In an ever-changing market, stagnation is the enemy of luxury real estate success.
If you’ve spent any time at all reading our Monthly Member Spotlights, you’ve seen that every real estate success story points back to a strong commitment in continuing education. And if top performers know one thing to be true, it’s that success in this market is a journey, not a destination.
Even getting the most out of your Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist Designation means participating in Luxury Live Events, going to our annual Leaders In Luxury conference, and staying on top of monthly Luxury Market Reports.
Now you can even subscribe to our brand new podcast, Estate of Mind, to take luxury insights with you to listen to on the go!
Unfortunately, for too many agents, continuing education is still seen as a “necessary evil” to keep their license current. While it’s true that experience is the best teacher, investing in continuing education directly adds to the value you can give your clients, plus it can give you the confidence you need to negotiate for the professional fees you believe you deserve.
Beyond keeping your license up to date, let’s look at some of the most important reasons continuing education needs to be part of your path to real estate success:
1. It Can Help You Stay Current On the Basics
If you’re a seasoned agent, real estate basics eventually become second nature. However, even the basics can change and are worth catching up on.
From zoning laws to local ordinances, legal basics are always changing, and your clients are counting on you to guide them in the right direction. Since these clients are typically experienced buyers and sellers, they may specifically be seeking you out for legal expertise.
Similarly, contracts and mortgage basics evolve over time, or may simply require a refresher course every few years. Even negotiation skills can be continuously fine-tuned through continuing education.
Although these foundational topics may not seem to have an immediate return on your investment, the more frequently you take the time to polish them, the more you save yourself time down the line on simple, needless mistakes.
2. It Gives Your Clients Peace of Mind
If you’ve already earned your Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist Designation, then you know how much easier it is to land new luxury real estate clients and how often they tend to find you.
Luxury clientele are aware that the designation represents a certain amount of expertise and proven real estate success, which gives them peace of mind from start to finish.
They are trusting you to be knowledgeable about every facet of the industry, and your role becomes that of a consultant rather than simply a salesperson when they’re confident in your skills. This makes it easier to negotiate for the professional fees you deserve, and also makes for referral-worthy experiences that will ultimately grow your luxury real estate practice.
3. Live Courses Help You Grow Your Network
Ties to local, national, and international peers are also essential to grow your sphere of influence, and taking live courses like our own Luxury Live events give you access to a variety of brilliant agents.
Not only do you get to consume the content in real-time and bounce ideas off of other elite performers, but you can also grow your list of contacts to both refer clients to, and get referrals from.
4. It Keeps Improving Your Home Marketing Strategy
Real estate marketing is constantly evolving to keep up with new trends and technology, which is why continuing education is one of the best ways to keep improving your strategy for your clients.
With digital marketing taking over the luxury real estate sphere, it’s more important than ever that agents not only have an understanding of things like social media marketing, email marketing, and content marketing, but that they continue to adapt to the trends that come along with each.
Even if you outsource some of the pieces of your marketing strategy, having a current understanding of what’s working and what isn’t can help you focus your time and budget on what matters most for you and your clients.
If you’re ready to take your career as a luxury real estate agent to the next level, visit our site to learn more about the benefits of our Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist Designation.
Comments
Great Article. Bobbi Decker one of your graduates teaches 9 NAR courses and this is a great article to help Realtors understand the importance of Education to up their game, connect with like minded agents and add value to their work for their clients.