Industry moons real estate consumer

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Once upon a time, real estate was broker-centric. Sometime in the 1980s real estate began to become agent-centric as the recruiting battle for top agents became more intense. At NAR's Midyear conference today, a panel examined the need for our businesses to shift from agent-centric to consumer-centric. Move Inc.'s Allan Dalton kicked off the discussion by saying, "Not only have we as an industry not been consumer-centric, it's as if we have been mooning them."

When a client asks a question, we have been trained to answer with a question. They ask: "Does the property have a large backyard?" We respond: "Is having a large backyard important to you?" Brokerages lack research and development departments. Agents lack training on how to dig deeper in terms of satisfying their clients' needs. In an age where everything is speeding up, our responses tend to be superficial and lacking in depth.

Dalton argued that our entire value chain has come under attack. The "60 Minutes" piece was, in Dalton's opinion, an attack on the value of the individual agent.

Dalton also argued that making service your number one value was what your cleaners do -- not your doctor or attorney. People pay us for our expertise. If you're having brain surgery, you want the doctor with the most expertise, not the one who makes you feel good because of his bedside manner. 

As someone who has been in education over 30 years, I have never understood why when the market slows down, companies cut training. This is the very time when we should have our agents in training constantly. Not only do they need to manage the new technology tools, we have a whole new generation of agents who need to master the skills it takes to conduct business in a flat or declining market. Younger agents need to learn how to do business with Boomers who still control the largest amount of wealth in this country. Across the board, we need to learn with non-traditional buyers, many whose culture and language are completely foreign to us. 

Bottom line: maybe it's time for real estate to redefine what it means to CYA.

--Bernice Ross, RealEstateCoach.com, LuxuryClues.com

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