This question was recently posed by the Realtor.com Blogging Team:

What are the most important tricks of the trade that you learned to keep you a successful Realtor?

This question is hugely important and I’m definitely interested to see the answers of other successful Realtors throughout the country.

I would have to say, that for me…the absolute most important thing that I learned in my career thus far is to always put my customers needs above my own…and a lot of agents talk that talk…but I’ve seen all too many agents not walk that walk for whatever reason (I’m still in business and going strong while many other agents are getting out of the game left and right).

Putting your customers first means possibly telling them that NO, this is not a good time to buy or sell right now (depending on the situation, of course..right now is a great time to buy, lousy time to sell) and not just taking their listing for the sake of having a listing.  I turn down 9 out of 10 potential sellers…the reason?  I explain the market to them…I’m honest about it…it’s not a fun time to sell a house (especially if you bought anytime after 2003 here in Florida).  I show them the numbers, go over the market conditions, tell them where they need to be priced (this is not negotiable if they want me to work with them…the market determines the pricing!).  If they are ok with what the market tells us, then wonderful, we move forward.  If not, the conversation is ended gracefully, and I explain that while I might love their home and they might love their home, and their home may be nicer than the one down the street…we don’t create the rules for this game.  The market does…and if you don’t play by the rules, you can’t win.  The rules dictate your price, they dictate how you should market, they TELL YOU everything you need to know to sell a home…but you have to listen and follow them.

Our job, as Realtors - is to know the rules inside and out…and then educate our sellers and buyers, so that they understand WHY their home is worth what it is, and they understand WHY they either can or cannot sell right now…then they can come to their own conclusion.

Many times my 9 out of 10 end up listing with someone else for significantly more money than the rules tell them, and with significantly less marketing than the rules require….they sit…and they sit….and they sit…and they become a cash drain for the agent who accepted the listing.  Know why agents go out of business?  Because they spend lots of money without generating enough to cover it and still make a living.

Learn to be honest with your customers and yes, you may end up with a smaller inventory of listings…but the ones you do have, you will sell.

Money Spent = Money Earned = You Stay In Business