So you’ve got a Real Estate License; now what?
Even if you are an experienced real estate agent, who is struggling or lost their way, you should still review the principles outlined here!
The fact that you are reading this site right now tells us you have what it takes to reach a high level of success in real estate, but too many wide eyed new real estate agents start with no plan and actually no real future either.
The “churn rate” for new entrants to the real estate profession is a very unfortunate statistic – as many as 60% of new agents leave the business within the first two years :-
They hang their license with a Broker, attend all the training classes, call all the people they know and excitedly tell them about their new venture and then proceed to hang out in their pajamas until they trip over someone wanting to do business. OK we exaggerated here, but you get the idea.
There is an old saying “Every new agent has three deals; 1. they get lucky, 2. they sell to a friend, 3. they list the home of a family member.
The biggest mistake is not having a plan.
We don’t want you to be a statistic, so please follow along with us!
… and you had better come out fighting if you want to succeed!
Step One: Use your MLS to study, understand and interpret the statistics for your market.
This is such a critical step, yet most Realtors completely overlook it. Example: In 2008 the San Diego market was experiencing a slow down for the most part; all except one specific market that was actually up almost 200% over 2007.
Don’t you think it would be smart to know this before you spend time & money marketing your real estate business?
Step Two: The best advice I was ever given from a successful Realtor was to pick a niche.
Once you focus on a niche you differentiate yourself from thousands of other realtors. Focusing on a niche helps you become the expert, allowing you to provide real value to consumers.
Experts earn more money.
From this point forward you can stop responding with “I am a Realtor” when asked what you do for a living; much better to respond with “I specialize in helping investors buy/sell 2-4 units” or “I specialize in Luxury Vacation Homes”, etc…. The consumer is spending 6 or even 18 months researching the market, sometimes without ever speaking to a real estate agent.
They are using sites like Cyberhomes, Zillow, Trulia and with so much information out there it’s an unfortunate fact that many consumers are more knowledgeable than your average real estate professional.
They do not want to be sold to, they need advice and interpretation of the local market conditions and if you can’t come across as someone who knows what they are talking about, they will find someone who is. So think about it; everyone knows a handful of Realtors, but very few know a true expert in their chosen niche. You must become that expert in your chosen niche!
Step Three: You have studied the market, found your niche now create a plan.
Please don’t rush this step, any successful person will tell you that a plan is a roadmap to success. The old saying “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will do” is a perfect analogy here … Nothing great can be built on a shaky foundation so your plan needs to address the following items:
- What is your mission statement
- What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) What makes you different from all the others.
- Clearly identify your target clients: Click here for more information on how to do this.
- Establish your budgets for Marketing, Online Presence, Technology, Living Expense, Office,
- Develop your brand (logo, tag line, signs, etc…)
- Establish your standards, policies & procedures
- Block time for prospecting daily. Download FREE work sheets
- Set time lines & milestones for achieving your goals
- Schedule your 1st year on a calendar (daily routine, caravans, vacations, CE classes, etc…)
Bonus gift:
Create your marketing plan – available to free members also:
click over to our marketing plan for real estate newbies – this is a must have document available exclusively from us!
You will also want to get started developing your Social Media plan. See our Social Networking page for more information.
Step Four: Build your professional team.
This may not seem that important at first, but let me assure you once you are in the middle of a shaky escrow you will be thankful you have a team in place. You will not succeed without a good team! Here are a few people that you will want to align with right away.
- Title Rep
- Escrow Rep
- Loan Officer
- Home Inspector
- General Contractor
- Interior Designer
- Virtual Assistant
You should also be getting to know the active Realtors in your market; you will want to attend their open houses and weekly caravan tours. Social marketing is the same whether you are online or in-person; you should follow up with a comment or written note to the agent after visiting their open house / listing.
Other resourses:
125aDay have a comprehensive real estate Business plan and guide with worksheets. Marketing Plan Pro makes designing a marketing plan as easier than ever! Incorporates the award-winning Duct Tape Marketing System by John Jantsch to help you create effective small-business marketing. Business Plan Pro is for the real estate entrepreneur who is serious about making it in the profession. Comes with more than 500 complete sample business plans, including several real estate specific examples.
Free tool
Interact with this Starting Costs Calculator, a good way to get started with the numbers.
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