If you’re trying to come up with lucrative business ideas, then you could certainly do a lot worse than an estate agency. While other industries are bolstered or damaged by the ups and downs of the economy, the demand for property is never going to go away. The take is absolutely vast, whatever niche you’re targeting. However, demand isn’t the only thing you need to launch a successful business! Here are some of the essentials you’ll need for your estate agency.
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As with any niche, there are certain skills you’ll need to get an estate agency off the ground. As an estate agent, you’re going to need to liaise with a wide range of different people, discussing and understating their needs and preferences, and then bringing that all together to get an outcome that makes everyone happy. Due to this, you’ll need to have brilliant interpersonal skills, as well as a strong work ethic and the ability to bounce back when things go wrong. Running an estate agency is almost all marketing and handling sales, so some experience with this will also be beneficial. If you’re unsure if you have what it takes, find an established estate agent and talk to them. Most will be happy to dish out career advice!
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Like any business model, you’ll also need to cover various start-up costs to turn your idea into a business. The most significant cost is almost certainly going to be an office you’ll need to rent or buy. When you’re looking to buy property, it’s pretty much a given that your estate agent will invite you to their office to talk things over. You’ll probably want it to be in a prominent location, so this isn’t going to do anything to help the price! You’re also going to need to invest a lot in your estate agency marketing, both online and through more traditional models. There’s going to be a lot of competitors in your area, so make sure you don’t scrimp on this! Finally, you’ll need a pretty substantial budget for hiring new staff. This certainly isn’t the kind of business you can run as a one-man-band.
A final, though still very important thing you’ll need to run an estate agency, is the ability to teach. Seen as you’re set on a career in property, you’ll probably be able to provide a better service than all the staff you have working under you. This is to be expected, but it’s something you should be working to fix over time. If you’re going to have any hope of growing your business, then you need to be constantly coaching your staff on better interpersonal and selling practices. Right now you’ll probably be more concerned with closing enough deals to make a gain on your investment. Of course, this is important too! However, all the time you spend coaching your more junior staff will certainly pay off further down the line.
There you have the three main essentials you need to get your estate agency off the ground.
