Real estate training is some of the worse training in the world when you really think about it.  Whatever the state's minimal licensing requirements for licensure are, they do not prepare a newly licensed agent for the real world solutions. Yes there are 43,560 square foot in an acre and of course you remember the definitions of riparian, alluvial and littoral rights...don't you?  What real knowledge can a newly licensed agent use to assist a home buyer or a home seller?  The answer is none of the above!  A real estate license is a state's permission to engage in the practice of real estate under the supervision of a broker. That's all.  A newly licensed piolet does not take over the helm of a jumbo 747 and start flying hundreds of passengers to and fro across the country.  A new doctor graduate of medical schools does not immediately start performing brain surgeries.  The real world does not work that way.  All these professionals seek addition knowledge and training to become proficient enough to eventually work on their own, unsupervised.

In Real estate, a deal can be $50,000 dollars or 5 Million dollars.  A deal may represent a persons entire lifetime of savings, or a corporations total cash assets.  So what does the broker do to train the new agents about correctly taking listings at the right price only?  How do you know the potential client you are working with is motivated, and loyal? Who tells the new agent never to put a person into the car to show a home without qualifying their ability to purchase?  Does anyone advise a new agent it isn't wise to cut a commission?  Does an agent know how to perform a very accurate Comparative Market Analysis?  Would you list a home that you feel is worth 150K, and the seller want to list the home at 275K?  Well the sad reality, is no one sits down and really goes over all the possible scenarios with a new agent! 

When you really stop and ponder this point it gets very scary!  Most of the advice an agent will receive is from other agents in the office.  Since most of the agents in an office will be out of the real estate business within the first few years, and the average agent only sells a few homes a year, what advice is the new agent actually getting?  The answer is none!  "It is the classic case of the blind leading the blind!"  It is quite scary when you know this is the scenario that takes place in every city, across the country every day of the year.  How unproductive.  This is the primary reason for real estate listings expire.  Overpriced homes that should never have been listed, are listed by someone that never even gave it a thought,  A listing is not a feather in the cap unless it sells.  This is a recipe for disaster for the new agent.  It ensures their own failure in real estate.

Brokers need to take a much more pro-active part in making sure the new agents that are listed in their office have real training that ensures they are successful, and that their clients receive the best possible assistance and service.  Part of this plan would be to hook new agents up with agents that have closed lots of deals.  This could be one of the smartest things a broker can do to ensure new agent success.  Set up a mandatory mentoring program, or shadow training for all new agents.  How would this translate into our everyday life in real estate?  Less listings expiring or withdrawing, less days on market, less termination an releases for clients trying to get out of contracts for not being able to perform, and so much more.  Love to hear your thoughts!