Page 16 - Five Point - Denver 2019

COVER STORY 5 STEPS
TO BECOMING A GREAT REALTOR
Michelle Lydin Schmeltzer and LaVonne Lydin are the mother- daughter real estate team behind Colorado Living Realty and have worked together as business owners since 2008. Over the past five years, they’ve closed an average of one home sale each week (that’s about 50 houses a year or 250 houses in five years).
LaVonne Lydin is the broker-owner of Colorado Living Realty. Michelle is co-owner and broker associate and has been a Five Star Real Estate Agent award winner for seven years. Together, they have served the Denver metro area for over 35 years.
In the Denver metro, around 10,000 homes go on the market each month at an average sale price of nearly $500,000, so there is plenty of room in the market
for success. Because of Michelle’s passion for helping other industry professionals grow, Michelle shared her top five tips for becoming a successful real estate agent.
timelines and expectations, to name a few!
years of experience, number
of transactions, sales volume, specialized training and advanced education. Once a CRS, you have access to a nationwide referral network to connect relocating clients with other CRS designees nationwide.
1. BUILD A STRONG
“Don’t stop learning once you have your real estate license,” she said. “Become a Realtor and join the National Association of Realtors, the Colorado Association of Realtors and your local board, like the South Metro Denver Realtor Association.”
Michelle recommends mapping out an intentional, detailed plan for continuing education to attain additional designations. She herself has obtained several expert designations, including:
• Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), a designation based on
FOUNDATION AND FIND A
GOOD MENTOR
According to Michelle, there is
so much to learn if you want to
be a good Realtor. For example, you should know how to establish excellent client relations, navigate cultural and generational differences, work with contracts and technology, execute marketing strategies, price properties, negotiate, close deals and manage
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it will have any appraisal issues or not.”
“Real Estate is a complex business that is constantly evolving and running on high emotions,” she said. “You need a mentor who
you can brainstorm solutions with and who has foresight on how different situations may play out to best plan a strategic approach to negotiation.”
• Master Certified Negotiation Expert (MCNE), which covers such things as critical negotiation strategies, persuasion psychology, negotiation problem solving,
For this reason, Michelle feels so fortunate to have her mother, LaVonne, as her sounding board and business partner.
and developing and defending a superior value proposition. It gives you the skill set to be a negotiation expert.
2. SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS THROUGH CONTINUOUS EDUCATION AND DESIGNATIONS
• Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA), a certification specifically designed to enhance your skills
in pricing properties, creating CMAs, working with appraisers and guiding clients through the anxieties and misperceptions they often have about home values.
“On the listing side, you want
the price to be on point, not overpriced. If you overprice, you
sit on the market and the delay is a detriment,” Michelle said. “On the buying side, you want to be able to quickly evaluate comparable homes in the neighborhood to help you negotiate contract purchase price and feel confident about whether
3. FOCUS ON CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS TO DEVELOP A STRONG REFERRAL NETWORK
Michelle is a big proponent of continuing education to keep a pulse on the constantly evolving market.