I believe that one of the biggest mistakes an agent can make is to practice “general real estate.” In other words, not finding a niche to specialize in.
I see that mistake made by new and seasoned agents alike, and generally, their answer to the question “What do you specialize in” is something like “South Florida real estate,” or, “I sell everything.”
Granted, there are some agents that do well using this approach, but I am certain that even those few lucky ones would do much better if they actually picked a niche.
Who gets paid more? A general practioner or a heart surgeon? Picking your niche pays!
Most agents, when I ask them why they don’t pick a niche, tell me that they are afraid they might miss out on business opportunities, as in, nobody is going to buy a downtown condo from a South Beach condo specialist, right?
Nope, the opposite is true. The more you specialize, the more business you will get.
Everybody will seek you out if they perceive you to be an expert of some sorts. And if you are an expert in one building, people from the building next door will still want to work with you, because you have a proven track record.
So how do you pick a niche?
This part takes some consideration, since you will have to stick with it for the long run if you want it to pay off. I suggest you start with something you like; know well or are willing to learn about; and that you are comfortable with.
Your niche could be a geographic area, neighborhood, certain building, type of property (e.g. condo) or type of buyer (e.g. first-time homebuyer), just to give you a few ideas. No matter what niche you pick though, make sure the criteria I listed above applies, so you can stick with it for the long run.
Once you’ve found a potential niche that fits those criteria, I also recommend you do some deeper research to make sure your niche can sustain your business. For example, if you pick one condo building to specialize in, do some research to make sure that there are enough transactions in the building to provide you with enough business to meet your goals. Another thing I would check is to make sure that there isn’t another agent that has a firm lock on your niche already, especially if your niche is as small as one single building.
So to sum it up: make sure you specialize in something you like, something that you know and something that you can see yourself doing for many years to come. Once you’ve found that niche and made certain that it is viable in terms of the amount of business you can create from it, go for it. I promise you’ll never look back!
Thomas Druck, P.A., is a broker associate with Keller Williams Realty in Miami. He can be contacted at:
Phone: (305) 482-1688
Email: contact@SouthBeachCondoAgent.com
Website: http://www.SouthBeachCondoAgent.com