What does it take to succeed in real estate? Some people will tell you that it’s as simple as getting out there and making sales. But for any Realtor, especially someone who’s new to the game, it can be hard to find the type of success you’re looking for when no one knows about you. We know that selling properties is a complicated business and that earning a huge annual income isn’t something you can achieve overnight. So in order to help you get your new real estate business off to a running start, we’ve put together a list of 10 killer tips for new real estate agents.
1. Find the Right Real Estate Company
When you’re first starting out, you don’t have a reputation to rely on yet. That’s why you need to make sure you get on board with the best team in town. The best way to figure out which real estate company is right for you is to conduct some local research to find out which companies have won the most awards, which have the strongest marketing infrastructure in place, and which will offer the type of management support that you need in order to build your career. Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, take some of the agents that already work within those companies out for coffee, and have an open and honest discussion with them in order to gather reliable feedback about the companies you’re interested in.
2. Develop a Realistic Outlook
It can be easy to get disillusioned when the reality of your first year of real estate doesn’t match the high expectations you had set for yourself. Many new realtors will quickly lose enthusiasm when they encounter their first major roadblock, or waste money by spending too much on marketing before they had properly built up their business, only to find that they ran too hard out of the gate and didn’t keep anything in store for the long haul. This doesn’t mean that optimism is a bad thing; it just needs to be tempered with a healthy dose of realism so that you don’t lose momentum when you run into hard times, or get into trouble by spending too much, too soon.
3. Come Up With a Business Plan and Stick to It
Behind every good business is a solid business plan. Real estate is a business, and if you want to succeed, you can’t do it without a proper business plan. A good business plan will contain elements such as: your sales goals, your advertising and marketing plan, your Overhead Expense Analysis, your Competition Analysis, and your USP (Unique Service Proposition) – a fancy way of saying “what makes you different than anyone else in the business.” Your business plan will change over time, but in order to jump-start your career, you need a solid foundation to build on. Your marketing plan is an especially important factor. You need to have a clear idea of how you are going to find prospective clients, how you will catch their interest, and how you will turn that interest into sales.
4. Find an Experienced and Trustworthy Real Estate Mentor
Even though you’ve been through real estate school, there’s no way that you’ll be able to successfully navigate the complex world of real estate sales on your own, especially as a new agent. In order to get ahead of the game, you need to seek out real estate training from an experienced and trustworthy mentor. You might understand all of the financial details of making sales, but there’s no match for insider knowledge when it comes to tracking down leads and finding actual buyers. Seek out someone in your office who has already had significant success in your area, has a similar professional style to yours, and is open to doing some learning of their own. A good mentor-student relationship can be of benefit to both parties, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from someone you respect and admire.
5. Create a Brand that Makes an Impression
In any given real estate market, the competition you face will be enormous. The best way to set yourself apart is to create a brand for yourself that shows that you are different from any other agent in your area. This will involve coming up a unique logo, color scheme, profile photo, and slogan. At first, your brand recognition will come from the agency you’re associated with. But don’t let this become your only brand. In order to truly sell property like a pro, you’ll need to build a personal brand that outshines the brand of the agency you work for.
6. Find the Right Niche
Most agents will tell their clients that they can sell any property at any price. This is the wrong approach to take, especially if you’re a new realtor. Not only does this type of claim demonstrate a lack of credibility; it also demonstrates that you lack the type of specific expertise that most potential clients are looking for. Overextending yourself in an unfamiliar market can only lead to disaster. A better strategy is to enhance your brand by becoming an expert in a niche market. Perhaps it’s condo sales, or luxury homes, or investment properties; just look for a niche that’s under-served so you’re not treading on someone else’s hard-earned territory.
7. Learn to Sell Your Knowledge
In order to sell real estate, you need to know real estate. If you don’t know the ins and outs of important details like disclosures, transaction terms, legal issues, and housing laws, then make sure you take the time to brush up before you start making contact with clients. But it’s not enough to simply sell yourself as an expert in general real estate knowledge. You need to sell yourself as an expert in your chosen niche as well. Demonstrate that you know your stuff by giving out handouts like homebuyer’s guides and market information pertaining to your niche in order to build up your reputation as an expert in your chosen area of specialization.
8. Be Productive and Set Goals
Because you’re self-employed, you don’t have bosses and supervisors setting schedules and making sure you get enough work done every day. This kind of freedom can be liberating, but it can also lead to a lack of productivity, and a loss of income. The best way to maintain a high standard of productivity is to set goals for yourself and establish a routine that will help you manage your time effectively. You should set aside time each week to perform important tasks like cold calling, building client relationships, and looking after your marketing plan. If you don’t, these tasks could get left by the wayside and your business could seriously suffer.
9. Treat Your Customers Like Gold
It could be described as the golden rule of real estate: “Treat your clients as you would like to be treated.” When you show the utmost respect, integrity, and kindness towards your clients, you will build up a reputation as the type of agent people love working with. As a new realtor, this approach is invaluable, as your first few customers can make or break your real estate career. If you treat them right, they could turn into the best salespeople any business could ask for.
10. Keep Finding New Clients
“Keep finding new clients.” This could become a slogan that you repeat to yourself day after day, or write in big letters close to your desk. Sure, it sounds simple, but more often than not, Realtors forget about the importance of finding new clients once they start to achieve a certain level of success. You could be swamped with clients one day, and then find a week later that all of your business has dried up. You need to be constantly seeking out new leads, even when it feels like you already have too many, in order to ensure that your real estate business is successful not just today, but tomorrow, next week, and ten years down the road.
Article By Michael Soros | Co-Author of Ultimate Guide to Selling Real Estate Like the Pros
