You don’t need a crystal ball to predict the future. Simply join Sean Z Becker, owner and principal broker of Sean Z Becker Real Estate, as he takes the stage during Inman’s Indie Broker Summit on Monday, Aug. 7, to teach our audience how to recognize when it is time to shift business before it’s too late.
Becker, a passionate Portlander, began his career working with developers to market and transform Portland’s Waterfront District into a thriving community by using his principal strategy, which focuses on the “power of interaction, not the transaction.” We caught up with Becker to talk about building client bases, industry trends and more.
What do you see as the biggest benefit to being an independent broker?
I think the biggest benefit is that we get to build our own brand and identity. By not being a franchise, we are able to have an authenticity and a culture that both our brokers and our clients buy into and support. The fact that we are independent allows us to offer a very personalized, non-cookie cutter service to our brokers and to our clientele.
What are your best tips and tricks for building your client base?
I have four essential traits that I believe make a great broker:
- Be believable
- Be an expert
- Be prepared
- Be consistent
It’s really about focusing on the interaction not the transaction. Transactions come and go, but if you can really build upon the day to day interactions and develop meaningful relationships in your community, you will have staying power.
What do you see as the most important trends (good or bad) that independent brokers should be keeping an eye on in the coming year?
There is a lot of technology that is now allowing independent brokers access to a global audience. These new technologies are giving independent brokers a larger reach than ever before, allowing for brand awareness that can compete with the franchises, and — in some cases — out-position them. The fact that there is an Indie Broker Summit tells you that independent brokers are raising their brand awareness and are achieving a critical mass within the industry.