How to Become a Top Agent? Look Online

Real estate agents have plenty of challenges these days, whether it's low inventory, a sluggish economy or overly cautious appraisers — and all of this in spite of the fact that most experts agree that the housing recovery has essentially begun.

However, look to the top agents in your market area (and other areas) and you'll see a few patterns emerge, the biggest one being the ability to think quick on your feet and adapt your strategies to the changing market.

This week, the Wall Street Journal looked at a few uber-agents around the country and shared their secrets. The article Agent Secrets: How to Be No. 1 reveals a few strategies for agents, some of which could be easy to adopt (lowering commissions, courting wealthier homeowners to increase portfolio value) and others that might not be so easy (relocating to higher-market areas).

However, there's one strategy these top agents are adopting that is a certified no-brainer – they are increasingly going online to market their listings, services and image.

Atlanta-based agent Rhonda Duffy is as an example: "In August, Ms. Duffy, 46 years old, had 724 listings worth $190 million, making her the top real-estate agent in her metro area. Ms. Duffy says she got to the top by being an early adopter of online marketing and by treating everyone—high-end and low-end—like a prized client ... Ms. Duffy, a broker for 14 years, relies on a high volume of business and a low-cost model. She doesn't attend every showing of the house, preferring instead to aggressively market each property online."

Ask most agents and they'll agree: Online marketing is an easy and cost-effective way to manage a mass of listings, stay in touch with clients and market your reputation online, especially with the feature of real estate agent reviews offered by ReachFactor, allowing prospects to get fifth and sixth opinions on you.

But don't forget about customer service. You can have all the skills and experience in the world, but by treating every client with the same respect and attention, word will go around that you indeed are an uber-agent.

To view the original article, visit the ReachFactor blog.