Becoming a real estate agent is a dream job for many. You get to meet new people, help people find their dream homes, and the career has the potential to make you a lot of money. But with 85-90% leaving the profession within 5 years, there are a few tips for new real estate agents that you need to do to make sure that you’ll be able to stick with it for the long haul.
Why Do 9 out of 10 Real Estate Agents Fail?
Before we figure out what you should be doing, let’s establish why the vast majority of new real estate agents fail within the first 5 years:
- They don’t know how to generate leads
- They don’t know how to market themselves, effectively
- They don’t know how to overcome the tough times
- They don’t believe they can succeed
- They did not plan for the additional expenses, such as taxes and commission percentages, marketing costs, training and other expenses
The most expensive piece of real estate is the six inches between your right and left ear. It’s what you create in that area that determines your wealth.
You Can Succeed With These Tips for New Real Estate Agents
- Embrace a Community-Minded Approach
A community-minded approach allows new real estate agents to get out into the community and get in front of the people who matter most: the buyers and sellers in your area. Setting up a platform with a company like Parkbench allows you to get the best of both worlds: showing potential clients that you are an expert in your community, and also bringing in the qualified leads that you need. Parkbench gives agents a platform and shows them how to use it to reach out to their community and become a Local Leader®.
- Study the Homes in Your Community
New real estate agents need as much exposure to the homes in their area as they can get. Whether you do this by visiting a variety of open houses or by studying stats from the local market, this is the first step before you start the more time-consuming tactics like lead generation. With this type of real-world experience, you will be much more prepared when you get your first client; plus you will show how connected you are to your community, which is a quality that buyers and sellers need.
- Join a Team
It is difficult to start out as a new real estate agent. In fact, the average agent makes less than $20,000 in the first year because of the time it takes to get established. By joining a team, you will have the opportunity to work with mentors who know the business and the area. This will reduce the learning curve that new real estate agents typically have when starting out. By working with a lead agent, you will also have exposure to their clients. However, being part of a team means that you do have to give a cut of your commission to the team.
If you plan on being an agent for the long haul and have no plans of ending up like the 9 out of 10 agents who fail, use these 3 tips to ensure you start your business off right. If taking a community minded approach appeals to the way you like to do business, check out:
