• Are you affected by high competition from real estate agents in the same area where you are also selling and/or renting out properties?
• Are you struggling to sell/rent out a unit in an apartment complex where multiple units are available for sale/rent by other agents?
• Are cheaper apartment units offered by other agents hampering the sales of your unit in the same building?

If you have answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, this article is for you to learn how to beat your competition in real estate.

Here are five reasons why you are affected by competition from other realtors:

Reason #1: Prospects find similar properties at a bit lower price.

Most potential property buyers or tenants do a lot of research about the pricing of a certain type of property in a particular location to know the average market value. The internet makes it easy for them to find out similar listings from other realtors to get a better deal.

In my previous article, “How to Get Prospects who Convert into Real Estate Clients“, I wrote in detail how to fix this issue to close more sales and stay ahead of the competition.

Reason #2: Prospects get a better offer (other than price) for a similar property from another agent.

The offer can be addition of one or more amenities in the apartment for rent; no restriction for a family with little kids to rent the apartment; and no discrimination on the identity of the prospect who can be a student, immigrant, and so on.

Again, in my previous article, I wrote in detail how to fix this issue to close more sales and stay ahead of the competition.

Reason #3: Prospects are not happy to talk to you.

Real estate clients do not feel comfortable when speaking with you. You might appear to be rude or not interested in showing the property to them.

Here’s how to fix this issue to close more sales and beat your competition:

Always talk politely and with great interest like a marketer or a salesperson, even if you are having a bad day. Even if the client sounds to be impolite, you need to keep your cool and speak professionally. If a client is asking some difficult questions which you cannot answer instantly, tell him/her that you would check and get back to him/her with reply to those questions ASAP.

Reason #4: Prospects get offended by open discrimination from you.

When you are contacted by potential tenants, you sound offensive by informing them that you are not renting out the property to students, immigrants, people from certain countries, bachelors, etc.

In another article, “How to Get More Property Viewings at No Extra Cost“, I’ve already covered in detail how to fix this issue to close more sales and stay ahead of the competition.

Reason #5: Prospects are more comfortable dealing with another agent.

Let’s say there are four units available for sale or rent in one apartment complex and each of these units are represented by four different agents (including you).

Now, assuming that these four units are very similar in terms of layout, furnishing quality, amenities provided, and offered at the same price/rent, the only factor that can influence a client choosing one of the four units is the hospitality or friendly gesture of one of the four agents.

Here are 7 Tips on how you can keep ahead of the competition as a Realtor:

Tip #1: Never show your frustration with the prospects when you find out that they have not read your listing description and/or viewed all the photos in the listing album before contacting you.

Some clients are in rush, looking at many properties in the internet, noting down the phone numbers of agents of a couple of different properties that they shortlisted, and may be calling the agents one by one at a later time.

Tip #2: If a prospect contacts you through text message, start your conversation with a welcoming message, such as “Hey there, thanks for your message” or “Hi there, thanks for reaching out.”

If your prospect is contacting you in a local language, then it is better to communicate in the same language. For example, some Malaysian-Chinese middle-aged people are not so fluent in English and so, if you can speak/write in Chinese, then you should definitely communicate with them in Chinese.

Tip #3: When a prospect contacts you by a phone call, but you happen to be busy and cannot attend the call right away, send him/her a text message that you will get back to him/her shortly after the meeting. You can use ‘Quick Responses’ in Android or ‘Respond with Text’ in iPhone to ignore the call by sending the text message by a single tap.

The default messages in Android are:

• Can’t talk now. What’s up?
• I’ll call you right back.
• I’ll call you later.
• Can’t talk now. Call me later?

The default messages in iPhone are:

• Sorry, I can’t talk right now.
• I’m on my way.
• Can I call you later?

While most agents use one of the default text messages (above), you can use a much better one that is more friendly and welcoming.

You can edit the ‘Quick Responses’ or ‘Respond with Text’ by adding your custom message in the Settings of your smartphone.

The custom message can be something like this:

“Hey, thanks for calling. Sorry that I can’t take your call as I’m in a meeting right now. I’ll call you back shortly. Cheers, [Insert Your Name].”

Tip #4: When texting or speaking to the prospect, answer all questions politely and give her more information to set the right expectation about the property.

Tip #5: Act more like a consultant than like an agent. Listen to the prospect carefully about her requirements or preferences for a property to rent or buy. Ask her more questions to understand her requirements completely.

If the property she is inquiring for does not match all her needs, then offer her another property which would be more suitable for her.

Tip #6: Give assurance to ‘tenant’ clients that they are safe in dealing through you, as you make sure that the security deposit is refunded at the end of the contract. Most people have a negative idea about agents that they are biased and side with the owners. So, you need to clarify that you really care for your ‘tenant’ clients and you have always processed refunds fairly to your previous clients.

If you have a personal website, make sure your ‘About’ page is well-written and it describes you as an experienced and trustable property agent.

Request your recent clients to write reviews on your service, which you can post in your ‘About’ page.

Create a listing page for the property you are promoting in your own website. Post video tour of the property and more photos of the property (that are not posted in the portal sites). Then share the link of the listing to your prospective client so that they get a better idea about the property before coming to view it in person.

When they visit your website to see the listing, they are also likely to check out your ‘About’ page and thus know more about you.

You should be blogging about each property, neighborhood around the property, popular reasons for living in the area, and so on.

Thus, your prospects can understand and appreciate your reputation in real estate through your website content and they are likely to be more comfortable in dealing with you.

Your expert knowledge, experience and reputation in real estate combine to form your personal brand. Your website and its content are the tools to build your personal brand.

If you don’t have a personal website for your real estate and you wish to build your own real estate website to build your personal brand, then PropertyAgentPro is your solution to stay ahead of your competition.

PropertyAgentPro is a done-for-you website to showcase your properties online and build your personal brand in real estate. Click here to learn more.