While every agent knows how important market and local expertise is, it might be hard to imagine how certain interest and knowledge—however deep or important to you—have any applicability to real estate. Of course it is entirely possible that your favorite subject in school or lifelong hobby will never have much to do with your career (there just aren’t a lot of ways to apply stamp collecting prowess to real estate).
But in many other cases, one of your niche interests or more academic specialities can actually be a huge boon to your business. With a little work, a little brush-up on the latest scholarship or some hands-on experience, you might find that a non-real estate skill becomes one of your most valuable assets—something you can use to stand out from other agents, as well as utilize in the everyday process of helping clients navigate the home transaction process.
Here are five speciality interests you can leverage in your real estate business.
Botany/horticulture
Maybe you have a PhD in plant sciences, maybe you’re just a passionate gardener. Regardless, a huge number of buyers and sellers will be interested in what you can tell them about the foliage and grasses on a property. Being able to immediately or quickly identify Kentucky bluegrass and share a few simple facts with a buyer, or highlight a seller’s soil-enriching clover patches can quickly boost your profile with clients. And while you don’t want to overstep your likely limited knowledge in a complex field, marketing your amateur enthusiasm or expertise is an easy and upbeat way to stand out from the crowd.
Networking/IT
There’s another kind of “networking” that you’re probably much more experienced with in real estate, which involves getting to know people and making valuable connections. But knowing how to set up computer networks, and understanding how to use various devices in tandem can potentially help you grow your real estate business. Knowing what internet services are available in what neighborhoods or towns—and understanding what they can and can’t do—will help with prospecting or farming, and allow you to better guide prospective buyers. You can also highlight the potential or actual networking infrastructure of a seller’s home as a positive for potential buyers.
Self defense/security
This one requires some care and nuance if you want to incorporate it into your business. It can definitely backfire to talk about your martial arts skills, your homemade security system or your concealed carry license with clients who may still be getting to know you, but with an increasing proportion of single female homebuyers, being able to let clients know you can protect them during the transaction process as well as advise on potential security issues with a property could be extremely valuable. You can also share this knowledge on social media—specifically when there are safety concerns in your community—potentially reaching a very engaged segment of the local population.
For many real estate agents, what you wear is more about what keeps you comfortable and can easily be washed when you encounter dusty basements or muddy yards at a showing. But if fashion is your passion, don’t be afraid to make it part of your brand, especially if there’s a significant luxury segment in your market. If you dress the part and can talk to clients about the latest trends and looks, you might find yourself being recommended to high-rollers, even if that isn’t your current clientele. Fashion is also an easy conversation starter, something you can use to engage with people or get noticed at a networking event.
History
While many people may have snoozed through history class and don’t have much interest in revisiting old names and dates, you can use your amateur enthusiasm for the subject to engage with prospective clients in ways other agents can’t. While most agents and brokers are posting on social media about the housing market, you can mix it up with a few deep-dives into the historic evolutions of neighborhoods—maybe even stopping by the library to pull some photos from a microfilm archive. Connecting that historic knowledge to your understanding of the current housing market is an easy leap, and can also be used at listing presentations to let sellers know you will go above and beyond to learn about and market their property.
While you’re always going to be the best judge of what parts of your life and interests should be part of your business, you should also remember that authenticity is a huge part of how you earn the trust of clients—and your community as a whole. Making your interests and passions part of your business will help build trust. But thinking specifically about how to use them in your work can reveal new paths to better your business, and your brand.
