As the digital landscape continues to evolve, AI-powered large language models (LLMs) are becoming increasingly sophisticated and versatile.
So, what are LLMs and what can they do?
Large language models (LLMs) are a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that are trained on massive datasets of text and code.
LLMs can be used to perform a wide range of tasks.
These include:
• Generating text: LLMs can generate text in a variety of formats, including poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc.
• Translating languages: LLMs can translate between languages with high accuracy.
• Answering questions: LLMs can answer questions in a comprehensive and informative way, even if they are open-ended, challenging, or strange.
• Summarizing text: LLMs can summarize text into a concise and informative format.
• Writing different kinds of creative content: LLMs can write different kinds of creative content, like poems, stories, and scripts.
Generative AI Use Cases (Image credit: Amazon Bedrock)
The AI Titans
Click here to access the full article – and a “Comparative Look at Meta’s LLaMa 2, OpenAI’s GPT-4, Google Bard AI, Amazon and AWS, Amazon Bedrock, and Amazon’s CodeWhisperer.”
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.
overwrite.ai is a pioneering Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry. We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.
There’s a whole lot of house moving going on right now, as many property market sales transactions reach levels unseen in decades.
With this brings stiff competition amongst brokers, causing some agents to go above and beyond – even after the deal is done.
So how can agents think outside the box when it comes to building long term client relationships, and leaving that all important lasting impression?
We’ve all heard about that agent who remembers their client’s birthdays, sending cards, flowers or baskets of chocolates. It’s not rocket science, but it’s the little things that can really count.
Sometimes it’s the most unexpected (but quite obvious) ones that get remembered most.
We’ve shortlisted some of the best housewarming gifts real estate agents can give their buyers, guaranteed to get them repeat business.
Give Love, Get Love
1. A local takeaway
After spending the day shifting all their worldly possessions off a truck, your clients are going to be hungry. It’s unlikely they’ll have done a grocery shop. Solve this problem by sending them dinner. Trust us, no ones ever turned down an UberEats driver with free burgers. Cinnabons are also a guaranteed winner.
2. A caffeine hit
It’s the first morning in a new house. No major hiccups. If only we knew where we’d packed the Nespresso machine! Doing a Starbucks run (or, again, sending a delivery driver to do it for you) will have your tired clients crying happy, caffeinated tears.
3. Cleaning products (or better still, a one-off cleaning service)
You’ll be surprised at the level of gratitude shown when dropping by with a box of cleaning essentials. If they don’t end up using them right now, you know they’ll get used in the future. Or better still, send them a cleaning service. Walking into a sparkling clean home when you’re still trying to get everything in your life back to normal brings such a sense of relief. It might not even be as expensive as you think.
4. Bathroom essentials
If there’s one thing that lockdown taught us, it was that toilet paper shortage is a thing. Bring a family size multi-pack of the quilted variety, and even some premium-scented hand soap. It won’t be awkward. And it will certainly be appreciated.
5. A quirky doormat
First impressions count – but so do lasting ones. And nothing says “Marhaba” quite like a brand new doormat. Chances are they left their old dusty one at the previous property. But no matter what their taste is, you’ll be able to find something that applies. For the designer shoe lovers out there, this one’s for you!
6. A house plant
House plants offer a wholesome, welcoming vibe to any room. Bring over a few small potted plants to add a bit of natural warmth to your buyer’s new home. If you’re not sure whether your client is a plant person then bring a succulent or two; they’re notoriously easy to keep.
7. A pool float
Pool owners love getting goodies for swim time. Maybe their new pad comes with a pool. Ride-on crocodiles, inflatable unicorns or giant doughnuts — whatever floats their boat. They’re almost guaranteed to secure you an invitation to their next pool party where networking and relationship building is certain to happen.
8. A mystery hamper
There’s a subscription box for just about anything your client is into. Fine beverages, scented candles, organic chocolates; these will go down a treat if they’re luxury lovers. Let them know you’re thinking of them with a gift box every so often.
Lasting Impressions Count
So next time you find your clients the perfect home, keep a note of their move in date, and bookmark this article. It will serve as the perfect reminder of how important you are to them, long after one of the most stressful days in their house-moving journey.
overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.
We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.
For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.
Starting jobs amid the global pandemic, many of these new workers have missed out on gaining essential hard- and soft skills usually gleaned by working alongside older colleagues.
However, as the first truly digital generation, their innate fluency with technology could help them make up some of that ground – especially as AI becomes a hugely important part of the modern workplace.
“With AI, people tend to fall into a dystopian or utopian outlook, and younger people normally fall into the latter,” she says. “While there isn’t huge amounts of quality research into this yet, anecdotally, young people are more accepting and willing to adapt AI into their daily lives and at work.” – Emma Parry, HR professor at Cranfield School of Management, UK
Stephanie Forrest, the founder of TFD, a London-based strategic communications consultancy in the tech space, has seen first-hand how Gen Z employees use AI technology with ease, and are quickly becoming essential in the workplace. “They don’t question [the technology] – they simply see it as a way to optimise what they are already doing.”
At TFD, she says, Gen Z were the first employees to experiment with generative AI tools such as Open AI’s ChatGPT for tasks including admin, research and email composition.
“Since AI is so new for everyone, it puts Gen Z employees on a level footing with other members of a team, providing them with a way to meaningfully contribute. AI enables forward-looking companies to learn from younger employees, in terms of how they use technology to be more efficient,” says Forrest.
Gen Z: the first employees to experiment with generative AI tools
“Gen Z employees can leverage their AI knowledge to innovate and streamline processes and help bridge the gap between technical and non-technical roles,” – Professor Weiguo (Patrick) Fan at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, US
This can help them stand out. For instance, at VEM Medical, a US-based medical tool company, “Young employees’ ability to use AI technology to automate tedious jobs and optimize workflows has grown our productivity dramatically,” says Derrick Hathaway, sales director.
Additionally, says Fan, “Gen Z’s familiarity with AI helps these younger employees adapt to these changes and understand the implications of AI on their roles, making them flexible and dynamic employees.” Fan adds how these skills are especially valuable in industries including technology, finance, healthcare, marketing and manufacturing, where companies are rapidly integrating AI and machine learning.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.
Elizabeth Bennett writes for the BBC.
This story has been published from an article in BBC WORKLIFE published on July, 2023
About overwrite.ai
overwrite.ai is a pioneering Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry. We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.
New York City is sinking under the massive weight of its skyscrapers.
New research has revealed that the combination of massive skyscrapers and a rising sea level could make the city more prone to natural disasters.
However, researchers said developers are not taking the risk of rising waters seriously enough, and this could spell trouble for the over 8 million residents of the city in the future.
A team at the University of Rhode Island took on the daunting task of estimating the total weight of the more than 1 million buildings that make up New York City. They found that almost 1 trillion kg of concrete, steel and glass are pushing down the ground, causing it to slowly sink lower towards sea level.
HOW FAST IS NYC SINKING?
The famed eight-block-long Wall Street in the financial heart of New York is just 1 to 2m above sea level. Midtown Manhattan is built on rock, which compresses very little. However, Brooklyn and Queens have looser soil, which causes the sinking to happen faster.
Fears for a slowly sinking city
Parts of Lower Manhattan were artificially expanded by land reclamation near the coastline, making the ground more vulnerable to gravitational forces from the weight of the buildings because it is not as compact as natural landscape.
As a result, some of the land there is sinking twice as fast, at a rate of up to 4mm per year.
POLICIES NEED TO CHANGE
Researchers said that while it is not yet an emergency, they want to provide the science to help with future planning.
“This is where the policy comes into play. This is where we have the responsibility to integrate this data, this science, with other science and climate science, and talk about the impacts.”
– Mr Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at Columbia University’s Climate School
However, construction is showing no signs of stopping.
The same waterfront areas that bore the brunt of the devastation from Hurricane Sandy and the more recent flash floods have seen some of the highest rates of new housing developments.
New York Floods after Hurricane Sandy
The city, which has some of the most expensive land in the United States, stands to lose a lot as rising seas continue to erode the shore, said observers.
A CITY WITH A LOT AT STAKE
“In the New York area, as we project to 2050, the amount approaches US$1 billion.This is not the retail value of land but the tax-assessed value. This value supports property taxes and all of the municipal services dependent on those.” – Peter Girard, vice president of communicationsresearch organisation, Climate Central
The city ranks third in the world in terms of the value of real estate assets exposed to coastal flooding, after Guangzhou and Miami.
This could mean big losses for owners and investors if natural disasters hit.
Seed any talented, experienced Founder with $1Billion at day zero of their mission, and they’re likely to deliver something seismically impressive 7 years later.
And so it goes with Sam Altman. When ChatGPT dropped, it went viral. Spellbinding 100 million people in less than 2 months.
Looking past the headlines, what I find fascinating is the direction OpenAI took in allowing ChatGPT’s Users free-form prompt entry.
Free-form entry is when your computer interface allows you to write (or draw) inputs freely.
In a Generative AI input context, it’s equivalent to handing over the keys of every car in your dealership to prospective buyers for a test drive without a shred of identification or collateral from them, and hoping they return.
It’s a big risk. Because you simply don’t know what they’re going to do.
Sam & Co. took that risk. Letting their users write anything that occurred to them, and trusting that the system they’d built would be able to generate some kind of response. Kudos to them.
Truth Be Damned.
But there’s a little secret that swooning media headlines don’t speak of.
Aside from enormous capital resources, Sam had another luxury afforded to him. That the degree of accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses, wasn’t a priority.
Safe in the knowledge that improvement in accuracy would come with later iterations of their GPT framework, what mattered more was that ChatGPT generate a response. Any response would do, so long as it were contextually and syntactically correct. Even if it weren’t entirely true.
In other words the priority for ChatGPT was to be output-oriented, and that accuracy would be improved down the line.
Software As A Service. Accuracy As An Obsession.
There are less funded Founders that do not have such resources and the learning curve it affords.
I’m one of them.
Having set out in 2019 to develop a themed language model, we were cognisant of the need to deliver accurate output, or else we’d fail to launch.
Our entire focus became outcome-oriented. We needed to ensure that our Generative AI would deliver content of value specific to our target Users’ use case.
Overwrite.ai is a real estate themed language model.
Written in a combination of languages, overwrite is trained through reinforcement learning and rule-based action, using a proprietary corpus of over 2Billion scale parameters to generate syntactically, contextually and factually correct real estate marketing content.
Used by the real estate industry to instantly generate unique and engaging property listings. Content that can neither be generic nor factually misleading, for search optimisation and legal reasons respectively.
People are increasingly understanding the value of Generative AI accuracy.
Input First. Output After. Sounds Easy Enough.
To deliver that absolute accuracy, we needed to guide our Users through the input process. We couldn’t expect them to know what to prompt the system with. How could they? Before ChatGPT’s release the very concepts of Generative AI and Prompt Engineering were known only to those within the industry. Certainly not to our real estate marketing audience.
So we developed a prompt input system of our own. One that takes Users through a dynamically responsive journey. Meandering. Adapting prompts and predicting inputs as it goes. Never risking human error, insufficient inputs or hallucinatory outcomes.
We knew at the time that consumer-friendly prompt engineering would one day become critical to the widespread adoption of AI tools. (Fun Fact: Today Prompt Engineer. salaries are reaching $400K)
That meant finding the Goldilocks Zone between the AI science, and the very human art of communication.
Designed for specific use cases, Themed Language Models like overwrite do not need to be all things for all people. They can be fit-for-purpose more cost-effectively, and user-efficiently than their large language model cousins. Now that frameworks make generative AI model development easy and fast for enterprises; developers must remember to strike that UX balance between what’s good enough for them, and what’s expected from their Users.
Ayman is recognised as one of MENA’s leading Generative AI pioneers.
He is the Founder and CEO of overwrite.ai, the MENA region’s pioneering Real Estate Themed Generative AI, an NVIDIA Inception Program partner.
With +20years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience, he regularly features on thought leadership panels, blogs, vlogs and radio segments, sharing his often inspirational opinions about Artificial Intelligence and entrepreneurship.
overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.
We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.
For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.
This statement could almost certainly claim the title of most overused real estate one-liner ever!
Describing a new listing as ‘Arguably the best deal on the market’: Real Estate agents just can’t get enough of it.
We’re not saying it’s completely off-limits. But when you really want your property listing to work for you, you’ve got to stand out from the crowd.
You need to Boss-Level your listing content.
“Definition of Luxury”
“One of a kind”
“Arguably the best”
They’re all so… Meh! While fly-through videos and professional imagery is attractive, remember one fact. You can’t publish a listing with videos and images alone.
Harness the power of words
Words have power. Their meaning crystallizes perceptions that shape our beliefs, drive our behaviour, and ultimately, create our world. Their power arises from our emotional responses when we read, speak, or hear them.
Harness that power.
Grab your audience’s attention and don’t let go. Make them want you to tell them more about your property.
But what if you can never seem to find the right words to describe your dream listing. What they call ‘writer’s block’. What if English isn’t your strong point?
A killer script will prompt them to make an offer
That’s why agents all over the world are using generative AI to do this job for them. And overwrite.ai is powered by a database of over 70,000 entries. Trending words, phrases, and descriptive prose. The cream of the crop of real estate lexicon. All so that you can publish engaging and search optimised listing descriptions that will set you apart from the rest.
Generative AI pioneer, Ayman Alashkar, Founder and CEO of overwrite.ai
“Rather than go with a generic ai tool that can often make things up, termed ‘AI Hallucination’, professionals are increasingly opting for specialised AI tools that are powered with local data. overwrite’s “language” has been built entirely on real estate themed content, setting it apart from the likes of chatGPT.” – Ayman Alashkar, Founder and CEO, overwrite.ai
About overwrite.ai
overwrite.ai is a pioneering Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.
We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.
For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite.ai | real estate content creation, reimagined.
A McKinsey survey finds that there’s still a lot needed for the GCC to fully unlock AI’s potential.
If you have followed the recent news of NVIDIA, the world’s largest chipmaker, witnessing skyrocketing stock share due to the AI hype, you might have a good idea of how much money is lying in AI and the industries supporting it.
The craze is sweeping all across the globe, and the Middle East’s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is no exception.
AI adoption highest in Retail / consumer-packaged goods sector. Source: Wired.me
AI’s Potential to Deliver
A survey conducted by McKinsey in partnership with GCC Board Directors Institute estimates that AI has the potential to deliver as much as $150 billion in the region, which is equivalent to 9 percent or more of GCC countries’ combined GDP.
The survey shows that 62 percent of the respondents from five main sectors across all six GCC counties are using AI in at least one business function. However, it is merely scratching the surface of AI’s potential.
Leveraging AI models from A-Z
AI adoption is currently low in several areas despite the significant potential.
For instance, companies in the energy and materials sector haven’t fully leveraged machine learning models to optimize their processes from start to finish.
Retail companies in the GCC have made more progress, with 75 percent reporting the use of AI. But even in the most widely applied area, marketing and sales, only one-third of respondents reported using AI.
Obstacles to AI adoption
According to McKinsey, companies that generate at least an additional 20 percent of their earnings from AI compared to others are considered high-performing.
But the truth is, there are several obstacles that companies face in adopting AI. These obstacles include the lack of data and technology infrastructure, regulatory challenges, and the perception of AI as an expensive investment.
In the GCC region, only 30 percent of companies have a well-defined AI strategy or the necessary talent to implement it. And only 35 percent have the required infrastructure and architecture to support AI, and 25 percent have an effective change management program in place.
So how can companies and regulators accelerate the adoption of AI and fully profit from AI?
McKinsey suggests that the key areas where companies need to focus include strategy, talent development, data infrastructure, and scaling AI adoption.
Tackling key challenges to accelerate AI adoption. Source: Wired.me
With the significant amount of attention, money, and potential in AI, it is crucial for regulators, companies, and other entities to speed up the adoption of AI in an efficient and effective manner.
About overwrite.ai
overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.
We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.
For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.
Would you order an AI generated pizza? If you’re a Pizza lover in Dubai, now you can…
Chefs in Dubai are now using Generative AI to refine their recipes. To mark the launch of its new restaurant, a Dubai pizzeria has added a new pizza topping to its menu. And it’s been created using generative AI.
Jumping on the global AI hype-cycle, and inspired by the Gen AI trend, the pizza chef asked ChatGPT to create the recipe.
Using the prompt “pizza for Dubai customers”, it produced a recipe that featured “lamb kofta on a thin dough, with a sauce made of tahini and sumac.”
Localised AI
The pizza is inspired by the Shawarma – a popular snack enjoyed by Emiratis and local residents across the UAE.
However the chef did have to make some tweaks to the ChatGPT recipe.
According to an interview in The National, he switched lamb for chicken and added some other local spices, making it more authentic to the region.
ChatGPT also suggested using feta cheese as a topping, but the final product features paneer cheese instead.
This highlights a common fear of just how much we can rely on outputs generated by AI.
“Human oversight is always required when using artificial intelligence, in order to ensure the output is applicablein real world scenarios. We cannot blindly accept everything that generative AI suggests to us.“
The idea is a great viral marketing stunt to generate PR for the restaurant. But it does support the argument that AI wont replace jobs (in this case a chef).
Instead it allows professionals to be more creative, inject fresh ideas into their existing skillset, and save time.
overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.
We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.
For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.
On the same day, Artificial Intelligence had its iPhone moment.
The AI industry declared its Top Dog. And it’s not Sam Altman’s OpenAI.
NVIDIA, a company most people hadn’t heard of, saw its market cap soar by 24% in after-hours trading to open at $940B.
Where others like Facebook’s META have been talking about AI’s profitability potential, NVIDIA proved it. And the market rewarded it in kind.
Its meteoric $184B Market Cap pop in a single day, exceeded the combined values of Walt Disney Co., Netflix, Nike, Boeing, UPS, Verizon, and Adobe.
(Salamu Alaikum. Goodnight. 👊🖐🎤)
On that auspicious 25th May, I found myself with NVIDIA, sharing my thoughts on a panel discussing ‘Entrepreneurship of the Future’ in #Dubai‘s stunning Museum of the Future. The event, organised by them in collaboration with the UAE’s Artificial IntelligenceOffice, was themed around Generative AI’s ability to unlock a new era of startup entrepreneurs.
Since then, NVIDIA’s value has continued to rise. Joining the world’s elite Trillion Dollar Club.
And investors have woken up to the fact that AI is not only a very big deal, but very big business.
Like the old saying goes, when there’s a Gold Rush, it pays best to be in the shovel and spade business.
NVIDIA does precisely that. By making the Graphics Processing Units (GPU’s) that power the voracious processing demands of Artificial Intelligence systems including OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Where Dubai pioneered the transformation of the Middle East into a region the World can not afford to ignore, we pioneered the MENA region’s first proprietary Real Estate Themed Generative Artificial Intelligence.
Being part of NVIDIA’s network is validation of the incredible work the overwrite.ai team have put into developing the AI that creates the property adverts you browse through when searching for a home to buy or rent, online.
‘Unlocking a New Era of Startup Opportunities with Generative AI’ UAE Artificial Intelligence office in collaboration with NVIDIA
Ayman Alashkar, Founder and CEO, overwrite.ai and propchat.ai
All smiles with His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama UAE Minister of State for AI
And as I took to the stage in front of a room packed full with hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs, I was asked how a startup should harness the power of Artificial Intelligence for growth.
The answer I gave;
Be User-Friendly like Dubai.
Ayman Alashkar | Founder & CEO | overwrite.ai
Dubai is an undisputed Tier 1 Global City. In the 20 years since moving here, I’ve been fortunate to have been part of its story in becoming that.
Whatever your profession, Dubai has made living, working, and investing in it, user-friendly for us all.
Any entrepreneur that’s taking a good idea and using Generative AI to turn it into a startup business, must be obsessed with how user-friendly their solution can be.
Nobody’s got time to learn to use a complex tool.
Less friction equals greater adoption and user retention.
overwrite.ai’s UAE team at the ‘Entrepreneurship of the Future’ event in DubaiAyman Alashkar with fellow panellists and the UAE Minister of State for AI
That same user-friendliness, is baked into overwrite’s ethos.
Its why thousands of real estate agents use overwrite.ai to create their property listings.
And as overwrite.ai continues to grow, I also continue to learn from inspirational leaders in our field, such as the remarkable people at NVIDIA.
Thank you for your time.
overwrite.ai is a pioneering Themed Generative AI, creating engagement-oriented content for the real estate industry.
We create the marketing content that powers the real estate industries of the UAE, KSA, Egypt and Lebanon.
For informative news and views on the world of real estate, proptech and AI, follow overwrite on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite | real estate content creation, reimagined.
Ever wished that you could read your client’s mind and be one step ahead of them?
Understanding the way your client thinks is your secret weapon to bringing home that sale.
We reveal the 4 most common personality types and the clues that could help you sell to them, better.
Getting inside their minds
Experts believe that individuals are wired to make purchasing decisions, based on their personality type. Which type is your client?
1. The Leader
This client type has come prepared; they did their research, and know exactly what they’re looking for. Super motivated, they have no time for small talk, wanting to cut to the chase. They’ll make decisions quick and generally don’t have the time to deal with sales people. Be on your toes, this personality type will be the one to walk into the home, take one look around, and sign the very same day. They’ll equally walk away in an instant if you pussy-foot around.
How do you sell to the Leader?
Tune in to these behaviours quickly, or risk losing them to a competitor. If they’re a Leader type, remember they need freedom to do just that, so let them lead the conversation, and to a degree, stay out of their way. Do not hand-hold (we’re not talking literally during viewings, although that’s equally not advisable!) and give them space to absorb the product, until they’re ready to ask questions.
2. The People Person
Common traits of this client type include them being talkative, easily excited and often extroverted. Their number one need is to connect with the sales agent. As the name suggest, they’re “people-people”, and value a personal touch, so stay close (and then close).
How do you sell to the People Person?
Tip 1: Do not be pushy! Drop the sales pitch, turn off “sales mode” and turn on “relationship mode”. These customers are people-oriented, so create an environment free of confrontation or pressure.
“They enjoy the journey, have time to talk, want to get value from your expertise in the sales process, and value your knowledge in helping them make a sensible investment or find their dream home. Reinforce their beliefs, be a great listener, be available, be “with them” and support them. If you master this type and serve them really well, they’re going to be a walking, talking, billboard for you. Put lots of business cards in their hands.”
Tap in to key personality types
3. The Free Spirit
The Free Spirit is fun-loving and likes to have a good time. They’re extremely independent and are risk-takers. They are open to ideas, won’t mind being thrown a curve ball, but will be turned off by slick, rehearsed sales routines. They like to be in control of how and when things get done, so you could be in for an exhilarating but rocky ride.
How do you sell to the Free Spirit?
Get excited and celebrate with them! They’re creative people so make the sales approach equally exciting and celebratory, not boring and stale. Offer something they haven’t yet considered yet; you never know with this personality type just what might trigger that decision to buy.
4. The Task Master
The Task Master will be your most challenging personality to deal with. They are punctual, meticulous, structured, and very detail-oriented. They are the total opposite of the Free Spirit. Dependability and reliability are their biggest needs in dealing with a sales agent.
How do you sell to this Task Master?
They are cautious and need reassurance, so going in full throttle won’t work. Don’t try to pressure-sell them; they’ll just shut down. They’re going to listen to every piece of information, so make sure it’s 100% on point.
And be prepared for them having to “think about it” even after numerous conversations. The technique here is to have great follow through, stick with the plan, and unlike the Free Spirit, do not throw them any curve balls. Be dependable, and do what you said you were going to do. Eventually, your credibility and trust will win them over before the final purchasing decision.
Know yourself, too
Knowing as much as you can about your client, as quickly as you can, will be a game changer. This is as close as you’ll get to being inside your customer’s brain and know what they’re thinking, so you know what your next move is.
Yet, even armed with all this knowledge, you must also know your own personality or sales style. This will enable you to adapt your natural behaviours and manage their expectations. You’ll need to shape the relationship along the way if you want to establish effective communication.
As you get more confident, you can begin to adjust yourself, and integrate your understanding of your own personality into the sales process.
But with any human interaction, no amount of self awareness or clever second-guessing of their verbal or visual cues, will be of use if the foundations aren’t set around honestly and integrity.
For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite.ai | the AI writing assistant for estate agents | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.
To do your job effectively, you need hard skills; the technical know-how and subject-matter knowledge to fulfil your responsibilities.
But in a forever-changed world of work, lesser-touted ‘soft skills’ may be just as important – if not even more crucial.
These skills are more nuanced. Low-profile. Think personal characteristics and behaviours that make a strong leader or a good team member.
Strong Words. Softly Spoken.
Employers are increasingly considering a candidate’s soft skills as closely as their experience and explicit technical specialties.
For some people, soft skills are innate. For example, there are those for whom being a good communicator or analytical thinker, comes naturally.
But for others, developing soft skills can be more challenging. Yet it’s possible for everyone to sharpen these characteristics. And that, say experts, is something we should all be doing.
What are Soft Skills?
There is no definitive list of soft skills, but the term essentially refers to abilities beyond the technical.
Confidence with certain software, for instance, is a hard skill. On the other hand, knowing how to analyse different software packages to figure out what a company should be using requires critical thinking: a soft skill.
Another major soft-skill area is communication.
Effectively communicating with colleagues, clients and management requires dexterity and emotional intelligence. Empathy, teamwork and compassion are also skills that fall under that same umbrella.
Many soft skills are highly practical, like efficiency, prioritisation, organisation and time management – all traits that are becoming increasingly critical for remote and hybrid workers.
And soft skills aren’t merely useful at work – they’re generally invaluable. The same skills that enable workers to operate successfully within company hierarchy and rise to the top also breed successful interpersonal relationships, for instance.
A Notable Shift
As many of the highly technical parts of work are becoming increasingly automated, or replaced by technological tools, companies are instead looking for workers who can problem-solve, juggle larger responsibilities and work well with others.
Additionally, soft skills have become even more important in the post-pandemic, largely remote work landscape. For instance: communication can be much more nuanced and complex when workers don’t see colleagues face to face.
Communication can be much more nuanced and complex when workers don’t see colleagues face to face.
Adaptability, too, is a soft skill – and the past two years have called for a lot of it.
It’s not to say that technical skills have fallen by the wayside, but companies have increasingly come to realise emphasising the interpersonal skills that hold organisations together are what drives great results.
Global job site Monster’s The Future of Work 2021: Global Hiring Outlook revealed soft skills such as collaboration, teamwork, dependability and flexibility are among the skills employers most prize in workers.
Turning “Softer”
We tend to be aware of our strengths, but honing interpersonal skills starts with soliciting feedback to identify your weaknesses and blind spots. Improving them may mean forcing yourself out of your comfort zone.
If you want to improve your imaginative thinking or problem-solving, for instance, try sitting in on brainstorming sessions with the company’s creatives.
As a result, employers are actively soliciting candidates who have these intangibles. Hiring manager may ask candidates to demonstrate soft skillsets, or this “moon-shot mindset”.
For example, they may be asked to show a real-life example of passion or commitment, prove their resilience in a particularly challenging situation, or provide evidence of continuous learning at work.
To best prepare for situations like these, candidates should identify their strongest soft skills in advance, and be ready to demonstrate them.
Of course, technical skills and experience on your CV will always be important, but in the changed world of work, they’re not enough: you’ll still need to convince recruiters you possess the softer skills that will help you be a leader.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of overwrite.ai and its owners.
This story has been published from an articleon 25th July 2022.
For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite.ai | the AI writing assistant for estate agents | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.
Social media marketing has engulfed the residential real estate business, providing a 24/7 reality show reel of real estate agents and their antics.
First Bloggers, then Vloggers, and now Tik-Tokers. It seems as though every agent has their finger in one or more social media pie, promoting themselves and their listings to a worldwide, property-hungry audience.
This week we’re talking Podcasts. They’re not the newest medium on the block. But they’re what growing numbers of savvy agents are turning to.
But there’s one moment in the entire MCU that, in my humble opinion, defines the #entrepreneur‘s journey better than any #influencer or #MBA course ever can.
Try. Fail. Rise. Unleash.
It’s that scene in #CaptainMarvel. When she realises that she’s been blocking herself from unleashing her full potential. Fighting with one hand tied behind her back.
She changes her psychology. Sets her mind free.
And in so doing, she unlocks the full awesomeness of her raw power.
At that point, even #chrishemsworth will probably agree that #CaptainMarvel is the most powerful of all the MCU characters.
You are where you are, doing what you are doing, because you dared.
Many of the people in your universe, haven’t dared to go it alone. To do what you’re doing. They don’t understand what it’s like. Every…single…day.
So block out the social media noise and all the social constraints.
Don’t hold back. Don’t mute yourself. Don’t doubt or deny yourself.
Don’t seek to please or to be understood.
Just get #raw! Do it as you see it. Say it as you mean it.
Unleash the truest version of yourself. Your success will follow.
NB: No cheese 🧀 was harmed in the making of this post
Ayman Alashkar is a real estate economist and AI strategist, with +20years’ experience as real estate asset manager, investor, developer and banker.
Prior to beginning his entrepreneurial journey, Ayman was Head of Real Estate for Emirates NBD’s Private Bank, where he was responsible for $2.2 Billion in UHNWI customer Assets Under Advisory. Before this, Ayman was a MENA Director of Real Estate Advisory at Global consultancy Colliers International.
Ayman has transacted and financed over US$1.5 Billion in real estate and FX investments.
For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite.ai | the AI writing assistant for estate agents | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.
The summer real estate market. Long. Quiet. Boring. Often bearing little or no fruit, by way of sales.
For many real estate agents, it can be a hard slog.
And with many people already headed overseas for long-awaited revenge travel vacations, brokers could be forgiven for expecting another slow burn this summer.
But as we head further into the hottest season of 2022, things aren’t cooling down. On the contrary. There’s been an influx of buyers and sellers across many real estate markets worldwide.
Either way, how can agents remain as competitive as possible, and stay busy, whilst the heat rises?
This week we present four tips to take advantage of during the summer, and prepare you for the win:
1. Buddy-up With a Builder
Home renovations have soared since covid. The building trade boomed as people started to prioritise time spent at home. Added to this, a shift towards remote working meant extra space was needed to accommodate the “home office”. And summer is often when a lot of home refurbs take place.
Having a close connection to a contractor will therefore keep an agent up to date with new inventory. And in case of stock drying up, having an inside guy can get you an intro before anything comes to market. Use this time to make contacts while renovation work is underway.
2. Old is Gold
Never neglect old clients.
Agents shouldn’t let any influx of new prospects distract them from tending to old clients. It’s always important to contact them. Share valuable information. Remind them why they loved working with you in the first place.
Treating these past clients right is the key to drawing new business. Referrals and word-of-mouth are the secret to success for many top agents. Pick up the phone to previous clients and say hello. If they’re taking some summer down-time, they might be in just the right mood for a chat.
3. Become Early Adopters
Technology can truly help set you apart.
AI writing assistants can instantly create your property descriptions. 3D home tours transform the online viewing experience. Digital e-signing services enable rapid, secure legal transactions. All examples of efficiency-driven technology that significantly increases the efficiency of your business.
So when it’s quiet in the office, trial some new platforms. Test out a new efficiency tool. Look at ways to save time by using intuitive and user-friendly tech. You’ll soon find that adopting an open mind will only help your business evolve.
4. Know Your Worth
While many clients are taking the reins early on, agents still play an essential role. Buying a home is a huge financial undertaking that still unnerves many. Plus, it’s impossible to think that technology can ever replace a genuine, invested, human agent.
A simple phone call. An open house. A calling card. All work wonders when delivered in the right way, at the right time. And the summer months allow you to plan all this – to perfection.
Prepare for All Weather
So as the summer season gets into full swing, let these words of wisdom stick with you:
In real estate, you don’t have to build it for them to come — you just have to make it happen for those that do. And there will always be those that do. Whatever the weather.
For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite.ai | the AI writing assistant for estate agents | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.
The MENA region’s Real Estate and Startup industries just got a massive boost from the announcement of a strategic partnership between overwrite.ai and Houza.
In a sign of maturing Proptech industry times, world-leading AI writing assistant overwrite.ai, has partnered with UAE real estate portal Houza.com, to deliver a richer online experience for industry stakeholders.
Customers of the Agency-backed disruptive portal can now use overwrite.ai to improve their consumer engagement and operational efficiency.
overwrite.ai allows them to instantly create unique, search optimised marketing content.
Founder and CEO of overwrite.ai, Ayman Alashkar said: “We’re delighted to announce our partnership with Houza and its network of leading real estate agencies.”
Agents listing with Houza now get a massive 50% discount off their subscription to overwrite.ai
“Nobody prints, then signs, scans and sends paper contracts anymore. It’s all done electronically. So why would you still write your listing descriptions manually, when you’ve got overwrite.ai to instantly do it for you, saving you time and effort?”
Ayman Alashkar – overwrite.ai
overwrite.ai is transforming how the estate agents create property write-ups
Across the industry, real estate agencies are becoming more professionally managed, organising around the core principles of efficiency and productivity.
Since its inception in 2020, overwrite.ai has sought to deliver efficiency to estate agents. It’s our centre of gravity. That’s why we’re so excited to also announce the beta-release of our CRM integration API.
Ayman Alashkar – overwrite.ai
Estate agencies can now integrate overwrite.ai with their CRM to deliver the power of AI assisted writing right where it matters most.
*Houza customers: Contact your Houza account manager to claim your overwrite.ai promo code. Applies to monthly plans only. Limited time offer. No minimum contract period required. Code valid for single use only.
For informative and light-hearted news and views on the world of real estate, follow overwrite.ai on Instagram and LinkedIn, and keep up-to-date with our weekly NewsBites blog.
overwrite.ai | the AI writing assistant for estate agents | Sign up for your Free 7 Day Trial.
