When you're selling real estate, you're doing more than creating listings or giving tours. Your clients, both buyers and sellers, rely on your expertise to guide them through this process. As you learn and grow in your ability to handle any situation, here are a few easy mistakes you can avoid to keep your career building momentum and success.

Common Realty Pitfalls

1. Falling Behind on Research

Your competitive edge lies in your knowledge of the local market. You need to be aware of the number of houses available and buyers searching, the going prices of a wide range of house types in a number of areas, and any changes in more distant markets that may affect your local area. There's no rule of thumb you can rely on for this knowledge, so you need to be engaged in constant market research.

2. Not Saying No

Sometimes you'll meet a difficult client with a property that's hard to turn over. If you can't sell the home quickly, you'll end up spending more and more time on the project, which cuts into profit even if there's a large commission.

Other sellers may have a good property but are hard to work with. Become attuned to these factors and be willing to turn down a job. Even when you do take on a client, you need to be able to tell them the truth about realistic pricing for their home and other difficult matters. Being able to say no and educate an uninformed client is an essential skill.

3. Expecting Everything to Go Well

Sometimes real estate will take longer than expected to sell. Sometimes appointments will fall through. Sometimes a listed home will be damaged, or one of the other professionals you rely on, such as an inspector or contractor, will make a mistake.

When this happens, you need to be prepared. Build a margin of error into your schedules. Keep some time slots open. Carry insurance that will protect you from liability. The more prepared you are, the more you'll impress clients and weather emergencies without losses.

If you'd like to join a driven real estate team, join EXIT Realty Upper Midwest. They have locations throughout North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. With over an 80% success rate for new professionals joining their organization, they pride themselves on providing an advantage to ambitious agents, including residual income and protected territory in your area. Call (651) 505-3570 to get started or learn more about exciting career opportunities online.