The real estate industry is a cutthroat business where only the skilled can succeed. When you run a company that deals with real estate sales, you need to ensure that you have agents who have the necessary skills and experience to become successful.
Challenges in Running a Real Estate Business
While shelter is one of the basic needs, selling one isn’t the easiest thing to do. Different people have different needs and this has a significant impact on their decision to purchase. In order to close deals, there are quite a few factors that need to be considered. Here are some of the challenges most real estate businesses face in their day to day operations.
- Real estate agents not having the enough sales skills to close deals – In order to successfully close sales, real estate agents need to have exceptional sales skills. Open houses are more than quick tours with food and refreshments. It’s about closely observing potential buyers and recognizing their buying triggers. Once this is done, the agent should be able to showcase the features of the home that directly relates to what the potential buyers are interested in. This process requires above average sales skills. Companies may have licensed realtors who know about the real estate policies, but unless these agents are effective sales people, then it would be difficult to have successful deals.
- Inconsistent Performance from Real estate agents – Real estate companies need to make sure that its realtors perform consistently. Sales is the lifeline of the business and it can’t be seasonal. So, despite challenges in the economy or the housing business, agents are still supposed to deliver numbers. This is only possible if the realtors have sufficient experience in the industry as well as the right contacts to drive their sales.
- Properties not updated properly due to agents not being familiar with platforms – According to Modern Moguls Marketing, a marketing solutions provider, updating the statues of properties is one of the common problems realtors face. And this is something that should not be missed because in real estate sales, knowing which properties are still in the market or going to be in the market is crucial. Agents should not be wasting time promoting properties that have already been sold. This might seem unlikely but some companies lose business because the status of listed properties is not properly updated. This is often due to the agents not being able to work on the type of system used by the company. What may seem as a simple admin and clerical error can actually have a huge impact on the business’ profitability.
- Real estate agents are not able to negotiate deals effectively – Getting prospects interested in a property is only half of the battle. The next step is to negotiate a deal where both the buyer and the seller win. Buyers of course will want to get the lowest price while sellers will prefer the opposite. Real estate agents need to be able to close a profitable deal. There are times though when a sale fails to go through because the price could not be agreed on. This is a situation that is certainly not favorable to a real estate company as it’s a loss of profit.
These challenges stem from not having the right people in place. Real estate sales agents may have the enthusiasm but not the necessary skills to be effective and productive.
Hiring Challenges
The success of a real estate company depends heavily on the skill of the agents it has. This is why hiring the right people is very crucial. Unfortunately recruiting the right people is easier said than done. Below are some of the hiring challenges that HR departments of real estate companies experience.
- Limited Reach of Recruiting Campaigns – In an effort to reduce recruitment costs, job postings are often limited to the company website and other low cost mediums. This translates to fewer applicants for your pool. It also means it reduces the chances of the company to reach qualified candidates.
- Poorly Written Ads – For an industry that relies so much on great advertising, it’s surprising how the ads real estate companies run for recruitment are not always appealing. Job postings often follow the way real estate ads are designed so it comes across as gimmicky and too good to be true. This turns off job seekers that consider ads as a basis of whether to apply or not.
- Ineffective Screening Process – Hiring the right people is crucial in real estate sales. When sourcing for candidates, HR needs to find individuals who have the appropriate experience and skills to be able to do the job successfully. Unfortunately screening the applicants properly can take a long time and doing it manually reduces its efficiency. Factors such as trying to speed up the process may result in errors.
These recruitment challenges can become more manageable with the right tools such as recruitment software.
Challenge Accepted
Using hr recruitment software can make hiring the right person for your real estate business a simpler and more efficient process. But what exactly is online recruitment software?
Recruitment CRM software is a tool that your real estate company can use to enhance your recruiting process. It offers features that deliver solutions to the challenges you experience in getting the right talent. It has numerous benefits that cover vital tasks such as sourcing and hiring.
The best recruitment software has features that include but are not limited to applicant tracking, website integration and CV analysis. These can help improve the quality of applicants you get so you can hire the best realtors for your company. Below are some of the business solutions that recruitment tools can bring to the table.
- Website Integration – This e-recruitment software tool allows visitors to your website apply directly to you by filling out online forms. Being able to source online applicants through your website can certainly increase your pool of candidates. With over 3 billion internet users worldwide, you cannot afford not to use it in your sourcing campaigns. Job seekers can check your company profile so they can see whether they could fit into your culture. By allowing site visitors to apply, you make the application process so much easier for individuals to begin. And because your site is linked to the rest of your recruiting tools, HR can quickly respond to candidates to improve the overall application process. Research shows that companies that candidates consider their experience during the application process when deciding whether to accept the job or not. And this extremely vital especially if that individual has the skills you require.
- Wider Reach – When you get recruitment software for real estate businesses, you also get access to a directory of job boards where you can post your vacancies. These are sites where professionals in the real estate industry check for career opportunities. This widens your reach extensively and you get access to applicants who are more than qualified to fill the realtor position in your company. It gives you additional sourcing venues so you can get a much larger applicant pool to choose from.
- Candidate Analysis – Reviews of recruitment software available online show that companies who use the too find this feature one of the most useful ones. It makes matching applicants to jobs more efficient. CV information is fed into the database and the program is able to identify which ones have the needed experience and skills. This means you are able to find applicants in your pool who can deliver results once they are hired. For example, if you’re looking for a senior real estate agent, CV details such as years of experience and their sales track record will be essential. Your HR folks can simply feed the job requirements into the search and the tool will provide a list of candidates in your pool who have what you need. If you specify at least 5 years in the industry then those who have just started in real estate sales won’t be part of the results. It lets you focus more time on the candidates who are qualified.
- Applicant Tracking – Finding an experienced and skilled real estate agent can be challenging. And the last thing you want to happen is to lose a candidate who is qualified due to bad paperwork or miscommunication. This feature ensures that HR is able to efficiently track the progress of the candidate within the application process. This means all qualified applicants go through without any delay. From pre-screening to new hire orientation, the process virtually runs on auto pilot with updates sent to everyone concerned.
Running your real estate business in whatever market or economy can be difficult. But with the right people in place, becoming successful is certainly possible. Ensure that you are hiring and bringing on board the best real estate agents by optimizing your recruiting process with the right tools. Discover your options by checking the list of recruiting software providers at CrowdReviews.com.
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