SANTO DOMINGO – Eighty percent of real estate agents retire within two years. According to Ilonka Castillo, the reason is that they have no one to answer to for their performance, they don't have to be fired, and they don't plan ahead.
“Many don’t educate themselves, they think it’s easy to sell or represent a buyer,” the expert explained while serving as the first speaker at the start of CBR01 of the Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies (AEI), on Monday night.
The veteran agent, with more than 25 years linked to the sector, spoke to the more than 300 participants in the course about the triangle of success: attitude, behavior and technique, maintaining that attitude is the difference between success and failure.
He emphasized the importance of training for agents, noting that real estate brokers must always stay up-to-date on the real estate market and its latest developments.
“Whoever controls the inventory controls the market. People go where they find options for their real estate needs. Plan around the properties you want to acquire, not around buyers,” the expert advised.
He said that when a real estate agent isn't selling, they're acquiring clients. "You must have the attitude of acquiring clients every day," he stated, adding that there are high-impact and low-impact acquisition strategies, and that if you want to be the best, you must focus on high-impact acquisitions.
"You can't be a secret agent, el inmobiliario is a relationship business, where all conversations should end and begin by talking about real estate.".
Castillo believes that 70% of real estate transactions are done through another agent, so he urged integration and expansion of the sector's network of associates.
More than 300 participants
Alberto Bogaert, president of the AEI, inaugurated the first CBR01 of the year for the association, which, in virtual mode, has in this edition a much higher number than usual of novice agents interested in training to start the real estate business.
“This is a perfect scenario for success,” the union leader declared, emphasizing that training “is the first thing we must do before starting a trade.”.
He invited the audience to take advantage of all the information that the experts will present, which covers important aspects of the real estate business.
Today, Claudia Castillo will discuss the basics of property valuation, and Robinson Cuello will share his knowledge of the legal aspects of the real estate business, including real estate jurisdiction, condominium law, and money laundering.
