What Advice can I give a new agent just starting in the real estate business? Getting the proper training, and learning how to generate leads were crucial for me as a new agent.
Yes, “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know”. I can hear those words as clear today as I heard them years ago when I started as a new agent in a Keller Williams office. Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions, and find a mentor or someone you can follow or shadow. Find out who the top producing agents are in your office, and ask if they will let you sit in on one of their listing and buyer presentations. Learning how to work with sellers and buyers can be very beneficial to any new agent.
Yes, you just came out of real estate school, and you’re looking for the very first deal, but what if it’s not with a friend or relative? You are probably going to be very nervous. If it’s a buyer, “How do I make an offer”? “ What things do I ask for in the offer”? “What are concessions, and how much do I ask for”? “What about the refrigerator that my buyer wants”? “How do we come up with a good price to offer”? These are all real questions that new agents normally experience. That’s where your mentor or that experienced agent proves their value to you. You certainly don’t want to do anything wrong to convince your client that you’re not prepared to represent their interests.
First, learn and know what every paragraph of your written contract says, and be prepared to explain it to your clients. You also need to know your market. Making any offers will depend on whether it’s a seller’s, buyer’s or balanced market. Do a Comparative Market Analysis, and share it with your clients. Find out how bad they want the home, and how much they are willing to spend to get it. Most first time home buyers have no clue about closing costs and other concessions, so you’ll have to educate them. But, you need to understand them yourself first. Make sure you understand the differences between all types of loans, i.e. VA, FHA, Conventional, or USDA.
Many larger brokerages will have special training classes for all new agents to attend to help you with both buyers and sellers. But, some folks don’t do very well in a classroom teaching, and require that special one on one and hands on training. Determine early on which is better for you and get the proper training you need before engaging with clients.
Now, “How Do I Get My First Listing”? Many new agents will seek out friends and family members, who may need to sell. But, what if you’re new to the city and don’t know anyone? Then. Lead Generating becomes very important for you, and you’ll need to focus on things that you can do get those seller leads. One of the first things that I used to do was to do “Open Houses”. Offer to do open houses on listings that belong to the top agents in your office. You’ll pick up both buyer and seller leads when you host a successful open house. Another way to pick up a new listing is from doing “Phone Duty, or Floor Time” if you’re in a very large brokerage that seems to be dominating the market. Find a neighborhood to farm, but start small with only a 100 homes, since this approach takes time before you will see a return on your investment. Next, I would suggest that you start to build an online presence. Advertise on social media platforms like Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and even Craig’s List. Network and start to build those relationships with other agents, and contacts from those social media networks. Embrace technology, become mobile, and stay current. Finally, Learn to How and What to Blog. If you’re already a Rainmaker, you’re off to a great start. You couldn’t have made a better investment in my opinion.
Blogging will help you build that online presence, and you can become the local expert in your area. But, you will need to write quality content, and be consistent. It may take some time, but the end rewards are well worth the effort. It’s has always been a blessing when someone tells me that they found me online from something that I wrote about. The nice things about your posts are they stay online forever, or until you decide to take them down. I still have people calling me about things that I wrote two years ago.
Yes, New agents need to get some good training from mentors, or experienced agents, and learn how to generate leads to get them off to a great start in this business.
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