Are MBAs, B.Scs & diplomas in Real Estate really going to make a difference?
Picture credit: Vasily Koloda, Unsplash
What's the most important asset to acquire if you want to get ahead in the real estate industry? Paper qualifications (E.g. a REA qualification or MBA in Real Estate) or people skills plus industry knowledge plus the “right” attitude?
Hands up all those newbies who said a REA is the way to go. IMHO you guys are dead wrong. I know many RENs who make RM50k a month - and that's more $$ than the average REA makes after putting in at least two years to study and sit for the exams leading to a REA qualification.
What I've noticed about these super achievers in the real estate industry that REGULARLY make TOP Producer for the Month or Year for their companies is that they all have excellent People Skills. For example, if I were to ring one of them up, even after an absence of 6-7 years, they all immediately recognise and call me by name. Wowza! That makes for a great client impression. You remembered my name after all these years!
Most of the super achievers I know are not REAs. In fact if you were to meet them in a property viewing you probably won't have guessed they make RM40,000 to RM50,000 a month. They tend to be good listeners. Unlike the 80% of their peers in the real estate industry who are in a big hurry to tell you how savvy they are, the super achievers seem genuinely interested in YOUR needs. If you are a seasoned investor, they know how to calculate ROI for you without being asked. If you are a FTHB (First Time Home Buyer), they are patient and take time and trouble to explain the legal stuff and the steps of getting financing. In short, they have excellent People Skills.
But of course in the past 20 years since I bought a 5* KLCC condominium (the story of how I ended up an owner of Kirana Residence is here) I have run into some very smart REAs who make that kind of money. One of them (Mr K is what I call him) happens to be my mentor in property investment more than 10 years ago. I still talk to Mr K every now and then to get his views on the industry. Sometimes we don't agree on how something should be done. But I respect his wisdom. And despite decades in what can be called a “dog eat dog” industry, Mr K who has risen to a leadership position in the industry has managed to keep a sense of humour and compassion for fellow humans.
In the mid 1980s when I was a junior flunky in a small listed bank in Red Dot Island, I realized that my second rate MBA was not enough. My job required me to give weekly evening presentations on unit trust investment at grass roots community centres. But I was painfully shy and struggled to make small talk with people - mostly senior citizens- who attended my talks on unit trust investment.
But one happy day I had the good fortune to be invited to a Toastmasters International chapter that met on Friday evenings at the Mandarin Hotel at Orchard Road. The President of that Toastmasters chapter was a young American Express VP called Ekachai Uekrongtham. He was a dynamic marketing professional and a very good Toastmaster. He encouraged me to sign up for the 10 step Toastmasters International training. Looking back, I credit my Toastmasters experience as perhaps the most valuable “professional” training course I took. In Toastmasters, you learn how to speak impromptu on any topic, how to think and speak at the same time - a useful skill to have, how to conduct meetings and the proper way to take over from a speaker.
I am not painfully shy in talking to people any more. In fact -and this is perhaps the only major drawback to being a former Toastmaster, I tend to ramble on too much when I'm talking to people. If your company has an in-house Toastmasters chapter, I encourage you to join and discover how you can pick up people skills from your Toastmasters colleagues.
The Toastmasters 10 Steps to Success method is summarised below:
The ten projects you will complete from the initial Toastmasters manual are:
1. The Icebreaker. You start by talking about a subject you know well, yourself. This is a short presentation where you introduce yourself to the club by talking about one or two aspects of your life. In it you discover skills you already have and identify one or two skills that need attention.
2. Organise your speech. In this project you discover how to develop an outline for building a successful presentation and then put that into practice.
3. Get to the point. Here you learn about the four basic types of speeches and the best approach to making each of them successful. You concentrate on achieving well defined objectives.
4. How to say it. This project concentrates on word selection and usage. You learn about selecting the right words and sentence structure for maximum effect. You also learn to use some basic rhetorical devices to add impact.
5. Your body speaks. Studies have shown that your audience gets more information from you through their eyes than through their ears and this project concentrates on how you appear to your audience. You learn to use stance, movement, facial expressions and eye contact to influence your audience and to achieve the objectives of your presentation.
6. Vocal variety. Ears are attracted to sounds that change just as eyes are attracted to things that move. In this project you learn to vary volume, pitch, pace and quality of your voice to enhance your message and connect with your audience.
7. Research your topic. In this project you learn various techniques to collect relevant information and how to include this in your presentation to support your points and opinions.
8. Get comfortable with visual aids. Visual aids can be a powerful tool for a speaker to add impact to a presentation and makes it memorable. Here you learn how to select appropriate visual aids and use them correctly and with confidence.
9. Persuade with power. The art of persuasion is quite different from simply presenting information. In this assignment you learn how to persuade your audience to adopt your point of view or to take some action. You will learn to appeal to peoples’ self interest and to use emotion and logic to support your position.
10. Inspire your audience. Here you learn to inspire your audience by appealing to noble motives and to challenge your audience to achieve a higher level of beliefs or commitment. You learn how to appeal to your audience’s needs and emotions, using stories and anecdotes to add drama.
After each presentation you get feedback from another member which highlights skills you displayed and points out one or two areas for improvement that might be helpful for your next presentation. Feedback is always given in a sensitive and supportive manner.
Source: Aspire Toastmasters Club
In conclusion, I think the real estate industry does offer people without a university degree or diploma a pathway to professional success and a good salary. But those who aspire to be Top Producers must also have industry knowledge and the right attitude besides the necessary people skills.
Notes- My second rate MBA was a one year full time course in the UK that required no GMAT test scores for entry. First rate MBAs usually are of two years duration at a top 50 business school. And they always require high GMAT test scores to get in.
To be continued…
Picture credit: Al Eimes, Unsplash