The Secrets of Successful New Real Estate Agents
Real estate can be a lucrative endeavor for everyone involved, which is why some people consider pursuing a career as a real estate agent. However, there’s no guarantee that getting into real estate will net you a profit.
It’s true that the best real estate agents make a decent amount of money from commissions, but this isn’t because of luck. There are reasons why these agents excel in the field and why they can basically live off the commissions they make.
Not everyone can expect to make it in the real estate industry instantly, and everyone has to start at the bottom of the food chain. But there are things that new real estate agents can take note of in order to climb up the ladder quickly, and to make sure that going into real estate will not backfire.
“New entrants into the real estate profession can be overwhelmed by the effort required to get their business off the ground and up and running,” says Greg Solfanelli, Director of Marketing and Consumer Experience with Realty Network Group in Northeastern Pennsylvania. “While building your book of business takes some time (and certainly effort), three-to-five years to establish yourself on average, initiating connections and providing a unique value add are two areas critical for growth. As a new agent it can be burdensome to start from the lowest denominator, but if you can reach out to for sale by owners, earnestly seek face-to-face meetings and fill in the gaps other agents don’t, you can help your chances for success.”
Taking Advantage of Technology
Nowadays, it’s a must to use the internet in order to have a successful business. How else are people going to know about what you do? While there’s still value in putting up traditional advertisements such as in newspapers or local posters, nothing can beat the reach that you could have if you put up ads in the internet.
Real estate agents are highly reliant on people being aware of their business. Regardless of how long a real estate agent has been in the industry, letting people know about their services has to be a top priority in order to keep the revenues coming. Today, there’s no better way to let people know about you than being visible on the internet.
Developing a Business Plan
Going into real estate isn’t simply just signing up for an agency and expecting the profits to come instantly. In order to ensure that everything will go smoothly, it’s essential to have a business plan on hand. Your business plan should cover how you plan to gather potential customers, and how you plan to grow your business in order to rake in more money in the future.
Without a plan, it’s highly unlikely for you to excel in the field, and it may even be possible that you’d be out of the real estate industry in a year or two. Remember that there’s still competition in the real estate industry, and in order to get ahead, you must have a plan.
Linking up with Other Agents
While competition is an inherent part of the real estate business, it doesn’t mean that real estate agents can’t help each other, especially since some agents have niches and markets that are distinct from those of other real estate agents.
Networking is essential in real estate, and you can’t neglect making a network within the business itself. Developing connections with other agents will help you find clients, and you could even score some sweet deals that other real estate agents are hesitant to make if they trust that you’re the right person for it.
Having a Backup Source of Income
Real estate is an unforgiving business. Agents who don’t have what it takes can easily go out of business in a short span of time, and it’s difficult to have a stable source of income especially for newcomers who come in without a plan.
Before diving into real estate, it’s advised to not let go of your day job yet, especially since real estate is something that you can do part-time at first. Make sure that you have real opportunities for growth in real estate first and assess whether or not your plan would be effective before making the decision to focus full-time on being a real estate agent.
Utilizing a Team
Much like any other business, it’s tough to make it in real estate alone. Running a successful business is always a team endeavor, and the same holds true for real estate. Although it is possible to find success in real estate by yourself, it generally would take a lot of time, and newcomers practically don’t stand a chance if they try to take on the real estate industry by themselves.
A team will not only help you achieve efficiency through the proper delegation of tasks that will ensure that jobs are done quickly, but will also be a great support system especially during the inevitable down times when sales are few and far between.
Maintaining Connections
The people who thrive in real estate are not always those who are the most knowledgeable or those who have the most technical skill. Thriving in real estate is in large part about developing and maintaining the connections that you’ve made as you gather experience.
These connections can be made from your fellow agents, to buyers and sellers, and even to people who just happen to come by your open house. Maintaining these connections will make it far easier for you in the future to clinch sales and make commissions, as you might not need to exert much effort in a property in the future if you already know the perfect buyer for it.