realtor

I was recently interviewed for a SL job selling Skyboxes. Is there any support. or traning area where i can learn the basics of selling these and other properties and get an understanding of what it entails? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

First tip....do NOT use the word Realtor to describe yourself, unless you are a member of the National Realtors Association....it's trademarked. Even if you were a member....doubt that the association is going to take kindly to it being exploited to sell skyboxes in a virtual world.

.....not to mention your profile info.....

even if you aspire to be a virtual real estate agent.....you might want to tweak that up a tad to be taken seriously.

Sounds pretty suspect.......not entirely sure what the 'job' could possibly involve, since selling anything in SL is just a matter of placing adds and getting a vender space or parcel of land to open a shop.
As for training......you need to know the basics of SL........you need to familiarize yourself with in-world commerce. Do some exploring.....look at other places that sell buildings...learn the basics of 'building'. Chances are, you'll be able to create something of your own soon and you wont need to be anyone's 'employee'.

And....I concur with the Realtor issue......that just isn't a term you throw around. And in SL....unless you own an entire sim and sell land off that.....you're not even close to being any kind of realtor. I don't even know if it's acceptable to USE that term in the virtual world. Do a little research before you jump into any offers that seem 'to good to be true'. There's a lot of folks that will try and scam new comers.....so it behooves you to have as much info as possible before you look into trying to make $$$ in SL.

You interviewed for a job you don't know anything about ?

Sounds like congress.

He he. I guess the campaigning is like an interview, isn't it? And we were stupid enough to hire them.

Thank you for your comments, but i just need an understanding on the terms necessary for me to sell properly. I am a certified realtor in RL, and that's why i applied for a sales position. I was interviewed, and I am being considered because of my abilities in sales, however, I am just looking for help and/or a place you may direct me to help understanding the basics of selling apartments and homes here in SL. I would like to fairly represent the person who I am selling for, and also give the person I am selling to a general knowledge of the purchasing process, and to give the purchaser confidence in the product he or she is buying. Thanks again

Sweetmilf, there is so much 'basic SL' to learn before you can be of help to anyone else, no matter your RL experience. SL processes are a whole different ballgame. There is so much you need to familiarize yourself with regarding land perms, who owns what and what permissions an owner/buyer/renter will have when they take possession; I have personally never met a realtor in any of my land purchases, or skybox or home purchases. I go to a place that sells skyboxes, for example, and I am looking for a new skybox, I find one I like, I purchase it from the sign, take it home and rez it on my land. If I have a problem with it, I contact the creator and ask them. Where would a 'realtor' fit into what is actually a pretty simple singular process? What would a realtor's purpose be? I just can't figure where your services would fit into the SL sales process, which is one a person can easily do all by themselves.

Hi,

The first thing to learn about SL land is that you never really own it. All "land" is really part of a server owned by Linden Lab. If you stop paying the weekly/monthly fees on it, either LL (mainland) or the estate owner (estate land) will take it back. If the person has resale rights, you can call it buying/selling, but it's important that the buyer understands that in reality, they are leasing.

I have a free land tutorial you're welcome to visit. It is focused on estate land, but a lot of the info also applies to mainland. The SLURL is http://slurl.com/secondlife/Solace%20Beach/232/46/22

I agree with the posters above that the best thing to do is become more familiar with SL, especially the rules concerning land. I started out by reading the Official Guide and found it very helpful. I see that there is a new edition out since then. You might try: Second Life: The Official Guide by Michael Rymaszewski, Wagner James Au, Cory Ondrejka, and Richard Platel (200.

That's a good tutorial too, I used it for some answers on deeding land to groups. Also you could join the group SL Land Answers and ask them specific questions on the group chat, perhaps they could direct you to a class; I'm sure there are som out there. Good luck....

I find this hard to believe....based on your profile....you are not even capitalizing the R above.....but will give benefit of doubt.....am horrified that someone would come into SL and represent themselves as such. I don't even want to use the trademarked name in any of these paragraphs after reading that profile....and take great offense in your professional "classification" being tossed into this thread.....with a profile like yours.

That's not a judgment on the nature of your "activities"....it's a judgment on what is appropriate business conduct and what is not.....what is appropriate context in which to use your "license"..... If you're going to claim to being a card carrying member of that organization....while advertising yourself in the light of your current profile information....and what is just basic good or bad common sense judgment......geez.

You're asking for advice on how to "represent" others.....and it sounds like you're taking it seriously, and it's not a game.....but your representation of yourself ...is well....not extremely professional to say the least.....so many would assume that you are not serious and not professional. I certainly got that impression.....so would not pay you lindens to represent me as an employee or to represent me as a buyer.

Surely you had that class before someone handed that professional "certification" over to you....I mean...if you're going to drag it into here and flaunt it.....then stand by it.

I tried to reword all of the above into a kinder tone.....simply can't do it. Toned it down as far as i could.....it's still a harsh judgment......but as a sales person.....judgment of YOU will be step #1. And no one else is going to take time to try to tone down.......they simply move on.

No need to spend a lot of time studying the process, unless you get #1 in order.

But you should already know all of that. You're "certified?" right? I mean...tell me that you're not advertising your sexual activity preferences on your real estate web page.......please.

Thank you all again for your suggestions, and for the more critical remarks, it's all very helpful for me to move forward. I don't mean, for one moment to take away, nor reflect upon, the professionalism of my RL profession. If one were an artist, a musician or a clothing designer in RL, they would have the propensity to follow that path here in SL. I thought that being involved in the sales of homes, apartments and/or land would be a natural fit for me here in SL. That's why I came here to ask for help before I took it to the next step, merely to ask for advice and suggestions, I had no intention whatsoever to try to apply the stringent principles of my RL prefession here in SL.
I am good at sales, and because of that, i feel i am being considered for this opportunity. I am not all that familiar with how it works here in SL, and I would love to pursue an opportunity here in SL that will earn me a salary, and give me a chance to meet many more people. I am here only for advise, so people here with much more experience and wisdom than I, can provide this so I can continue to enjoy my future on SL. I thought this was the intent of this forum, so I came here first.

Use an alt with a more credible name.

Pep (You wanted advice? You got it!)

Well I do have to ask, again, why does anybody need 'sales help' when doing something that is essentially a process they can do alone? It's not like RL, there's no escrow, anything that a salesperson would help to facilitate......before I started buying land and homes of my own on SL, I rented a few apartments; rented them from the hippo rental boxes at the door, most of the time never met the landlord, paid my tier to the hippo boxes too. I still am not seeing how a 'salesperson' or realtor could facilitate the process of renting an apartment or buying a home in SL. You like it you buy it, no 3rd parties, no commission, no.....nothing....

just realize, spamming is an ARable offense. don't push skyboxes on people who didn't first request the information.

Thanks Ring, very good advise

I'm with those who think a name change might be a good idea for your professional purposes. While the stringent principles of your profession may not be applicable here in SL, remember, people are paying real money when they buy homes and land, and in the case of the land and the accompanying tier, it can be quite substantial. The SL land business is rife with fly by nighters and scam artists, so a little professionalism will go a long way.

To sum up:

# Nobody needs a realtor or any sales person to go and see the skybox they are interested in. You just tp there and step inside[/size]

# Nobody needs a realtor or any sales person to buy or rent a skybox. It can all be done through a vendor (machine

# Go out and actively try to sell to people who didn't ask for it is considered spamming. You can have abuse reports filed against you for that. So you can't go and actively try to find customers.[/size]

# Perhaps people considering buying have some questions about how many prims, and what they can and can't do concerning land-, group-, member-, and more settings like that.

This is where they may probably want to contact a realtor, if the owner doesn't want to be contacted. For this you need to first learn a lot about land, about deeding, about permissions, etc. But this information is normally shown on the vendors.


Apart from the documentation mentioned by Ayesha (I don't know it) you may want to check the NCI land classes. They have a few that can be interesting for you, like the Land Ownership, and perhaps at least basic building and scripting, so that you know what may and may not be possible if people want something changed.

Class descriptions and schedule (differs weekly) are here: http://www.roscrow.uklinux.net/NCI/index.html



I would first go and experience SL. Then you'll soon find out how people go about buying or renting skyboxes.
[And learn everything you can about land, prims, groups, etc.

Also do some comparisons. What does this person offer, and what do others offer? There are lots of free skyboxes around. And lots of competition in the non free ones. Check out what else there is, so that you can judge if this will be succesful at all.



I have not read your profile. But I agree with what others say here. Make it look professional. I am not talking about your RL job, but in SL if you want to look professional you need to have a professional profile.

I have no idea what you look like. But I would also advice you to get rid of the newbie look if you still have that. That means an investment in skin, clothes, hair, animation overrider (you can get many free things - some good, some bad). This is also part of looking professional. For seasoned SL residents a newbie look gives the impression of somebody not knowing the ropes yet.



But, most of all, ask the person who interviewed you what he or she expects from you, and why he/she wants a realtor.

Content creators normally don't need an intermediate. They can simply set up their vendor, and the customer will get it.

So, the only reasons I can think of for a creator to hire somebody, is either to answer questions, or they don't sell enough because of the competition, and hope to get somebody to boost their sales (active selling - spamming).

You can take that as "critical".....but it's Fact. Not all advice is going to come to you in the form of "sweetness".....surely you learned that Week One in the real estate world. It's also advice from someone who made a profit doing what you want to do in SL. Take it or leave it.

People choose sales people and businesses based on first impressions, credibility, and reputation. Step One. Either Life.

Choosing what you want to advertise on the front of your T-Shirt in RL....(or profile in SL)....is not exactly adhering to "stringent principles"....it's just common sense and tactfulness if you want to play "business." Either Life.

Make up your mind. If you bring in, and use the Capital R word in here....then be professional about it. I personally don't think it has a place here.....and take huge offense to it being tossed about here.

If you don't want to adhere to the principles, that's certainly allowed here.....but leave the Capital R word back in RL.....and if you're going to continue to advertise that profile and use that name.....I would make a very clear separation of both lives.....before it bites you in the butt in RL as well.

Thanks Zuleika and Mickey, the best advice i have had, and i appreciate every word; I will check all the factors out that you have brought to my attention. Please understand, i wish to enjoy my time here on SL, and i also wish to be a participant in every way. Which means earning a living, and i will continue to explore this, whether this job pans out or not.
I have no intention to violate any ethetical standards, nor do i wish to drag RL into my SL, i had only hoped to use my attributes to the best i can to continue here in SL. Any further advice or suggestions would be appreciated, because, as it was pointed out, I am relatively new, and comments from experienced and seasoned SLer's are taken very seriously. Thank you all again

I agree, make an alt for business and keep the profile professional. You can use your main for 'fun and games'.

Can you make an alt under the same account? I used a considerable amount of Lindens creating my avatar, and I would like to maintain what I purchased so far. Is this possible?
Thanks again for your help here.

No, right now alts are seperate accounts. You can transfer any items that are transferrable between accounts, but that is it. You can't "share" the inventory.