Real Estate and Media Sales

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Real estate sales involves working in the buying and selling of real estate property. People in real estate sales are known as agents, and are either brokers or salespeople. A broker is someone who is licensed by the state he or she practices in, having passed proficiency examinations and worked in the field for a minimum period. Brokers are the only people in real estate legally able to close a deal on behalf of a client and receive a commission. A salesperson does the work involved in real estate sales but does not formally close deals. In most states one must work as a salesperson before obtaining a broker's license. Salespeople usually work for or in connection with a broker. As payment for a sale they have arranged, they receive a percentage of the commission received by the broker.

As a broker you would be an intermediary in three-party transactions (the other two parties being the seller and buyer). Brokers are prohibited by law from collecting commissions from both sellers and buyers without full disclosure to both parties. This law exists so that brokers cannot represent conflicting interests in a sale. They work primarily in the interest of one party, and negotiate the best settlement for that party, who pays the commission. It is most common for a broker to work as the agent for the property seller.

Real estate sales can be divided into four main areas of activity: solicitation of sellers, solicitation of buyers, negotiation, and sale closure.



Solicitation of sellers involves the securing of properties for sale, known as listings. As an agent, your ability to get listings will depend upon your reputation for selling properties quickly at advantageous prices; therefore, personal contacts and connections are important. You may also solicit listings through paid advertising and direct solicitation of property owners, known as principals. Once property listings have been acquired, you must secure buyers for them as quickly as possible. Personal contacts and reputation are important here, too, as referrals from other buyers frequently result in sales.

After you find a suitable buyer for a property, terms of sale are negotiated through you. Rarely is a property sold for the exact price a seller asks: usually an interested buyer offers a lower bid. This process is often long and complicated. Here you act as an intermediary between seller and buyer, and as an advisor about terms involved. Terms must be agreed on to the mutual satisfaction of both parties before the sale takes place. Brokers often help buyers develop financing arrangements and secure funds from financial institutions.

After agreement is reached, you assemble the legal documents involved in the transfer of funds and property titles. Working with both seller and buyer, you then explain closing costs and discuss financing arrangements. You function as a collector in the actual payment for the property. For all this you must understand thoroughly the legal aspects of property transfer.

Real estate brokers tend to specialize in selling particular types of property, because of different issues and clientele involved. The largest number of real estate agents sell single-family residential units. Many sell homes on a part-time basis and have other sources of income. Fewer agents are involved in the selling of commercial and investment properties and leases, but the amounts of money involved here are generally much greater. This type of property sale also requires a greater amount of knowledge, not only of real estate but of finance, accounting, law, architecture, and construction. It is rare to find commercial real estate agents working on a part-time basis.

As a commercial real estate broker, you must understand what a property means to the party who owns it and to the party who wants to own it. In other words, you must be knowledgeable about market factors in a particular area: population figures and trends, number of employed individuals, means of employment, per capita income, area business revenues. With this information you can make accurate value appraisals, a crucial skill.

You must also be knowledgeable about your clients, especially about their needs and expectations in buying, selling, or leasing. You must be able to match the right buyer with the right seller, or you will be unable to negotiate the sale. For instance, if you have a listing for fifteen thousand square feet of prime retail space, you must analyze correctly what type of establishment could be suitably located there. You must then convince the appropriate retailer of the advantages the opportunity offers.

The educational backgrounds of successful real estate agents vary. Many feel that there is little correlation between educational level and success in this field. However, in recent years the real estate industry has put increased emphasis on professionalism among salespeople and brokers. There is no doubt that a person with knowledge of the financial, accounting, and legal issues surrounding a real estate investment opportunity will be able to determine and communicate value better than someone without that knowledge. For these reasons, many feel that a business degree, especially an MBA, is useful in real estate sales.

However, an MBA is not a key to success or even a job in real estate. Experience and interest in the field are more important. As already mentioned, in order to obtain a broker's license you must have experience as a salesperson in addition to the ability to pass state examinations. Success comes only to those who have enough interest in and dedication to this work to put in the long hours necessary.

The salary structure of real estate also demands a great deal of dedicated work. As a broker or salesperson you would receive a commission when a sale is actually made and funds are transferred. Often you would work for months or even years on a deal before the sale is consummated, and it is not uncommon for a deal to fall through after months of work. You must be able to live on money you have until you receive the commission. The beginning of your career is the most difficult, as you have not yet established contacts from which to solicit clients. When salespeople go to work for a large realty company, they are often given a beginning salary, drawn against future commissions, to get them going.

In few other career areas is salary so tied to effort as in real estate. If you are not out in the market soliciting sellers, finding buyers, and closing deals, you make no money. On the other hand, in few careers is the earning potential as high. Some agents make an entire year's salary on closing one deal, and a few have established their career in one sale, becoming a millionaire over night.

MEDIA SALES

Media salespeople sell advertising space and time: space in magazines, in newspapers, on billboards, and in other printed media; time on radio and television. Print sales representatives can work for a single magazine or newspaper, or for a group which controls many periodicals. Representatives who sell billboard space work for large companies such as Foster and Kleiser or Outdoor Pacific, which own billboards all over the country. Radio and television time is sold by representatives of local "spot" stations for a particular regional market or by network representatives for national coverage.

As a media sales representative, you will usually have advertising agencies as clients. This is especially true for television network and national magazine sales representatives, who deal directly with advertisers, rather than with the advertising agency, only at special events such as press conferences, advance screenings, or special parties. However, representatives for local television and radio stations and newspapers will solicit advertising directly from local businesses as well as from ad agencies.

Many people describe media sales as a "relationship business" because of the emphasis placed on personal relationships between "reps" (as media salespersons are called) and advertising agency personnel, especially media planners and buyers. As a rep, you must know who is making the decision at an agency about what media to recommend to a client. You must maintain good relationships with these key people so that the station, newspaper, or magazine you represent is considered in all media plans for their clients.

Competition between media is extreme, and you must be able to convince media buyers that your vehicle is best. Sometimes an agency will buy spots on only two of the three national television networks for a particular media schedule; representatives from the three networks must work hard to make sure they are one of the two. Likewise, when planning a print advertising campaign, an agency might decide that its budget can buy space in only one women's magazine; in this situation a rep might have to compete with four or five other similar magazines for the business.

Because of the level of competition in the communications field, there is a great emphasis on service. You must be responsive to the needs of your clients. This can involve allowing advertisers to change media schedules at the last minute, switch time or location spots to take advantage of special opportunities, or cancel media space or time with little penalty. You must also be able to negotiate with clients. The emphasis is on building and maintaining a good relationship not only for the present sale but for future business as well. It is good for sales reps to remember that if they can help their client-the ad agency-look good to the advertiser, they will be in a better position the next time a media buy is made.

Pressure in media sales is high, especially time pressure. Magazines and newspapers must go to print, and television shows must air; therefore space or time must be sold. A network sales representative does not leave the office before selling the time he or she is responsible for on a particular night. It is common for schedules to be changed at the last minute, and the rep has to keep on top of all space or time sold. A rep must also work closely with the advertising agency to make sure that all materials needed for an ad are received before it runs. This is critical in print media, where material is often received as the publication is going to print.

Entertainment is a large part of media sales work. It is not uncommon for reps to have lunch or dinner with clients two or three times a week. To be successful, you must have the willingness, ability, and stamina to socialize.

Extensive knowledge of the communications and media field will be important to you as a sales rep. This includes knowledge of the ratings system, audience tracking techniques, and how media space is priced (CPM-cost per thousand). In this way you can know what your competitors are doing, and how to best sell the benefits of your medium.

Because of the specialized knowledge needed to be a media sales representative, companies often require that new employees have previous experience in some area of communications. Sometimes people move from smaller companies (local radio and television stations or newspapers, which are more likely to hire people without experience) to larger ones. It is also common for people to move from advertising agencies to media sales. In recent years some large communications firms, especially the three national television networks, have become interested in hiring people with advanced business degrees such as the MBA. These network selling jobs are highly regarded and hard to get. Many times people first have to establish their worth in other departments or work in local sales.
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