A real estate developer, Terra Properties, has joined ongoing efforts to narrow the gap in the marketing and sales of properties in Nigeria by educating agents who are involved in estate agency practice.
The company observed that many of the agents lack the requisite skills and knowledge that could enable them to market and sell properties not only efficiently, but also honestly without getting involved in fraudulent activities.
At this year’s edition of the company’s annual conference, the third in the series, called Terrapy with the theme, Realtor Odyssey 360 which focused on Decoding and Mastering Real Estate Dynamics, Chukwunonso Onny-Ezeh, CEO, Assist-2-Sell Properties, highlighted basic skills agents need to succeed in their business.
She advised that agents should not be commission-driven, but should be customer-focused, explaining that a good customer, depending on his experience with the agent, would follow the agent to any property which means more for the agent.
She advised further that on no account should a sales agent throw away relationships because of money, adding that they should imbibe the virtues of integrity and honesty which, she said, mattered a lot in business relationships.
Speaking on Making Money from Real Estate and Cultivating Connections, Iyore Ogbuigwe, CEO, Ultravantage Solutions, advised the agents to, first and foremost, have the desire to succeed in both marketing and sales.
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He added that as marketers, they should do away with fixated minds, but enter the field with broad minds which will make them believe that things are possible.
He pointed out that marketing and sales were not the same, explaining that while marketing was just an announcement, sales talk about closed deals which comes after the right value has been communicated.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Kola-Ashiru Balogun, the company’s MD/CEO, had noted that there was need for trust and integrity as major factors in doing business in the real estate industry.
Balogun stressed that as real estate professionals, trust and integrity were key factors, adding, “in every transaction, you need to leave whoever it is you are doing business with, with a sense of being trustworthy and truthful at all times.”
In pursuit of the theme of the conference, several sub-themes were lined up as approaches to improving the skills of the realtors. These included ‘Redefining Customer Experience’ handled by Chukwunonso Onny-Ezeh already quoted above; ‘Cultivating Connections’ was handled by Iyore Ogbuigwe, CEO, Ultravantage Solutions.
Others were ‘Unlocking Digital Doorways’ handled by Bukky George-Taylor, CEO, Robert Taylor Media; and ‘Legal Insights for Real Estate’ which was handled by Morenike George-Taylor, Founder, Reni Legal Consulting.
A major highlight of the day was an interactive competition among realtors which produced five contestants as winners. These were offered immediate registration with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) as official state realtors, sponsored by Terra Developers
