After enrolling in a pre-licensing course, taking your exam and activating your license, you are ready to start helping clients buy or sell their homes. The entire process to become new real estate agents can take between 4 to 6 months. The process does not take long; however, that does not mean it is an easy profession.
87% of new real estate agents fail within the first 5 years. Wow. That means that if 24 people write the exam with you, only 4 of those will still be in the profession after 5 years. Although many people face job changes, this number is exceptionally high. Why?
- They are Hitting the Ground Running: New agents are ready to start finding clients as soon as they receive their license and activate it. Oftentimes they don’t take the time at the beginning to develop good habits or practices that will set them up for success. Some of these may include:
- Being punctual
- Working productively
- Managing their time
- Putting relationships before sales
- Making the best use of their tech and their team
- They are Overwhelmed With Expenses: Real estate agents typically make their money when they sell a home (unless they are paid a salary by their broker). So it can sometimes be awhile before new agents will make money, but expenses typically begin immediately. It may feel like they are paying to work, and that can get draining, especially if they are the sole earner. In fact, real estate agents can expect to pay up to $5000/year. Some of the expenses that new real estate agents need to pay for immediately after getting their license include:
- Education and licensing fees: $600
- Real estate broker fees: $25-$500/month
- Real estate membership fees: $200/year
- Business expenses: $1000+/year
- Marketing costs: $1000+/year
- They Don’t Know How to Connect: Finding real estate clients is difficult – and there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. It can be challenging to always be searching for creative ways to connect. By only focusing on generating new customers, agents risk losing the long game. Connecting with new and current clients is the best way for agents to generate repeat clients and new referrals.
Is Lead Gen a Solution? New Real Estate Agents Want to Know
Lead gen is part of the everyday vernacular of a brokerage – but it does not work for everyone.
Only 1 in 10 marketers say that their lead generation efforts pay off. Lead gen is costly and time-consuming. It requires huge output to be successful. It is also estimated that 80% of leads never become sales – yikes.
A New Solution: Creative Ways to Connect With Clients
If you want to get away from traditional online lead gen and instead focus on a community-minded approach, check out a company like Parkbench. Their suggestions for how to connect with clients include:
- Try to add 5 people per day into your database
- Reach out to friends and family
- Truly get to know your clients (and not just what they are looking for in a master bath)
- Popbys (These are a small gift given to clients face-to-face. They are intended to deepen your relationship and provide an opportunity to connect.)
Parkbench’s research shows this methodology works for real estate agents. It can be hard for real estate agents to connect with their community and to create an efficient referral-based system on their own. So they also support you by providing:
- A Hyper-Local Neighborhood Platform: A community-focused platform showcases local news, events, deals and listings which 1 agent per area gets exclusive rights to.
- A Prospecting System: The scripts and tools are designed to book meetings and build relationships with anyone in your community at will.
- Support and Coaches: An entire team at your side throughout the whole process to help you be successful.
You can do a free 20 minute demo here to see if it’s a good fit for you. Find out more about how you can thrive and succeed in a community as a new real estate agent.
