Are you seriously thinking about becoming a real estate sales professional? ...about making Real Estate Sales your lifetime career choice? That may be one of the best ideas you have ever had... or one of the worst. Let’s see if it is the best! I hope so.
I have been training and mentoring real estate agents, most of them from the beginning of their careers, for well over 15 years. Many of my students have blossomed into top producing agents. I also have a much better track record training new licensees than have most brokers, and certainly a lot better than the Industry Average!
That’s not hard to do. Over 90% of new licensees will give up trying to sell real estate within their first 2 years, 80% call it quits in less than a year... 9 out of 10 new agents quit the business!
Here’s another piece of news... according to the National Association of Realtors, ½ of all current licensed agents (The ones that didn’t quit!) failed to close 1 deal in a year’s time... that’s 50%... 1 out of 2!
So here I am, telling you that selling real estate is an incredibly awesome and fulfilling business, and a great career choice. In fact, I’ll clue you in on what you’ll need to do to become a top producing agent at whatever real estate brokerage you choose. It’s not difficult. It doesn’t cost much money (and can even be practically free). But most licensees won’t do it enough. I don’t know why.
So, let’s start here with the PROs and CONs of getting your real estate license and helping clients buy and sell homes. Then I’ll key you in on how to be a Top Agent in your office.
PROs
You can make unlimited income. That’s awesome. And True! Really. You control your own destiny.
You can set your own hours, so if your children have after school sports, you can be there for them! Maybe you can coach a team. Or think about this: Teachers always need help. You can carve out a time to help in the classroom! Or Volunteer for the PTA. Your children’s teachers will love you!
You are... YOUR OWN BOSS! You may be under your Broker’s umbrella and you’ll need to abide by laws and regulations and, I really hope, the REALTOR® Code of Ethics. But for the most part, this is Your Business! No one is going to control your activities and schedule. If they do, you become an employee and it is no longer your business! If you fail in your business, you have yourself to blame.
Now... Have you ever heard of a business that offers unlimited income with startup costs averaging less than $1500? I’m talking about paying for education to get your license, taking the exams, follow-up training, business cards, mls, contracts, signs, and even marketing costs. The whole thing is going to cost you less than $1,500 and maybe you can get it all for close to $1,000. You’ll need a smart mobile phone, that power box you have in your hand that lets you play games and watch YouTube videos... but who doesn’t already have one of those?
I’ll bet you know a few people who say their job is boring and unfulfilling? They aren’t REALTORS®! There’s too much variety in what we do all day. We’re always learning new things. Every transaction seems to present different challenges! So, unless you join a team that dictates your job function in the team, you’ll be doing different real estate related activities every day! And you’ll meet incredibly wonderful people both in and out of the industry. You’ll always be learning new skills and helping people who desperately need your help (even if they don’t know it).
If you think of yourself as possessing a lot of creativity, you’ll have lots of opportunities to utilize those talents. And if you don’t think of yourself as creative, that’s OK too. There’s plenty of ways to succeed in this business because you don’t need to reinvent the game to be a success..
Want to know what I like best about this business? You help people accomplish a life-changing task they cannot do themselves, or at least as good as you. Every time I close an escrow, I feel good. No, I feel Great! ...and that’s before I get my commission check. Really, it’s not always about the money. But the money is good.
Did I mention Unlimited Income Potential? Let’s talk about the...
CONs
MONEY is not a good motivator. There’s plenty of Licensees who know they have Unlimited Earning Potential but they don’t put in the time and effort to earn that income! Many of them will fall into that 80% who quit the business in the first year. Even if they are about to lose everything they own, they’ll postpone the activities they really need to do to get business. So, MONEY is not a good motivator.
I do think it’s nice to have. If you are proficient in your job, you’ll make a lot of it. And that will help you make more money. So what do you need to do to make that happen?
YOU NEED TO BE SELF-MOTIVATED. If you want to have a successful career in real estate, you’ll need: DRIVE-FOCUS-DISCIPLINE. Pretty much without those qualities, you are not going to achieve your goals. OH, and you need to set some goals and create a budget and plan. Write it down. That’s important. Use a pencil if you want. That way, it’s easier to erase and revise. But if you don’t write your goals and review them daily, you have nothing to keep you focused. Write down your goals. Visit them every day. Every Day! DRIVE - FOCUS - DISCIPLINE
Now... If one of your goals is to make oodles of cash, you’ll need to close lots of escrows. That takes lots of clients, leads, and TIME. So even though I said you can get into this business without a lot of money, unless you have another source of income, you’ll need to set aside money to pay for your living expenses. Most experts will suggest 6 months’ worth of cash to pay for your rent/mortgage, food, clothing, car expense, insurance... that kind of thing. And I hope you don’t have a collection of credit card bills that need to be paid each month. You cannot bank on a steady paycheck nor should you expect to be making oodles of cash right away. Forget the experts. Six month’s income is an arbitrary, unchallenged figure that is used in almost every profession. It’s like the 80 | 20 Rule: 80% of your business will come from 20% of your activities. In retail, you’ll hear that 80% of your sales comes from 20% of your inventory, but you need the other 80% to attract people to buy that 20%. It’s kind of true but maybe not.
Put away 1 year’s total household expenses. That way, if you don’t need to spend all of it, you’ll have money already saved for when a slow period does hit. I guarantee you’ll spend a lot less time worrying about your next paycheck.
Most successful agents will tell you about the roller coaster of business they road during their first few years in sales. The job doesn’t cut you a weekly paycheck. You get paid when you close escrows and sometimes a transaction doesn’t close or it drags on for months and months...
You should expect to sometimes work late at night, on weekends, even on a holiday. You may miss family events and you’ll work a lot of hours, so it helps if your loved ones understand and support your journey to success. In this business, there really are no guarantees. Failure is very possible. Look at the 90% that quit. But if you are persistent and do the right activities, you will succeed.
AS PROMISED....
If you want to be a top agent, meet and talk to a lot of people about real estate. You’ll need to be comfortable asking friends, family and strangers for their business, and you’ll need to know they aren’t always going to give it to you. And you can’t worry about that. You need to move on. After they have a bad experience using someone else, you get to say, “I’m so sorry...” They’ll probably give you a referral lead.
You’ll also be inundated with a zillion (almost rhymes with Zillow) marketing solutions designed to get you quality leads. You’ll hear about success stories; seldom about failures. You’ll hear about the latest technology that’s guaranteed to generate more business for you. You’ll usually be told it will take at least 6 months to a year before you get good results... and of course there’s no guarantee. But thanks for the money you paid us.
How 2 NOT FAIL
If you are spending hours a day talking to people about real estate and offering your service, you will get business. Lots of it. Most agents know it.
Yet I’ve known plenty of agents who spend lots of time in the office, attend lots of training classes, spend lots of money on new business generating systems, and are really nice people who would do a great job for their clients... if they only had clients... but they don’t. They aren’t engaging in the activity that will get them business.
FACT. If an agent tells me they don’t have clients, I know they aren’t consistently talking real estate to their friends, friend’s friends, family, strangers... anyone who will listen.
FACT
Websites like Yelp and Zillow will tell you they have the technology to get you a bunch of internet leads... for a fee. Did you hear what I just said? No, not about the fee. I’m saying, “Internet Companies will TELL YOU... they will CALL YOU to share their good news. Top Internet Companies have learned that the best way to get business is to TALK with Prospects! In this case, they call real estate agents and follow up with emails and more calls.
SO... If you do decide to get your license, expect lots of phone calls from Internet and Technology Companies who want your business. They are really really really good at getting leads for themselves and closing deals because they spend all day long calling real estate agents and asking them for business.
That’s Sales. That’s Real Estate. Spend your time meeting and talking to people about real estate, and you’ll not only achieve your goals; you’ll also believe, as do I, that helping people achieve their real estate dreams and goals is the best job in the world!
Want to learn more? CALL ME. My name is Joe: 909.942.3003.
I have been training and mentoring real estate agents, most of them from the beginning of their careers, for well over 15 years. Many of my students have blossomed into top producing agents. I also have a much better track record training new licensees than have most brokers, and certainly a lot better than the Industry Average!
That’s not hard to do. Over 90% of new licensees will give up trying to sell real estate within their first 2 years, 80% call it quits in less than a year... 9 out of 10 new agents quit the business!
Here’s another piece of news... according to the National Association of Realtors, ½ of all current licensed agents (The ones that didn’t quit!) failed to close 1 deal in a year’s time... that’s 50%... 1 out of 2!
So here I am, telling you that selling real estate is an incredibly awesome and fulfilling business, and a great career choice. In fact, I’ll clue you in on what you’ll need to do to become a top producing agent at whatever real estate brokerage you choose. It’s not difficult. It doesn’t cost much money (and can even be practically free). But most licensees won’t do it enough. I don’t know why.
So, let’s start here with the PROs and CONs of getting your real estate license and helping clients buy and sell homes. Then I’ll key you in on how to be a Top Agent in your office.
PROs
You can make unlimited income. That’s awesome. And True! Really. You control your own destiny.
You can set your own hours, so if your children have after school sports, you can be there for them! Maybe you can coach a team. Or think about this: Teachers always need help. You can carve out a time to help in the classroom! Or Volunteer for the PTA. Your children’s teachers will love you!
You are... YOUR OWN BOSS! You may be under your Broker’s umbrella and you’ll need to abide by laws and regulations and, I really hope, the REALTOR® Code of Ethics. But for the most part, this is Your Business! No one is going to control your activities and schedule. If they do, you become an employee and it is no longer your business! If you fail in your business, you have yourself to blame.
Now... Have you ever heard of a business that offers unlimited income with startup costs averaging less than $1500? I’m talking about paying for education to get your license, taking the exams, follow-up training, business cards, mls, contracts, signs, and even marketing costs. The whole thing is going to cost you less than $1,500 and maybe you can get it all for close to $1,000. You’ll need a smart mobile phone, that power box you have in your hand that lets you play games and watch YouTube videos... but who doesn’t already have one of those?
I’ll bet you know a few people who say their job is boring and unfulfilling? They aren’t REALTORS®! There’s too much variety in what we do all day. We’re always learning new things. Every transaction seems to present different challenges! So, unless you join a team that dictates your job function in the team, you’ll be doing different real estate related activities every day! And you’ll meet incredibly wonderful people both in and out of the industry. You’ll always be learning new skills and helping people who desperately need your help (even if they don’t know it).
If you think of yourself as possessing a lot of creativity, you’ll have lots of opportunities to utilize those talents. And if you don’t think of yourself as creative, that’s OK too. There’s plenty of ways to succeed in this business because you don’t need to reinvent the game to be a success..
Want to know what I like best about this business? You help people accomplish a life-changing task they cannot do themselves, or at least as good as you. Every time I close an escrow, I feel good. No, I feel Great! ...and that’s before I get my commission check. Really, it’s not always about the money. But the money is good.
Did I mention Unlimited Income Potential? Let’s talk about the...
CONs
MONEY is not a good motivator. There’s plenty of Licensees who know they have Unlimited Earning Potential but they don’t put in the time and effort to earn that income! Many of them will fall into that 80% who quit the business in the first year. Even if they are about to lose everything they own, they’ll postpone the activities they really need to do to get business. So, MONEY is not a good motivator.
I do think it’s nice to have. If you are proficient in your job, you’ll make a lot of it. And that will help you make more money. So what do you need to do to make that happen?
YOU NEED TO BE SELF-MOTIVATED. If you want to have a successful career in real estate, you’ll need: DRIVE-FOCUS-DISCIPLINE. Pretty much without those qualities, you are not going to achieve your goals. OH, and you need to set some goals and create a budget and plan. Write it down. That’s important. Use a pencil if you want. That way, it’s easier to erase and revise. But if you don’t write your goals and review them daily, you have nothing to keep you focused. Write down your goals. Visit them every day. Every Day! DRIVE - FOCUS - DISCIPLINE
Now... If one of your goals is to make oodles of cash, you’ll need to close lots of escrows. That takes lots of clients, leads, and TIME. So even though I said you can get into this business without a lot of money, unless you have another source of income, you’ll need to set aside money to pay for your living expenses. Most experts will suggest 6 months’ worth of cash to pay for your rent/mortgage, food, clothing, car expense, insurance... that kind of thing. And I hope you don’t have a collection of credit card bills that need to be paid each month. You cannot bank on a steady paycheck nor should you expect to be making oodles of cash right away. Forget the experts. Six month’s income is an arbitrary, unchallenged figure that is used in almost every profession. It’s like the 80 | 20 Rule: 80% of your business will come from 20% of your activities. In retail, you’ll hear that 80% of your sales comes from 20% of your inventory, but you need the other 80% to attract people to buy that 20%. It’s kind of true but maybe not.
Put away 1 year’s total household expenses. That way, if you don’t need to spend all of it, you’ll have money already saved for when a slow period does hit. I guarantee you’ll spend a lot less time worrying about your next paycheck.
Most successful agents will tell you about the roller coaster of business they road during their first few years in sales. The job doesn’t cut you a weekly paycheck. You get paid when you close escrows and sometimes a transaction doesn’t close or it drags on for months and months...
You should expect to sometimes work late at night, on weekends, even on a holiday. You may miss family events and you’ll work a lot of hours, so it helps if your loved ones understand and support your journey to success. In this business, there really are no guarantees. Failure is very possible. Look at the 90% that quit. But if you are persistent and do the right activities, you will succeed.
AS PROMISED....
If you want to be a top agent, meet and talk to a lot of people about real estate. You’ll need to be comfortable asking friends, family and strangers for their business, and you’ll need to know they aren’t always going to give it to you. And you can’t worry about that. You need to move on. After they have a bad experience using someone else, you get to say, “I’m so sorry...” They’ll probably give you a referral lead.
You’ll also be inundated with a zillion (almost rhymes with Zillow) marketing solutions designed to get you quality leads. You’ll hear about success stories; seldom about failures. You’ll hear about the latest technology that’s guaranteed to generate more business for you. You’ll usually be told it will take at least 6 months to a year before you get good results... and of course there’s no guarantee. But thanks for the money you paid us.
How 2 NOT FAIL
If you are spending hours a day talking to people about real estate and offering your service, you will get business. Lots of it. Most agents know it.
Yet I’ve known plenty of agents who spend lots of time in the office, attend lots of training classes, spend lots of money on new business generating systems, and are really nice people who would do a great job for their clients... if they only had clients... but they don’t. They aren’t engaging in the activity that will get them business.
FACT. If an agent tells me they don’t have clients, I know they aren’t consistently talking real estate to their friends, friend’s friends, family, strangers... anyone who will listen.
FACT
Websites like Yelp and Zillow will tell you they have the technology to get you a bunch of internet leads... for a fee. Did you hear what I just said? No, not about the fee. I’m saying, “Internet Companies will TELL YOU... they will CALL YOU to share their good news. Top Internet Companies have learned that the best way to get business is to TALK with Prospects! In this case, they call real estate agents and follow up with emails and more calls.
SO... If you do decide to get your license, expect lots of phone calls from Internet and Technology Companies who want your business. They are really really really good at getting leads for themselves and closing deals because they spend all day long calling real estate agents and asking them for business.
That’s Sales. That’s Real Estate. Spend your time meeting and talking to people about real estate, and you’ll not only achieve your goals; you’ll also believe, as do I, that helping people achieve their real estate dreams and goals is the best job in the world!
Want to learn more? CALL ME. My name is Joe: 909.942.3003.
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