Adaptability in Times of Change

Finding opportunity in adversity

By Brandy Wallner

They say change is the only constant in life. This is certainly true of the real estate industry, and no change has been as seismic as the NAR antitrust settlement reached last summer. The shifts, including commission fees no longer listed on the multiple listing service (MLS) and homebuyers required to sign written agreements before touring a home, have pushed agents toward a decision point: reinvent or be left behind.

Pivotal moments like these require leaders to create a new paradigm that helps propel their industry forward. That begins by helping agents lean into discomfort and create opportunities.

An Opportunity Mindset

After 40 years in real estate, Donna Bruno, CRS, knows how to recognize opportunity. An Associate Real Estate Broker with Coldwell Banker Realty, and a coach, she sees major shakeups like the antitrust agreement as gifts for buyers, sellers and agents alike. “Agents were looking to the MLS to determine their pay, instead of saying, ‘My services are valuable, and I’m worth the compensation,’” she says. “So, it’s a gift.”

As far as Bruno is concerned, this specific industry change allows agents to captain their own ship. But seeing things that way requires an opportunity mindset. Bruno coaches agents to stop thinking like employees and start thinking like the independent contractors they are. “Too many agents watch to see what everyone else does and then emulate that. In cases like this, they face analysis paralysis. If no one else is looking for the opportunities, they aren’t either.”

Fear is a normal response to industry disruption, and disagreements can be a healthy part of the decision-making process, but getting stuck there is a mistake. The antitrust agreement is a prime example of some agents getting stuck in narrow-mindedness. Like Bruno, Addie Owens, CRS and CEO of Touchstone Real Estate Group, Inc., understands the value of vision. “The mindset of an agent must always be to adopt and deliver,” she says. That means that when professionals choose to do the things they’ve always done, it can lead to their irrelevance.

Owens points to the negativity found in some groups on Facebook, for example, as proliferating a sense of powerlessness. “There are so many incorrect things said. It isn’t true, for example, that the buyer’s agent is dead. Agents are still essential in home buying and selling,” she says. “A first-time home buyer or someone who’s never sold a home still needs shepherding!”

Create a Path Forward

Professionals who willingly evaluate and modify their operating procedures are successful. The savviest agents learn to redefine themselves and articulate their value. “I’m always asking agents what they do that’s different, and they typically don’t have an answer,” Bruno says.

It’s a big mistake not to set yourself apart from the crowd in moments of change. Bruno and Owens believe improvements are necessary when it comes to the public’s understanding of the real estate process and for REALTOR^® excellence. But how do leaders motivate agents who are more inclined to view shifts negatively? A few tips for influencing a change-embracing mindset include:
Develop a specialty – Consider your strengths. Excellent at negotiations or getting people to a listing? Define your worth.
Pursue designations – Becoming an accredited buyer’s representative (ABR), for example, helps buyers see you as a specialist.
Craft effective dialogues – Make prospective clients understand exactly what you do. “You can say, I do x, y and z, and here’s my track record,” says Bruno.
Stay positive – “Start having true mastermind sessions and developing new practices,” says Owens. Keep growing and stretching.
Adopt useful practices – Practical tools are often needed to keep up with change. Owens points to her team’s use of Docusign™ PowerForms with additional integrations useful for administration of buyer contracts and deposits.

A fatalistic mindset will always deliver poor results. If REALTORS^® believe that change will make life difficult, impact their livelihood and that there’s nothing they can do about it, they’ll likely fail. But if a REALTOR^® approaches change as opportunity and sees the learning curve as just that—a curve that ultimately baselines—then they’ll spot the opportunities around every corner.

Explore our full list of professional certifications and certificates: www.crs.com/education/certifications-and-certificates.