📚 Stay One Chapter Ahead
Happy Tuesday!
Here is an Idea, an Action, and a Question to consider this week.
Idea
Remember the book and movie Catch Me If You Can? It’s based on the experiences of con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr. At one point, he managed to teach a class at Brigham Young University on a subject that he was completely unfamiliar with. What was his secret? He stayed one chapter ahead of where the students were in the textbook.
I’m not advocating that you go out and start conning your clients, but so many agents hesitate to teach or add value to their clients through education because they don’t feel like they’re the expert yet. Newsflash: you’ll never be the expert!
You should always strive to learn more about the business. A true expert understands that a subject is always changing or evolving, so go ahead and share what knowledge you have now. Realize that you are typically at least “one chapter ahead” of your clients regarding local knowledge and connections, but continue to educate yourself, and just share what you know––your clients will appreciate your efforts to educate them and provide valuable insights.
For example, when I first heard about the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA or “Cobra”) Zones, I worked hard to learn what it is and how these zones affect my clients. A CBRA Zone is assigned by the federal government to areas that are deemed environmentally sensitive. (They are sometimes called Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) as well.) The act was designed to reduce development along the eastern coast of the U.S.
While it’s good to understand what the act is, it’s even more important to understand how it affects my clients. In these designated areas or zones, the government generally doesn’t allow federal assistance or subsidies such as federally subsidized flood insurance, which means my clients would have to find more expensive private flood insurance in these zones if it’s required by the lender or desired by the client.
Federal loans, such as FHA or VA Loans, are also not permitted in these areas. Since a lot of my clients are military, I need to know about those kinds of limitations
When something affects the lending and insurance aspects of properties, I want to understand those ramifications and educate my clients! And I don’t just say “That house won’t work because it won’t qualify for the VA loan.” Instead, I explain what CBRA Zones are and show them a map so they can understand why certain areas won’t qualify for VA loans.
Nobody likes being in the dark, so I educate my clients on the process as we go. I’m not an expert on CBRA Zones, but I know enough that I can teach them what they need to know and direct them to where they can get more details, like to an insurance provider.
Action
Pick a relevant real estate or investing topic you’re not fully familiar with, research it, and share that knowledge with your clients this week. Confidently discuss the topic with your clients, helping them make informed decisions.
Question
What real estate or investing topic do you feel least confident about?
See you next week,
Matt “Roar” Gardner
Real estate investor-agent, Author of Supersonic Real Estate: Light Your Afterburner to Accelerate Your Investor-Agent Career (Coming Soon!), and keynote speaker.
