Are Women Better Real Estate Agents Than Men

Do women make better Toronto real estate agents than men?

Easy. I’m not asking the question to illicit controversy for controversy’s sake. And I’m definitely not asking it with the intent to bash males or bash male Toronto real estate agents.

I’m asking the question BECAUSE a male Toronto real estate agent TOLD ME that he believes that females make better real estate agents. A middle-aged, white, even-more-successful-than-me real estate agent, told me – at a major new condominium launch I might add – that agents ‘like me’ are whom he considers his biggest competition. And then he asked me if I would join his sales team.

Um, no. “But, sir, would you like to join… mine?”

The real shock of his statement – that females make better Toronto real estate agents- didn’t set in until after we’d parted ways. Did a successful male just tell me he thought I was better at my job than him? Could he be right?

Let’s discuss. (But allow me to first and foremost openly declare that this conversation doesn’t at all change my infinite respect for a lengthly list of male agents in the city of Toronto. To name a few: Christopher Bibby, David Fleming, Jamie Sarner, Ara Mamourium, Evan Sage, Trevor Bond, Brandon Ware, Brian Elder, Donny Mangos, Christian Matthews & Mark McLean. When my Kingdom In The Sky lifestyle video went viral earlier this year, many of the above were the first to show their support. And I have had the great pleasure of being on the other side of sales transactions with some of these men.

But, as much as I love buying up listings and selling my properties to these individuals, this blog post is about WOMEN ???? and debating the very statement a male Toronto real estate agent opened the can of worms to.)

Do women make better real estate agents than men?

Once again. Let’s discuss…

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Listening Skills

Many sales experts will tell you that “telling is not selling.” In other words, it’s more important to listen than to talk if you’re a real estate agent. A study by the Indiana University School of Medicine says that despite the verbiage out of the mouths of woman (shocker – we surpass men in words said every day), while we talk more our listening skills are ace. They concluded that men listen with only one side of their brains, while women use both. Another study, this one from Cambridge University, noticed that parts of the female brain linked to the emotions, calculating risks, and the ability to listen were more prominent. And from the Global Intelligence Centre, there is evidence that men are more likely to be action-oriented listeners while women are more likely to be people-oriented listeners.

Feminine Energy

You have to admit. Most females elicit a certain sweetness. **Note, I’m not saying all. But many do, and when I say that I’m referring to straight, gay and transgender here. The very feelings that many females are judged for having, are the ones that make us open and approachable. I hug my clients. Not all of them (don’t freak out and avoid me if you’re a non-hugger-type), but many of them. I’m probably going to ask you about your weekend and how you’re ‘feeling’ at some point during the selling process or the buying. Why? I genuinely consider myself invested in your well-being. My hands are softer in a handshake, my height at 5’5 hasn’t intimidated too many. I have stood outside of a property I’m about to show and longly hugged a sobbing client going through a divorce. I love this quote from performance and leadership specialist Phil Owens who says there is a reason why male sales staff struggle to master the softer skills of women. “We have quite a strong masculine society so we set people up to toughen up, suck it up, have a cup of concrete,” he says. “There’s a fair bit of pressure on males to conform – so feminine qualities are not OK for guys to have. Yet they are valuable things in sales.”

Romantic Priming

Truth Bomb. A halfway attractive female with a brain and some confidence can charm a man – happily taken, happily not, happily single, happily not, gay, straight, transgender, whatever it be, will little trouble. If they’re good that is. According to an article published in Neuroscience Marketing, the reason females are often better at sales than man is due to “the Peacock Display.” ‘Could the mere presence of a halfway attractive female serve to “romantically prime” the male customer?’ they asked. In the automotive and pharmaceutical sales world, the answer was yes. Based on their research, if subconsciously primed with romantic thoughts, the male customer was more inclined to demonstrate his mating potential by his spending behaviour. Important to note they didn’t suggest anything improper – like flirting, provocative dress or conversational innuendo – had to occur. The romantic priming became effective when considered a tie-breaker. So basically, if two agents are competing for a listing with the same skill and offering set, the salesperson who can create the romantic priming effect may have an advantage when asking for the sale. I’m not talking about women scooping up male clients because they think she’s hot. I’m talking about the affect that being genuinely charming has. And we women – well a lot of us know it’s our secret weapon at the offer table. If you think this theory is BS, kindly note I have been told by a couple before that they’d rather me sell their listing than “that middle-aged-ill-fitted-suit guy.” Their words people, not mine.

Emotional Antennae

Women are commonly believed to have stronger intuition than men (which is why we call it women’s intuition, and not men’s intuition). A study by a Madrid University found that although both men and women have the capacity for intuition, women have stronger intuition because their brains are hardwired for it. MRI scans compared male and female brain connectivity and discovered that the typical male brain is neurologically wired to be more logical, and thus is more effective at linking perception with action. How is the “less logical” brain effective when it comes to real estate? It’s effective because better people skills equal happier clients, better relationships with other agents, better ability to read the body and emotional language of those clients and agents, and quicker to pick up on motivating factors when it comes to sale and negotiation.

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Are women better at sales? Is there any substantial evidence that points to this conclusion? As with success in any industry, it comes down to the individual. Torontonians aren’t stupid. May the best salesperson be mine is what I would assume most desire when buying and selling. I have met many men with a swagger and sales skill set that I will kill to have. Indeed there may be scientific studies to suggest that women may be better listeners, sweeter, less intimidating, more charming and more determined, but like any advantage, if the advantage is not used, then it ceases being an advantage at all. A

On that note….if you’re looking for a good-listening, sweet, very charming, hustling and only mildly intimidating 😉 Toronto real estate agent, you can get started HERE.

xx