How do you handle the experience question?

[Jim]

How do you position yourself when you are new and dont have transactions etc. to brag about when a prospective client asks?

[papaj2]

That's a very good question. I'd be interested to know as well

[jennsellsfast]

Heres what I did years ago. Brag about the company you work for. Prospective clients will assume that you are the one with the accomplishments, not your company. Good Luck!

[nercentral]

Show your clients your certificates and your designations in real estate. If you are realtor, show them your pin. That knowledge, in turn, suggests to your clients that you are the best person to handle their needs. I don't know if it is a good idea to brag about a company. You want everything you do to reflect your professionalism and status as an agent so your client see you as entirely credible.

[k3nn3th]

Jim,
I am building my site. My question is, I do not have my own listing yet since I just started a week ago, can I redirect/use let us see MLS listings to be featured in my search page? Need help! Thank you!

[Paso Dog]

In my office we all share our listing for our personal web sites.

[k3nn3th]

Thank you for the idea!

[MTMostWantedRealEstate]

Being new isn't necessarily a bad thing for a client. New real estate agents can oftentimes be more aggressive and work harder for their clients. They are new and "hungry." Experiences agents sometimes won't take on new clients and can have so many that they don't respond as quickly to them. Tell them you're willing and excited to learn new things and you have a good broker to back you up and help you out when you need it. Turn the fact that you're new into a big plus. Good luck in your career.

[lcsrealestate]

Well there are many many ways to gain knowledge and experience even without a transaction.

Discuss your passion for real estate.

Your knowledge of a specific area about real estate.

What you do [KNOW] don't focus on what you don't know.

You're in the people business.

Simple, if you are with a prospective client[s] in person, talk about them,shift the focus b/c it shows you [care] about their needs.

May I suggest reading! Read Read Read. Self Educate. Dont' be like those newbies who like to just say they work for "ABC Real Estate" and they know nothing......get to know the people at the county,title companies,banks etc. Build your "credentials" and alliance.

[OregonLO]

Well, I'm a Loan Officer and this is how I've approaced it. I've been doing loans for about 14 months so I'm still new. When I first started I was working for a Broker with over 14 years expierence and I used that to my advantage. I simple said "I'm in my first year" whether it was 3 weeks in or 8 months in that was my answer. It comes across a lot better than "I've been doing this for 3 weeks" But I also mentioned that my Broker has been doing loans for over 14 years and he works closely with me on my loans to make sure everythign goes smoothly. Now that I've passed the 12 month period I tell people "I'm in my second year" as I think that sounds much better. I don't have my broker sitting over my shoulder watching my work now as he's confident in my abilities and I am as well. Most people don't ask me...most likely because I can talk the talk then I walk the walk so to speak :)

Sound confident when you are with clients, that I think is one of the most important things that you can do.

[kieran redline]

good to know guys

[OregonLO]

that's what we're here for :D

[mmuench]

All good ideas. Fake it 'til you make it!

[Jennifer Allan]

Your rookie year is tough and addressing the experience question is one of the reasons. One thing to look forward to is that you won't have to address it forever and after you've had a few listings and a few buyers, you won't feel new anymore. Someone who is looking for an experienced agent probably isn't going to hire you and that's okay. If you come across as a competent person in general, your experience level won't be an issue for many people.

This is one area where the public's disregard for the real estate sales community actually helps us...they don't think selling real estate is all that hard, so they aren't all that worried about the experience level of the agent they hire.

What's critical is that you know your market, your systems and your contracts. It's disrespectful (IMHO) to expect people to hire us and pay us big bucks just so we can learn our business. We should be competent and knowledgeable before we ever agree to take a commission. It is not the public's responsibility to educate us; it is our responsibility to respect our clients enough to do a terrific job for them.

So, if you know what you're doing; if you are prepared (overly) for your prospect and you have confidence in yourself, you'll be fine! (easy for me to say, I know).

Jennifer

[vegas-kid]

I always state how long my company has been in business and "my team" has this much combined experince before they have an opp to ask.

Vegas-kid