CPI, trainings and dejavou: Collaborations and 5 secrets for professionalism

Last Tuesday I attended CPI, "Clubul Profesionistilor de Imobiliare", an event organized by imobiliare.ro. There, during the presentations held by Isfachan Doechie and Iulian Niculae, I felt like I was living a dejavou…

2007 – 2008: Tens of hours invested in training…
It was back in 2007, when I decided to move from simple trainings for my people, to an extensive programme. I was training my colleagues already since 2005, but I thought of trying something more intensive, more professional. I invested about 40 hours in providing to my team knowledge and know how, around 25 – 30 people at that time. You might blame me for many reasons and mistakes, but at that time I had really tried to teach them all they needed to know about lands, buildings, new and old apartments, how to treat our client, support a negotiation, handle their dailyschedule, talk over the phone and tens of other subjects.

Watching people's reactions, I soon started feeling like Don Qichote…

• I had endless discussions trying to explain to the agents of apartments that it is our company's policy NOT to show an apartment to a client before we see it ourselves.
• I was very upset with a colleague who attempted to behave bad towards a collaborator, I kept on trying to explain to him that I support the model of collaborations (but how to explain this to someone who knows how to work just by himself?)
• I disagreed and fired 2 guys who got upset, as I rejected their proposal to literally steal a client and share the extra profits.
• I showed the exit door to another gentleman who refused to negotiate with the owner of the property on behalf of our client, saying that "more than 3 – 5% discount is an insult".
• Not to mention the ones who were laughing on my back, while I was telling them that the market will soon block, or that "there will be a day when this irresponsible approach will be punished with 0 income".
• I concluded these trainings and checked the results: Only 5 or 6 of my colleagues cared to understand what all was about, learned a lot and added value to themselves.

Anyway, I don't keep hard feelings for anyone, either I continued working with him / her or not. Life goes on and I am really happy whenever I hear the progress of any of my ex colleagues.

(You can easily recognize some of the guys I disagreed with. They search online for articles about me and add a negative / insulting comment. If this makes them happy… why not?).

The idea of collaboration between Real Estate companies finally worked in my case
The first time I proposed this in Romania, I was almost kicked out from someone's office. But throughout the years I managed to build successful collaborations, with Romanians or foreigners who treated me in the same way I treated them: With respect.

I know that most of you have the impression that "almost Real Estate companies are cooks" etc, but this is not true. There are also many serious people, working in smaller or bigger companies, with whom we work together, on daily basis. From the well known multinational firms to very small companies or even private persons, I am proud of having managed to work with them, provide information without tricking being tricked, conclude transactions and share success.

This is the message I liked in Isfachan Doechie's presentation as well. The passionate Dutch developed his thoughts about collaboration in an audience which was much more receptive comparing to mine in the past. Different times? Who knows? What I know is that I will continue supporting this idea, despite the obvious difficulties.

"5 secrets in order to become a better professional as Real Estate broker"
The second presentation there belonged to Iulian Niculae. Honestly, I did not expect him to say what he said. I agree with him 101%, I have also taught all these topics during the previous years and I was really happy to find one more serious Romanian professional, who is here to work, provide quality services and earn money, ofcourse.

(Ooops, sorry. I forgot that for some people "the good professional" is the one who offers them his services for free. The others are "bad").

So, what are these 5 "secrets" that Iulian mentioned (and I constantly support as well)?

1.      A Real Estate broker "sells" professional approach, information and trust. If he fails to showcase that he deserves his client's trust, he is lost.

2.      The "trap" of "what is more than this price is yours". This is the worst approach for someone, to try to sell something with a very high price, in order for him to have a big share. A commission based agreement is always better, from my (and Iulian's) point of view. Better, healthier, more profitable and successful on the long run.

3.      Be creative, organized and disciplined. Without these 3 standards, you will simply fail to become someone important and you will be just one more guy "who exists in the market".

4.      Respect and you will be respected. In Real Estate we deal with people's money and properties. For us it is just a small part of the total sum, but the owner or the investor may have worked one life for the property or the money they have. This is why we should be very careful and respectful to them and their status. Respecting them will initiate their respect to us too. (And if someone does not respect back, simply this is a person you should not do business with).

5.      Be proud of you and your work. Absolutely! The healthy serious Real Estate brokers contribute much in the economy's progress and the successful deals between people. We are proud* of being part of this profession. Once people sense this, their attitude will improve and everything will be easier.

* Proud does not mean arrogant

I was happy to hear all these by Isfachan and Iulian. Professionism should be cultivated and these two guys contributed to this progress.