Every single real estate agent, regardless of how long they have been in the business was new at one time. As a new agent it's not unusual to experience the feeling of being overwhelmed by your new career choice and more importantly, the discovery of how much you don't know about being a real estate agent. You come to realize that your pre-licensing class prepared you to understand the legal aspects of real estate and pass your real estate exam, however it didn't prepare you for what it would take to become a successful real estate agent.
So Much to Learn All At One Time
How do you overcome the feeling of overwhelm when there is so much to learn, seemingly all at one time? If it makes you feel any better, all real estate agents experience that overwhelming feeling. So many in fact that according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), over 75% of new agents fail their first five years in the business. That alone is an overwhelming number. I believe new agents fail in such high numbers is because they don't understand that being a Realtor requires them to work, and secondly it takes time to build and grow a business.
The work that is required to be a successful Realtor is not necessarily intuitive. A lot of it is on-the-job training and the other part is training in general. It would be nice to have a road map that takes you step-by-step through the process. How to get a client, how to help that client find a house and then get that contract to settlement. The real estate transaction doesn't work that way. You have to be prepared for a lot of different issues being thrown at you at one time. Having said that, there are a few things that you can do to build a thriving real estate business and eliminate that feeling of being overwhelmed.
Set A Schedule
The beauty of being a real estate agent is that there is no one telling you what to do or when to do it. The curse of what you do is that there is no one telling you what to do or how to do it. As a result, it's easy to do nothing. There is so much to do that we don't know where to begin so we don't do anything or we do activities that give the illusion of working. One way to overcome the temptation to do busy work is to put yourself on a schedule. Time blocking does wonders for your productivity. Think about what activities you will do every morning?
- Check the multiple listing service for new listings
- Make prospecting phone calls
- Administrative tasks
- Marketing activities
What time will you show property? What time will you stop working? It's important to get into the habit of working when you say you'll be working. Put yourself on a schedule and stick to it.
Treat Your Business Like A Business
As a real estate agent you are now the CEO of your own business. As a business the goal is to make money, at least I hope that is your goal. To make money you need to treat your business like a business. You need to know how much money it takes to pay for your lifestyle and how much it costs to run your business. If you don't know these numbers it will be impossible for you to know how much money you need to earn to keep your life and your business in the black. You can't simply pull numbers out of the clear blue sky and think that's good enough.
You need to take the time to go through your personal and business expenses to determine how much money you need to live a comfortable life and how much you need to make a profit in your business. To run your business like a business you need to:
- Make a business plan
- Write a marketing plan
- Keep track of your expenses
- Pay your taxes
Related: Writing Your Business Plan
Get Additional Training
No matter how many years you've been a Realtor you need to constantly get additional training. Taking your required Continuing Education courses is not enough. You need more that an update on the legalities of the business. The world we live and do business in is changing at a rapid pace. How the consumer views us and the home buying and selling process is also an important factor. How we conduct business is changing as well. We need to be knowledgeable on upcoming legislation, new technology, marketing and how to run our businesses more effectively and efficiently. Change is our only constant. It's important to stay current or you'll be left behind. Many brokers no longer offer training so you'll need to find training on your own. Check out your local Realtor Association and see what they offer that will help you improve the way you do business.
Be Patient
As the old sayings goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." Building a thriving real estate business won't happen over night. Be patient. There will be days when you feel you've made the biggest mistake of your life by becoming a real estate agent. You'll feel as though you will never achieve the success you desire. But remember this, every successful agent was new at one time. They too experienced missteps and mistakes, but they persisted.
We were all bad at first, but we worked through it. Give yourself permission to be overwhelmed, to make mistakes, to say the wrong thing, to waste time on people who don't value you and to put time, money and energy into activities that don't produce results. It's okay. Learn from those things and keep moving forward. With a good work ethic and a positive mindset, you can achieve all that you set out to achieve.
Sign up today for my Free Email Course, 5 Things Every New Real Estate Agent Needs to Know to start building your real estate business on a solid foundation. Click here to get started.
Real-Life Real Estate Training – Real Training, Real Results!
- Have you struggled turning contacts into clients?
- Are you working hard, but hardly making any money?
- Are you beginning to think you made a bad career choice?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions you are in the right place!
Sign up for my FREE email course, 5 Things Every New Real Estate Agent Needs to Know to start building your real estate business on a solid foundation. Click here to get started!
Inman News named Candy Miles-Crocker as one of the Top 25 Real Estate coaches in 2016. Candy, “The Real-Life Realtor”, coaches, mentors and trains new and experienced real estate agents to transform their business by mastering her proven systems for success. She is a firm believer in managing expectations. Her goal is to elevate the perception of real estate agents among the general public through education so every client has an amazing real estate experience. Candy’s unique training methods have shown agents what it takes to be successful!
Learn more about her training program at www.RLRETraining.com or send her an email at Candy@RLRETraining.com.
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