This blog is excerpted from my new book, Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School. You may have experienced an interview where you got asked two questions and then–the manager was off to the races–selling, selling, selling. If you’re ever been interviewed for another business, you know that’s not how an interview should go. Why? Because
- The manager doesn’t get the information he/she needs to make the right decision.
- You may be wooed and won — not because it was the best decision for you, but because that manager was the best salesperson. Later, you may have buyer’s remorse.
What the Manager Is Looking For
Good interviewers ask you specific, planned questions to discover:
- If you have the traits and qualities of a successful agent in that office
- If you have a sales behavioral profile
- If you are motivated to succeed in sales
- The skills you bring to the business, such as sales, management and computer skills
- If you have shared values with the office and will be a positive addition to the culture and team
The Questions Best Interviewers Ask. Below are some behavioral-based questions with the traits and qualities that they indicate. They are termed behavioral-based questions because they ask the interviewee to recall his past behavior. Behavioral-based questions give us the best indicators of a person’s relative strengths of character, and how they will apply these strengths in sales.
- Describe the last time you took a risk. What happened?
- Describe a time when you were thinking of giving up. What happened?
The mark of a good interview is to ask these ‘past-based’ questions–and then probe and listen. The interviewer shouldn’t jump from question to question. As you describe your past experiences and what you did, the interviewer can hear the skills and qualities you bring to the real estate business.
Why are behavioral-based questions so important to the interview process? Because
behavior that’s rewarded is repeated.
What This Means to You
Your interviewer’s skill will tell you whether the interviewer simply wants another body (no behavioral based questions/goes right to sales spiel) or the interviewer is carefully considering whether you will be successful selling real estate and will fit into the team.
What was your interview experience? Were you ‘sold’ or were you actually interviewed?
Know someone thinking of going into real estate? This book has the answers they need to make the best decision for them. (including the 5 questions you MUST ask).
Buy it now at 1/2 price (now $12.95) because it’s in pre-sale production. The eBook will be available July 1. Click here to order.
