Imagine a world where the REALTOR® is no longer wanted by the consumer. What will you do if that scenario actually happens? Well, in keeping with the type of person I am, I haven't devoted any time to thinking about that, and nor should you, because it just ain't gonna happen!

There are many passionate discussions going on in the online world about the effect of the mega-sites that are trying to "cut the Realtor (middleman) out of the process." But it won't happen. What is happening, and will continue to happen, is that the Realtor's role will change significantly. There are two key changes that the Realtor of tomorrow will have to accept:

1. The Realtor may well not be the initial contact a consumer makes when they are ready to make a move; the consumer is far more likely to come to the Realtor as a referral from some third-party such as a mortgage broker.

2. Referrals Fees will be payable on a majority of transactions.

But back to the present, and the changes that I have noticed in my own business over the past few years.

My typical client, who is 25 - 35, first time buyer or first-time seller, professional, one or no kids, $75,000 minimum income, might/will be tempted to use this sort of mega-site portal service to check things out. I find that my clientele does lots of checking on the 'net, but they don't want to do the work themselves - they are too busy making money and enjoying life; they don't mind (in fact, they want to pay) paying to get top-notch knowledgeable, professional service.

An interesting side-note about my typical clients is that the majority of them have only one parent working if they have kids; the mother is staying home to raise their children, perhaps working one day a week in her old career. Another quality-of-life issue that they are choosing to address even at that young age.

The same goes for most first-time buyers too - they are glad to pay a knowledgeable professional to guide them through the process.

The key is to be knowledgeable and to be totally honest. Time and again, my clients, and the clients they refer to me, say that my extra education in real estate topics was very important to them; they wanted an expert who could answer their questions, or could find the answers for them.

The number of people entering real estate as their first career, straight out of university, is increasing dramatically. These new Realtors come into real estate with none of the old paradigms; they are business and technology savvy, and ready to reap the rewards of the new world of real estate.

In a marketplace of 27,000 people, with more Realtors than listings, I needed a unique twist to my business, so I decided to focus my business on working with the clients who most need and appreciate my expertise, delivered in the way that I choose to deliver it. My reasons were, and still are, two-fold; I want to pick-and-choose who I work with, and was/am prepared to adjust my business practices to continue serving a clientele that can/will work the way I want to work. Can you say "Specialist"? Secondly, I want to differentiate myself from the vulture-crowds of Realtors who haven't a clue how to serve the techno-clients of today and tomorrow. Being able to do this is leading me to getting more and more of my business from referrals, which is the best kind of business.

Compare a Realtor to a Doctor. When we just want to know how things are going over-all, we go to our family doctor, the generalist. However, when we want some exact knowledge in a specific system or part of the body, we will either ask to be sent, or sent, to a specialist. Same goes for lawyers; they specialize.

The members of my homeselling team are all specialists; My Buyer Agent is fairly new in the business; he got into real estate because he was thrilled with the educational process I took him through when he bought his first home; My listing agent hates dealing with buyers, and is very good at getting proper pricing when listing a home; my mortgage broker is excellent at explaining things to first-time buyers, and arranging a loan for the most difficult of cases. I believe that I am safe from the threat of all these mega-sites and portals, because I am considered an expert in helping first-time buyers, and people want expertise.

Sales coach Martha Woodbury and others have been spreading the word about having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), and creating a market niche, for a long time. This is the only way for you to survive as a Realtor in the future.

There is another type of clientele though, forming the majority of non first-time homebuyers, who will make use of this mega-site portal to save big bucks in their home sale and purchase. Those practitioners who focus on this market segment will indeed find their careers open to much more change - fee-for-service, lower fees, higher expectations of expertise, more accountability, better educated clients, etc. Can you say "General Practitioner?"

The other thing that is being passionately discussed is what can/should be done about the portals... I think that the changes these mega-site portals will force on the profession will be one of the major contributors to getting the marginally successful Realtors out of the business. On that basis, the only thing I think should be done about it is that one should devote great energy to being the best, most ready to adapt professional Realtor in the marketplace.

Position yourself at the front of the curve; sell that image to the public. If you can back it up, then be prepared to back it up. And you'll have nothing to fear.

Published: June 21, 1999

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