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Why Investors Get a Bad Rap in the Current Real Estate Market
Welcome friends to one of the most beneficial series of articles on real estate investing that you may ever read. No, I’m not here to offer you the next and greatest technique on how to profit from the booming foreclosure market. No, I’m not going to get into the fine details of creative real estate finance or the intricacies of land development. What I am going to do is discuss what I believe to be the foundation for success and longevity as a real estate investor. This all-important topic is professional credibility. This issue is one of the most critical you may ever face because it is something that is both constantly under scrutiny and something that is also fairly easy to develop, once you know exactly what you need to do.
What is credibility? One could easily apply a very broad definition and thus simply presume it to be related to believability. I think a little more depth is necessary to really get at the importance of this issue so, with a little help from our friends at Wikipedia, I can describe credibility as:
“The objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message. Traditionally, credibility is composed of two primary dimensions: trustworthiness and expertise, which have both objective and subjective components.”
Let’s take a closer look at this definition and break it down to a simplified level. Credibility has to do fundamentally with the quality of a message. That message has everything to do with your credibility as a real estate investor. Whether it’s a marketing message, how you convey yourself over the phone, and especially how you come across in person, the quality of your message has everything to do with your perceived credibility.
If you want people to believe in the
message that you are saying, they
must first believe in you.
A second feature of the definition of credibility is the pair of factors that most influence credibility. Credibility is too often seen as being overly related to trustworthiness when in fact, the issue of knowledge and expertise is equally important. This is particularly true for the real estate investor. It’s one thing to be trustworthy and do a good job of convincing a client that you are as advertised. Not to be a cynic here, but any good salesperson can convey a level of trustworthiness and I’ve seen both consumers and other investors alike burned by the real estate investor who was high on sales skills and low on ethics. In my opinion, there is no such thing as business ethics, only ethics in general.
Trustworthiness is best demonstrated by results. In short, do what you say and say what you do. It may sound like an oversimplification but it does carry a lot of weight and can go a long way towards establishing the trustworthiness component that your business will need to be successful. As previously alluded to, the other factor that ties in so critically to credibility is knowledge and expertise. Don’t confuse experience with expertise because they are two different things. Experience has more to do with time, while expertise can be achieved much more quickly.
The last feature of the definition of credibility that I’d like to point out to you is the reference to both objective and subjective components. Your trustworthiness and expertise can be evaluated both objectively and subjectively and it’s important to not underestimate the value of either. For example, a client could find you subjectively credible (i.e. they have a good impression of you or feeling about you) but, if you don’t back up what you say, the objective side of trustworthiness will come back to haunt you. That’s why it’s important to act out and achieve results, rather than just talking a good game.
Similarly, one could subjectively present a good level of expertise by communicating with industry jargon and relying upon client ignorance to get ahead. This may work for a select few but the expertise you present can and needs to be backed by real knowledge to create sustained levels of success. I’ve heard a few pundits out there say things like “Fake it ‘til you make it” but I find this to be a slippery slope that can cause permanent damage to your business if you aren’t making the proper effort to really learn what you are doing. If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. A better quote is this: ‘be real, every deal.’ Your customers will, at some point, come up with an objective assessment of your expertise, and in the absence of real knowledge, you might find yourself in trouble. Education and evaluated experience is the key to true knowledge and expertise that can be backed up.
On Friday, we’ll explore some nuances you need to understand in the world of real estate investing and I’ll share more of how I became a successful figure within this industry. In the meantime, there are investment tools I have made available to you and you should take full advantage of the incredible offer I am extending to anyone with the same intense passion I have to turn real estate investing knowledge into a wealth creating lifestyle.
Go to: www.freemakemoneygift.com/Invitation.html
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