Sales Agents Must Be Educated On PM

03 Aug 2012 - Steven Cross from http://www.rebonline.com.au

Sales agents should undergo recurring workshops in property management to give them a better perspective on the broader real estate industry, a prominent managing director and veteran agent has said.

According to the latest straw poll by Real Estate Business, 57.4 per cent of respondents believed sales agents should do a property management apprenticeship.

However, Norm Honey, property management director at ACT-based Independent Property Group, told Real Estate Business that an apprenticeship is going too far.

“I’ve been involved with both property management and sales myself, and my understanding of property management when I was in sales was limited," the head of one of the ACT's largest property management teams said.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say they should be made to serve an apprenticeship, but I do believe they should have some sort of involvement with that aspect of the business.

 “Workshops would be ideal, because there needs to be an ongoing education. There are too many changes in real estate to fall behind in any one area.”

“But it also works vice versa, property managers need to understand the sales side of real estate too.”

The latest poll comes after another Real Estate Business survey undertaken in May revealed that 20.6 per cent of 257 respondents see regular conflict between the sales and property management departments, while 16.7 per cent said they saw it ‘sometimes’.

The relationship between the two departments is now more important than ever as principals seek a more consistent flow of revenue from rent rolls as some sales markets flounder.

Senior property manager at Surat Basin Real Estate, Sue Wilson, agreed that sales agents should have an understanding of both sides of the industry.

“I wouldn’t say they should have to do a course, but they do need to have some level of understanding," she said.

“There’s just so many different laws to consider in property management,” Ms Wilson said.