Not too long ago I wrote a Five Tips for Realtors® post on What Real Estate Agents Look for in a Realtor.  This is a follow-on to those ideas, and I’ll try to address the question of why should realtors care about what real estate investors look for in a realtor.  Or – more diplomatically put – why real estate investors make good customers…

1)  Real estate investors make up a niche market that needs a specialized set of skills from a real estate agent.  The field is getting more crowded by the day.  The first source of competition is that 1.3 million fellow agents out there; that’s a lot.  Add to that the technology companies that are popping in by the day:  Zillow, Google, Redfin, FSBO players, and who knows who else will declare their new initiative tomorrow.  There are a lot of new agents out there – see the chart.  Not all of them are going to manage to stay in the industry.  But in all fields, when things get tough for the generalists the specialists manage to survive and thrive.  What kind of client are you specializing in?  

2)  Real estate investors are repeat customers.  Most businesses thrive on long-term relationships, and real estate investors are customers who come back.  Again and again.  Investors value trust, whether it be from a lender, a contractor, or an agent.  Trust is comforting – build that relationship and they’ll be back.  This applies to all customers, of course, but you won’t have to wait for the investor to decide to move before he’ll be calling you again.  Your next deal may come the following week.   

3)  Real estate investors are in the market.  Investors are out there following trends, making contacts, and collecting information.  Your client will be looking to you for leads, but this can be a two-way street.  Invariably, investors come up with leads that don’t turn out to be viable investment opportunities, but which may turn into a listing for you. 

4)  Real estate investors can teach you something.  You’re good at what you do, and your investor clients should learn from you.  Likewise, if you’re working with smart investors you should learn from them as well.  A lot of agents are wondering how to get off of the sidelines to start building real estate equity for themselves; if you’re one of them then you might benefit from working with successful investors.

5)  Real estate investors can be easier to work with.  I include this last point with some trepidation.  I know there are some investors who are a royal pain to deal with.  But generally speaking, savvy investors are looking at the bottom line, want good advice, and you won’t have to cut through a layer of emotional attachment to get them to make good decision.  If you’ve ever had to play amateur psychologist to convince a seller that she needed to paint over her beautiful work-of-art wall sized mural to sell her house then you know what I’m talking about. 

It’s a jungle out there, but real estate agents who move now to upgrade to a client base that requires a specialized skill set will prosper and thrive, even as competition drives many of the recent entrants out of the profession.