 |
Real Estate News and Advice |
November 11, 2009 |
|
|
|
|
 What Becoming an e-PRO Will Do For You
by Blanche Evans
It's been proven that earning a designation can translate into additional opportunities as well as income, but the e-PRO certification may have more impact on the real estate industry than any other single educational initiative ever has. The e-PRO REALTOR® could well be positioned for higher visibility to consumers and greater earnings than other real estate professionals. For many years, Realtors have done a wonderful job marketing themselves to other Realtors. Designations and certifications are one of the many ways in which Realtors communicate among themselves and establish their level of expertise. Certifications and designations have been significant coffer-stuffers for organizations such as the CRS Council and REBAC, who rely strongly on the prestige value of their designations to attract and maintain membership. To subsidize these affiliates, the NAR allows them exclusive rights to issue their certifications and designations. Other organizations also offer valuable designations which are employed by Realtors to illustrate their expertise in such areas as exclusive buyer's agency and employee relocation. Like the NAR designations, however, these are mostly useful to identify the agents' area of expertise to other industry practitioners. Their significance must be explained to consumers. But the e-PRO is different from any other set of letters. First, it is not the revenue stream for a subsidiary, affiliate, or related organization. It is offered only the NAR itself. That means the opportunity to become an e-PRO is open to any member of the NAR, and serves as a stand-alone certification of Internet marketing and customer service mastery. Any Realtor, whether new on the job or seasoned veterans, has an equal right to become known as an "expert" without having to meet other qualifiers such as number of years in the business, sales production quotas, or practicing certain types of agency. The primary benefit, not discounting the enriching and intensive educational experience, is the high visibility and instant communicability of the certification itself. Any consumer will see the letters "e-PRO" following a Realtor's name and readily understand that the professional is Internet-capable. The e-PRO is the first certification that will, in the words of e-PRO architect Michael Russer, "bridge the chasm between real estate professionals who can and can not use the Internet in their daily business." Although the earning power of the e-PRO is yet to be proven, there is evidence that e-PROs will be able to earn more using the Internet than their counterparts who do not, particularly after employing the time-saving techniques which will be taught by the course and which will significantly reduce the Internet learning curve for e-PRO students. The NAR has already found in surveys of members that Realtors who access the Internet earn $4,000 more per year than those who do not. Nine out of ten of those report that they generate at least one percent of their business online. Individual Realtors report substantially higher volumes coming from the Internet, with many generating as much as 50% or more of their business online. Certification/designation holders earn more If you look at the numbers between Realtors who go the extra mile for additional certifications, designations or to become brokers, and those who do nothing, the immediate economic rewards and attending status are tangible. Other designations bear this out. The Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) is billed by the CRS Council as the "the highest designation awarded to sales associates in the residential sales field." CRS designations are not easy to qualify for or to obtain, making the 32,000 CRS members a tight network of less than 5% of Realtors. They tend to refer business almost exclusively among themselves, knowing that they are passing customers to others with high work ethics and similar educational backgrounds. They also are part of the CRB/CRS Referral print directory, which 5,000 Certified Residential Brokers (CRB) across the country receive and use. The CRS designation is significant because these council members were involved in nearly 25% of all residential real estate transactions nationwide. Other organizations have also found value in certifications and designations. RE/MAX performed a poll of more than 40,0000 associates in 1998, and found the following designees earning higher percentages than the average RE/MAX associate:
As Keller Williams broker and training coach Vikki Morvant, ABR, CRP, CRS, sees it, "It's not necessarily the designation that causes the rise in income, but rather, agents who earn designations are learning-based people who are more likely to work at earning higher incomes." The NAR is solidly behind the e-PRO Unlike other designations which have met mixed reactions from the NAR membership, particularly exclusive buyer's agency, the NAR will prioritize "helping real estate professionals recognize and embrace technology as a vital business tool that can boost their bottom line." Dennis Cronk, the new NAR president for 2000, said in a recent interview, "Technological advancements are providing new opportunities for real estate practitioners to change their operations and expand their business. "Realtors need to reinvent themselves in the new millennium. We need to redefine the value we bring to clients and customers, using technology as a tool," continues Cronk. "Any real estate professional today who hasn't made a commitment to technology has, by default, made a commitment to retire." The NAR believes that the skill set which will be delivered to the Realtor through the e-PRO certification will be the first line of defense in a rapidly changing world which is under constant threat to the traditional real estate business model. But one thing is clear. The e-PRO will be better equipped to handle the changes to come than other real estate professionals. Editor's note: The first e-PRO course is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2000 at the NAR University. Also See:
Published: December 20, 1999 Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. 
Related Articles:
|
Real Estate News Network
Today's Real Estate Outlook
 Spotlight
Today's Headlines
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
for Agents
Readers' Choice
|
||||||||||||||||||
Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68.
