Creating Better Real Estate Careers for New Agents

A high failure rate for new agents in real estate is nothing new, but it seems to be getting worse over time.  Even as market conditions have declined, new agents seem to come into the field thinking they will become a combination of Vinny Chase and Donald Trump overnight.  Some kind of millionaire/celebrity/realtor blend that everyone is going to come running to, with a check in their hand ready to buy real estate. 

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In the process of trying to grow my new brokerage I have been working hard to understand what makes new agents successful.  Quite possibly more importantly, what is making them so unsuccessful?  Where does this attitude come from exactly?  When I talk to and interview prospective agents and ask questions like:       

Why a career in real estate?  I tend to get answers like:

• I love real estate and I always watch staging shows on HGTV.
• My Mom told me I would be a natural.
• Making money on my own schedule.
• The career counselor told me about it.

How do you plan to grow your business?  I tend to get answers like:

• I have over a thousand friends on Facebook!
• I'm not really sure how, isn’t that the companies responsibility?
• My friend is going to build me a website.
• I have a big family.

Etc.  Notice that none of these are a realistic answer as to what goes into being a great real estate agent?  Had no one told them what is really like to wake up as a real estate agent everyday? Or were they only talking to people that had been successful, who forgot to mention all the long years of grinding it had taken to acheive that success?

Obviously, when the failure rate is so high, it isn’t just one or two things.  It is clearly a complicated issue that has many facets that are out of sync.  TV, books, and articles written and produced by people trying to make a quick buck have done their fair share to make people think real estate is “easy”, or that “anyone can do it”.  Educators are trying to keep their real estate prelicensing class rooms full to squeeze out profits.  Even large real estate brokerages are guilty of recruiting anyone and everyone they can and convincing them that they stand to make a small fortune….if only they join them soon(don’t worry about all of our fees)!  It seems to be a never ending list of potential pitfalls for a new agent.

My early conclusion to what needs done to help new real estate agents begin a career in real estate:

Some people may say that trying to find a logical solution to something so illogical is a waste of time.  However, I do believe that this is a big issue and that the veterans of real estate owe improvement in the field to the next group.  We need to find direct ways to provide insight to new agents.  Ways to make them understand that it is a TON of hard work, networking, and education.  It is imperative to create steps that provide more essential education BEFORE you become a licensed Realtor. 

What we have now just isn’t enough.  In fact, a lot of what potential real estate agents are educated for in the classroom is for a test that doesn’t apply to modern day real estate (metes and bounds?  really?).  Despite all of the other distractions and influences, it all comes down to this: better education and harder restrictions to become a Realtor would eliminate 90% of the issues.   It would also add significant value to those that are already licensed real estate professionals.

At least that’s my opinion…what’s yours?