The first year. It was a hot, dry day in August of 2005 when a young man of 23 earned his CA Real Estate license and hung it for the first time with one of the largest companies in the world. Being young and green, he thought he would make those million dollar sales in the first week. Disappointingly, his first sale didn't come for three months. Now a year later, what has he learned? Here is my list of helpful hints for the first year in real estate.
1. I love big companies. A large brokerage gives you the support you need to get the job done. And there are plenty of expereinced agents around to bounce ideas off of and to learn from. Small companies may offer higher splits or more commission, but make sure that the training, support, and opportunity are there for you to really expand your business.
2. Ask every question twice. We all know the old saying that "opinions are like...". So with that in mind, whatever question you have, whether large or small, ask a second person. Heck, ask three people. Maybe you won't use their advice, but you will know where people are coming from and how they do business. Thats is where you learn the wrongs and rights of how to run your business.
3. Floor time is awesome! I have received 30% of my business from floor time. And I take a lot of it. Floor time is the perfect thing to do if you are having trouble making it into the office everyday. By making yourself get in there and not "work from home" things start to get moving. So my advice, do your floor time, do other peoples floor time, and do after hours floor time.
4. Keep good records. Don't have 52 sticky notes with contact information on them. Take a little time once a week and put your prospect info into some sort of electronic system. Its easy to keep track of them when you know where they are. This leads to #5...
5. Talk to your prospects. Don't let them get away. Nothing is worse than not following up for a few months and then finding out that they bought a house last week. Person to person is best, phone call are second best. Emails and letters are good, but you need to follow up on your follow ups when you do mailers.
You will all learn what works for you. It takes time though. It will come if you keep your heart and head in the game. Good luck!!
Adam
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