist change because they focus on what they have to give up instead of what they have to gain. Disruption or innovation or change or whatever you want to call it, will not stop. But there is no need to be afraid. Embrace it, look for opportunities and keep a positive outlook.

Learn to stand out in your industry and be one of the ‘go to’ people. Only by doing this will you survive disruption to the real estate industry.

‘The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new’. Socrates

 

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Judith Shuttleworth

Judith Shuttleworth is the owner of HotsWots Digital and a Director of Open House ID, an app for real estate agents. We have a range of expertise in all aspects of digital marketing and provide personal customer service. Your success is our motivation.

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