Can an Introvert be a Real Estate Agent? (2024)

What makes a good real estate agent? Is it the 80s stereotype of a loud talking extrovert with a big smile and even bigger hair? Or is it someone who’s good at listing to the client’s wants and needs to provide the client with a great experience?

Ask anyone who’s recently bought or sold a house, and they’ll tell you it’s definitely the latter. A great real estate agent is someone who can listen to their clients and make careful – even methodical – decisions on the best way to find or sell a home in the current market. A great real estate agent goes through the right steps every time; crosses every “t” and dots every “i” so their clients have a complete, successful real estate experience. So can an introvert be a great real estate agent? Absolutely.

The Real Difference Between Introverts and Extroverts

Most people have the wrong impression about what defines an introvert vs an extrovert. We tend to think that Extrovert means “good with people” and an introvert as the opposite. In reality, introverts can be great with people. They can have magnetic personalities, be energetic at work, and build immediate rapport with clients. The real difference between an “introvert” and an “extrovert” is where you draw your energy.

Extroverts Recharge with Group Activity

Extroverts are energized by crowds and the attention of others. An extrovert is seen as gregarious because they get excited when people are looking at them. They thrive on being in groups and being liked by others. When an extrovert needs to recharge, they go out with friends, dance at the club, or join an activity group to spend time with other people.

Introverts Recharge with Quiet Time

An introvert is energized by time alone – or in small groups of trusted friends. Introverts draw their energy from reflecting on their thoughts. They get energized by working alone on an engrossing project, or by sharing a quiet, introspective conversation with a friend. When an introvert needs to recharge, they spend an evening at home or take a walk through the quiet neighborhood.

The Qualities of a Great Real Estate Agent

Now let’s take introversion and extroversion into the real estate career. Most people on the outside don’t realize how balanced real estate work is between social time and alone time. It’s all about where you draw your energy vs where you spend it.

A stereotypical extrovert real estate agent draws their energy from phone calls, meetings, and client outreach. Then they expend that energy during the long hours of meticulous research and planning necessary to find homes for buyers or coordinate a sale for sellers.

Listening and Connecting with Clients as an Introvert

Let’s now do away with the common misconception that it takes extroversion to connect with clients. You don’t have to love big groups to listen, understand, and connect with each client you work with. In fact, introverts are often more inclined toward the quiet and personal style of conversation where clients can make their points clear and feel understood at the end of a conversation.

Extroverts may be energized by client interactions, but introverts have the inner quietude to listen without effort. And listening is essential to being a great real estate agent. When you have fully heard and understood a buyer’s budget, needs, and priorities, you can do a much better job of finding houses that they will fall in love with. When your sellers are fully heard, you can optimize their sale and help them meet their own needs in terms of timing, expense, and satisfying negotiation results.

The Benefits of Energizing During Office Time

What about when you’re not meeting and talking with clients? Here is where the introvert truly thrives. While an extrovert may rock at the meet-and-greet, and may even be better at building a quick client list, introverts are more likely to buckle down and do the research half of the job with deep personal satisfaction.

Finding the right houses for your buyers requires research and attention to detail. And this is where the introvert shines! When selling a house, ticking your own procedural check-boxes is essential. Introverts energize on this time alone doing research, preparing beautiful web page listings, making plans, and ensuring every step is completed to the absolute best quality. The occasional phone call to inspectors, painters, and landscapers to solidify your plans? A satisfied introvert has more than enough energy to make every phone call with a smile.

So can an introvert be a great real estate agent? Absolutely. Both introverts and extroverts have their strengths. As long as they are willing to put in the time to connect and work with their clients in a meaningful way, they will be able to thrive in this exciting industry.

Ready to kick-start your real estate career? Contact Century 21 Americana, the premier real estate school in Las Vegas,today.