All agents know that getting your real estate license requires hours of newly learned topics. Requirements vary from state to state. But basically, you will need enough education to understand state and national laws in order to become licensed and serve consumers.
Continuing education will be a life-long journey to maintain your license. Some agents may want to take a few courses as possible choosing instead to devote more time to hands-on experience. But they may not realize that education can make them even more productive in the industry, making the hours they put in worth their weight in gold.
This article will discuss why making education a cornerstone of your evolution directly impacts an agent’s production.
Why is real estate education so important?
In addition to keeping your license up to date, there are many advantages to continuing education as an agent. Here are some to consider.
1. You may get certifications
Some continuing education courses allow you to get certifications. These will give you the know-how you need to be an expert in your field. They also look impressive to clients and colleagues.
Examples of the types of certifications you can acquire include:
- Certified Residential Specialist
- Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist
- Resort and Second Home Property Specialist
- Certified Commercial Investment Member
- Certified Property Manager
- Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager
- Accredited Buyer’s Representative
- Seller Representative Specialist
- Accredited Land Consultant
- Real Estate Negotiation Expert
- Military Relocation Professional
- Senior Real Estate Specialist
- Green Designation
- At Home with Diversity
- Graduate Real Estate Institute Designation
2. Keeps you up to date on changes in real estate law
Real estate law is constantly changing. Not being aware of the laws can get you into trouble. It can cause issues with clients and, if all the T’s aren’t crossed and the I’s aren’t dotted, it could even have you facing a lawsuit.
Continuing education courses will ensure you are up to date on the latest real estate law, so you maintain great relationships with your clients and a clean criminal record!
3. Improves your marketing skills
Real estate courses can educate you in all aspects of the industry including marketing. You can learn how to generate leads, build effective campaigns, boost conversions and more. These are the tools that will help you grow your business and produce income.
4. Helps you provide a terrific customer experience
It’s vital for real estate agents to provide their clients with exceptional service. Real estate is a stressful business, and you are bound to find yourself in difficult situations that you are unsure how to handle.
A continuing education course will let you know exactly what clients expect. They will take you through a variety of possible scenarios, so you are ready to handle them when they occur in real life.
5. Allows you to grow and expand your business
After being in the real estate industry for a few years, you may decide you want to venture out into other related fields. Doing so can help you generate more income, and it can take you on a slightly different career path if you are looking for something more fulfilling.
There are many courses that will help you explore various aspects of real estate, so you are able to grow your business and pursue your dreams.
6. Helps with time management
In any business, time is money. The right time management tools and strategies will keep you on schedule so you can be on top of your game and stay as productive as possible. Educational courses will help you learn how to make the most of your time, so you don’t end up falling behind.
7. Provides direction
Being successful is all about setting goals. In the real estate field, these can come in the form of generating a certain amount of leads a day, reaching a specific sales goal or moving on into a new real estate field.
But you won’t know what goals are attainable to you until you discover what’s out there. A real estate education will broaden your horizons, so you are familiar with your possibilities and know the best steps to take moving forward.
8. Teaches you to be innovative
When you do the same thing day in and day out, you get used to a routine, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But education will open your mind to a different way of doing things. You may learn new methods that are more efficient and effective and will help you to be more productive overall.
9. Teaches you to prioritize
A real estate agent needs to be detail-oriented. This is a trait that will come in handy when houses are being shown and when paperwork is being filled out. But overanalyzing some details will work against you causing you to waste precious time. A real estate course will teach you what to focus on and what can be dealt with later, so you provide excellent service without sweating the small stuff.
10. Helps you understand various aspects of the real estate industry
If you look over the courses offered at any given real estate school, you will find ones available that facilitate the understanding of short sales, risk management, business planning, trust funds and more.
There is no end to the things you can learn. You will grow your knowledge in ways you never thought imaginable and establish yourself as a thought leader in your field.
Chris Heller is a real estate industry expert, best-selling author and currently serves as the Chief Real Estate Officer at Ojo Labs.
