If you’re a new (or inexperienced) Realtor and you want to get better at your craft, there are numerous simple things you can do to achieve that. The bottom line is that a real estate agent has to concentrate on getting leads and providing great customer service to keep their calendars full, but just how hard is this to do? It isn’t hard at all if you follow a few simple rules. Below are seven keys to help you become a great Realtor.
1. Never Stop Learning
If you want to stay ahead of the competition, there are Realtor strategies to follow. First on this list to always keep learning—continuing education classes at the very minimum. You should attend the ones that are required by the national realty organizations. Attending more than the basics is even better. The broker you work for is very likely to provide support to get you more training. Why? Because the more you earn, the more than earn.
2. Always Have Promotional and Marketing Items Ready
As any good real estate agent knows, sales is a numbers game. This means you have to constantly be finding leads to work with so you don’t become stale or inefficient. Get a professional headshot done, beef up your social media pages, and have quality business cards made. You should also have a website with a personal greeting on it, which needs to be updated regularly.
3. Keep Track of Your Finances
Realtors have commission-only jobs most of the time, with the commission usually being a certain percentage of the home’s value. You’ll also be getting checks for the full amount, which means your broker won’t take out any taxes before paying you. Because of all these things, you need to keep impeccable financial records so you won’t be surprised at tax time.
4. Create a Goal List and Timeline
When you’re a Realtor, each day is your own, but you’ll need a specific plan of action if you’re going to succeed in this profession. Make sure you have a list of goals you’d like to achieve. And don’t forget to add some tips on how to achieve those goals and enough space on the list to alter the plans whenever you need to. Creating a timeline also helps because it enables you to shoot for a particular goal by a certain date.
5. Concentrate on Finding Leads Continuously
The more leads you find as a Realtor, the more successful you’ll be. After you’ve sold a few homes, word-of-mouth from previous customers will start to roll in, but in the meantime, you’ll have to find other ways to get more leads. Networking is a perfect solution. You should also have your business cards with you at all times. This way you can pass them out to people whenever the opportunity arises.
6. Choose the Right Agency
Just like most other businesses, real estate agencies can either be your best mentor or your worst nightmare, depending on which one you choose. The head broker is usually responsible for training new and existing Realtors. If you can’t look to that person to help you grow and thrive, it’s entirely possible that you chose the wrong one.
7. Be Very Organized with Your Schedule
When you’re a real estate agent, your schedule has to be organized at all times. A good rule of thumb is to allow time for your travel time when you list an appointment. For example, if the event you’re putting on your calendar is one hour in length, put it down for two hours so you can figure in travel time. This way, you can save yourself a lot of stress by not having events back to back with no time to get to them.
