5 Ways RPR Can Jumpstart a Realtor's Career

Starting out as a new real estate agent can be overwhelming. You're bombarded with emails and phone calls to sign up for this and purchase that. It can be difficult to decipher and filter out what you really need.

That's where RPR (Realtors Property Resource) comes in. RPR is a digital, property record platform. But really, it's so much more than that! It's tools, data and property reports. It's CMAs, prospecting and listing presentations. It's current market data, plus neighborhood and school information.

Simply put, it's everything you need to "wow" your clients and close more deals. And here's the real kicker… it won't cost you anything to use it. RPR is an NAR Member Benefit, which means as a REALTOR®, you have complete access to it and we won't ever ask you for a penny or any payment info. It's yours to take advantage of and put to good use!

RPR is a perfect way for agents to get productive, efficient and on their way to their first deal. We've come up with five ways you can use the RPR website, app or blog to accelerate your business and get going in the right direction.

RPR live webinars: free, frequent and informative!

If you want to get a feel for something, having an expert walk you through it is a surefire strategy for success.

RPR webinars are just the ticket. Our webinar sign-up page allows you to choose class options by date, topic and skill level. Each class runs about an hour long, and they are taught by RPR's team of expert trainers. These workshops take place at least one to two times per week, and cover all types of subjects and skills, including prospecting, building CMAs, listing presentations, new users and commercial topics.

For new users, we highly recommend "RPR For New Members" as a perfect starting point. This five part series is a thorough way to learn the RPR basics. And of course, these classes are provided free of charge. Sign up today!

Subscribe to Decoding Real Estate

RPR's podcast is a bit different from other real estate shows, in that it isn't an endless plug for RPR itself. We like to handle that in other areas. The focus of Decoding Real Estate is you—the agent. Your growth, your success and your enlightenment is our number one goal.

Each month, the program features a guest who's an expert in a particular topic that can help you grow your business and expand your knowledge. So far, Decoding Real Estate has tackled topics such as real estate teams, social media marketing, clarifying your marketing message, and how to properly implement and manage a CRM.

Listening to this show once a month for 30 or so minutes will help you understand what's going on in the industry as far as trends, best practices and new products or services. It's a super easy (and passive) way to soak up tons of good real estate information.

Download, listen and subscribe to Decoding Real Estate today.

Have an Answer to "How's the real estate market doing"?

Almost daily, REALTORS® get asked, "How's the market?" To be relied upon as a local market expert, you're going to need a better response than, "Great!" or "Hot!"

A better response is to be super transparent and explain that inventory is lower than ever, homes are going for over asking, and rates are rising for buyers (or whatever the state of the market is at that time). Then flip your response into a question and ask them about their situation, and what their special needs are, or if they have specific questions. You'll soon know if their remark was merely small talk or whether the person is really curious and needs help.

Either way, being prepared and expecting this question should be your norm. Recite your replies over and over in your head, and loosely script out your responses. And of course, insert your local knowledge of the market into your exchange. And if your market is a little different from the national market, get that point across, too.

A great way to keep up with your local market, and any market in the country, is the RPR Market Activity Report. These reports are helpful data-infused tools that you can use (and even pull up on the fly with the RPR mobile app) to keep tabs on any area.

They're also quite flexible and can be generated for any geography, even areas drawn by hand using the RPR map. In addition, the report itself includes changes in a local real estate market based on listing information and MLS data.

The Market Activity report can include active, pending, sold, expired, distressed, new for lease, and recently leased properties, as well as recent price changes and upcoming open houses for a period of up to six months. When you combine Market Activity Reports with your local market know-how, you'll always have a good answer to any and all market related questions.

Prospecting 101

Prospecting may seem like an intermediate skill level action for agents, but the truth is, the sooner you start the better. Marketing yourself, digging for leads and mining for gold (clients!) is inherent to being successful in real estate.

RPR is perfectly suited for your prospecting needs. The maps in RPR make it easy to choose an area by ZIP code, neighborhood name, or you can use the drawing tools to outline and capture any area or group of homes.

We put powerful data and tools at your disposal to help you identify your targets, group them into lists, and help you create deliverables to send to them.

To get your feet wet, take this tour in RPR: Prospect for Clients. This guided tour will walk you through the map search process of getting started in prospecting. And when you're ready to go even further, make sure to download our eBook, How to Farm and Prospect for new Clients.

Join the RPR Connect Facebook group

Looking for a group of like-minded professionals you can interact with and bounce ideas off of? Look no further than the RPR Connect Facebook page.

This private group on Facebook is free and easy to join (just search for it and request to add). It's the home of nearly 40,000 RPR users who use the forum to ask questions, take polls, post ideas and share success stories.

Adding yourself to the group is also a convenient way to keep up with RPR blog content, as fresh articles and announcements are posted weekly.

RPR: A New Agent's New Best Friend

If you're just starting out in real estate, RPR's got your back. With it, you can research properties, create property reports, keep tabs on market statistics, share neighborhood and school information, build CMAs, prep for listing presentations, fine-tune your marketing efforts, and the list goes on.

If you haven't done so already, activate your RPR account today, and also be sure to download the mobile app. Doing so will keep you more informed, more prepared, and ultimately, more successful with RPR.

To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.