By George O’Neill

Remember the day you started in this business? I do, vividly. There it was, finally, the envelope. I anxiously put the letter opener to work. I was excited to see for the first time my Real Estate Council of Ontario Certificate of Registration. I immediately affixed it high on the wall over my desk for all to see, and inserted the credit-card sized copy in my wallet in case someone requested to see it when I was away from the office.

Countless hours of study over six months, plus sitting through several exams, had resulted in this day. Now I was officially ready to launch my real estate career. My license said so.

But, where do I start? How do I actually go about getting my first client? Can I effectively compete with others who must be doing something right since their signs are all over the place? Where does on-going business come from? How can I grow my business so I am where I want to be in five years? These questions, and others, were flowing through my mind.

Yes, of course I was trained in the fundamentals of how to fill in the forms, the proper procedures and regulations to adhere to, and I already was experienced in consultative selling and marketing from previous jobs, but I did not exactly have clients lined up down the hall waiting for an appointment with me. Remember those days?

We have all gone through something like this. Unfortunately for many sales reps this anxiety repeats itself all too often as the ebb and flow of our businesses must constantly adjust to a dynamic economy, to shifting buyer and seller expectations, and to other external forces – not the least of which includes rapid changes in technology and digital marketing driven by the explosion in Internet usage. It is believed about 90 per cent of consumers now first look on the Internet when searching for real estate, and also when looking to find their selling agent. For some reps these factors lead to a feast or famine cycle. If only we could build a business that grows steadily and predictably, getting ahead of change instead of always trying to play catch up.

So, what is one to do?

Well the first thing we all need to accept is that technological change is here for good, that it will continue to impact our businesses on a go-forward basis, that consumers are all over it and it empowers them, and if we do not learn to leverage it as an enabler, we will fall behind and possibly become irrelevant. Fast. Clear?

Technology in this context is not just about your PC or your Blackberry or your website – you have those, right? Table stakes, really just commodities needed to operate any efficient business. The debate is not about being a little more adventurous, like me perhaps, who owns a Mac and an iPhone, despite the lack of any support from my local real estate board. The devices you use to check and respond to email and surf listings are not what matter. What does matter is how you use those tools to stay informed, to communicate and to remain relevant so you can continue to add value to your clients’ experience when they engage you to help them buy or sell real estate. The debate is all about whether you are going to adopt or not.

Today, consumers are so much more informed than ever before, due to the almost limitless instant access to information on the Internet. For some in our business this is a threat, big time. But for most, this is a fantastic shift we can exploit. We can move up-market so to speak, to a higher place in the service value chain, where the rewards are also higher.

Let me explain how through an example.

To answer almost any question today, the first thing many people do – remember, sales reps are people also, so we too do this – is search Google or Yahoo or Bing, or even better, YouTube to watch a video. But pay attention, this is where the opportunity lies. Since there is so much information on the web, it is very difficult to know what is credible, what can be relied upon, and whether or not all the steps and issues are really described to address your true need. Information overload is absolutely a factor. You know information is not necessarily knowledge. To prove this to yourself, go to your PC, I will go to my Mac, and let’s type the following phrase in Google: How to hire a real estate agent. Google.com will return over 20 million suggested links while Google.ca will return over 18 million – even the Googles can’t be consistent outlining answers to your question. Do you really have time to check them all? Of course not, nobody does.

So consumers will go to proven trusted sources, and still need help turning all that information into knowledge, which is something they can use. That is what you want to be ready to help them with, both online and off. After all, you already do that in real life, right? Take your skill, knowledge and experience online to move up the service value chain by not just emailing listings to prospects, but by sharing relevant local knowledge to help them with what is perhaps the largest single financial decision they may ever make in their lives. Do you want to be just an email clerk and a neighbourhood tour chauffeur, or do you want to be a trusted advisor, whom people seek out to request help? I know you know the right answer since you may be that now. But hear this, if you do not also do this online, someone else will. For sure.

If you are totally happy with the current volume of business you are doing, and believe that level is sustainable and have a plan to improve upon that level over the coming years, then you may not need to read any further. However, I have never met a sales rep who is totally happy with their current volume, since one can always do better, can’t we! In addition, the meter does get reset to zero each January.

Job one is to determine where you want to be in five years. If you still want to be in the real estate business, you need to articulate a vision of what your business will look like including clear goals to get you there. You need to define your unique value proposition and build your brand around that consistently, in everything you do on a daily basis.

Job two is to seriously, and I mean seriously, embrace technology and what it can enable. This does not mean you have to become a propeller head – apologies to anyone reading this who may fit that description, you know who you are. The first hire in my brokerage was a VP of technology – that is how serious I am about the Internet. Get on board with social media, experiment with digital marketing and advertise online. Talk to your clients and other business owners about how they use the Internet and their expectations about service. I believe you will find most are willing to pay fairly for valued service.

Today consumers already have access to the low-hanging fruit – listings, information on how to run open houses, how to stage a home. Some believe they can go it alone when selling and many can. But, nothing can replace real experience, deep knowledge and wise council. Old-fashioned professional service and the Internet are perfect for each other. Experienced agents are best suited to deliver this since they should have resources available to them others may not have. The key is to know what you don’t know and to get the right people involved to fill in the digital gaps.

Let’s get back the excitement we all felt when we first were licensed, with none of the anxiety. Let’s define where we want to be in the future and let’s genuinely embrace technology and what it can do to get us there. Stay informed and get involved.

I will still be in business in five years. Will you?

George O’Neill is a second-generation broker operating his boutique real estate brokerage from the Beaches, Toronto. His business was founded on a passion for transparent, old-fashioned honest service, coupled with total leverage of social media and digital marketing. He is a sought after speaker, author, video blogger and is founder of the Real Estate Marketing Summit, an annual fall conference for real estate professionals interested in digital and online marketing.  416-946-1300; www.ONeillRealEstate.ca. Or Google him.