Real estate can be a very competitive business. With many areas of the country experiencing a decline in inventory, competition for listings in 2012 could be fierce.  When going head to head against other agents, especially very successful agents, it’s helpful to remember that:

“A person’s great strength is also their weakness.”

For example, an agent that dominates a specific area by having numerous listings and more sales than any other agent, usually has one of the worst conversion rates.  The perception on the part of a seller may be that this agent will be more successful than an agent with fewer closings when in reality an agent with fewer sales could have much higher conversion rates, which would mean the seller would be much more likely to be successful with the less visible agent.  If no one points this out to the seller, most of the time he will select the agent with the highest number of listings and closings.

A second example would be an agent that has exceptional people skills.  This great skill is also the weakness because the very personable agent that spends a great deal of time with people is usually much less organized and is possibly far less efficient than the agent with strong organizational skills.

A third example could be with a buyer or seller that has been very successful in business by controlling their environment.  This great strength in their business could also be their great weakness when buying or selling real estate because they have much less experience in real estate than a successful agent that deals with real estate every day.  If you allow this person to control the relationship, you are much less likely to have a positive outcome.

One final example is a buyer that has a strong analytical background will give an over-weighted focus to pricing at the expense of the emotional benefit of ownership.  In this case, the strong analytical skill becomes a road block to happiness.

If you find a buyer focusing too heavily on a strength that they have, be sure to make that buyer aware of the fact that they’re doing this.  Help them make the best decision by taking into consideration the emotional benefit of purchasing a home.

When dealing with all buyers, sellers, competing agents, and even associates, take into consideration how their strengths are actually creating potential weaknesses.  Finally, look at your own strengths and evaluate how those strengths may also be creating challenges that you should address to be even more successful.