5 Things Every New Realtor Needs to Know (According to a Vet)
Learn from a seasoned veteran how to make your first year in real estate go smoothly.
If you just started in real estate, you know that it can be feast or famine with both the advice being offered and the deals you close. Plus, the real estate veterans make it all look so easy. As an independent contractor, you must be ready to run your business like a business.
Here are five tips to make your first year more successful:
10 Things to Do in Your First 30 Days in Real Estate
1. Take control of your success.
Coming from a job where you were an employee? Guess what? You no longer have someone monitoring your every move.
Of course, most brokers offer phenomenal training, help with goal setting and business planning. However, it’s not mandatory. It’s up to you to sign up for that class, make an appointment with your manager or broker, and set your business off on the right foot.
If you need training that you aren’t getting, talk to your broker or find a class through your local or state association. Your broker is invested in your success, but it’s up to you to drive the bus.
If you’ve never had a work relationship like this, approach it the way you would approach a landlord. Your landlord is going to leave you alone until you cause a problem or until you tell them you need something.
2. Be willing to make mistakes.
It’s hard to learn a new skill. It’s even harder to learn a whole new industry. Ask a lot of questions. If you think it makes you look stupid, it does not. The smartest agents know that the only way they can learn how to do things is to ask.
Your broker can answer questions and give you advice, but ultimately it requires action on your part.
It’s scary to present your first listing presentation or do your first open house. What if a prospective buyer asks you a question and you don’t know the answer? What if the client knows more than you do? That will likely happen. What will also happen is that you will get through it.
Every successful real estate professional has a story. Maybe they planned an open house but forgot to bring a chair as the house was vacant. Perhaps they used the bathroom when showing a listing and didn’t realize the water had been turned off. Whatever it was, they survived.
Too often, new real estate professionals are afraid to ask for help because they think they will make a mistake and look foolish.
3. Find a mentor.
So many new agents say they are looking for a mentor, but relationships only work when they work for both people. What are you offering the mentor? Consider offering to do some work for your mentor or pay them for their time. Remember, one-way relationships usually don’t work.
4. You won’t make money at home.
Gigi Benca, an agent at Keller Williams Advantage Realty in Oviedo, said that the best decision she made was to show up at the office every day. She tried working at home, and it just wasn’t working. Her motto today is, “Gigi shows up.” There are a few agents who can be productive at home, but new agents can progress much faster in the office where they learn from others.
“In the office, I’m in the room with experienced agents and can learn from them,” Benca says. “If I didn’t go in, I wouldn’t have all of that.”
5. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
When you meet someone who wants to buy a house in three years, it is tempting to give them your card, say, “Call me when you are ready,” and forget about them. Three years is just too far away.
If you plan to be in the business in three years, then what difference does it make how far away it is? Unless you plan to be retired by then, cultivate them as a future customer.
“When I first started, I put all of my attention on my current transactions,” says Jackie Unterreiner, a sales associate at Keller Williams at the Parks in Orlando. “Now, I am more mindful of planting future seeds all year long.”
Remember, most veteran agents misunderstood the business when they were rookies. They were surprised they had to buy their own lockboxes. They thought that once the contract was signed, it was a sure deal. They thought that people just called and said, “I’m trying to sell a house. Is there anyone there who can help me?” You are not alone.
Real estate is an industry where learning never stops. New technology is created. New laws are passed. The old way becomes obsolete. No matter how long you are in the industry, you will never get to the point where you know enough to quit learning.
Karen Climer is a broker and owns Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando.