Real Estate Vs. Financial Planning: Looking Ahead

At the beginning of the 1980's, "financial planners" were, for the most part, salespeople selling financial products. Of course, it sounded a lot better to put "Financial Planner" on one's business card than "Salesperson" but the public wasn't fooled and from this inherent conflict, came the birth of the CFP® - the Certified Financial Planner.

Today, while there are still salespeople operating in the financial industry, there is a clear line of demarcation between these salespeople who are paid to sell products and CFP®'s who are paid to provide objective counsel. I would like to see the ACRE® accreditation develop into the same symbol for the public of professional, objective counsel in real estate as the CFP® does in financial planning.

And, just like in financial planning, there will probably always be a niche for real estate salespeople whose primary job is moving the inventory. But, at the same time, I hope there will be an increasing demand for Accredited Consultants in Real Estate™ whose focus is not to sell the product, but rather to act as an advisor and advocate for their client, helping them to reach their goals.