I was once a newbie in real estate, like we all were. I’ve been through stages where I was on fire, listing and selling week after week, month after month, and stages where I struggled to create opportunities for myself, win business and make sales; call it the real estate salesperson roller coaster.
In my first six-to-12 months in real estate, I experienced times where I was nurtured and guided in the right direction, and times where I felt like a slave and no one cared.
When I eventually started listing and selling real estate at the age of 20, there were patches in my career where I’d be smashing it. I’d have great consistency bringing in and selling listings every month, but other times I’d really struggle.
So this article is to help new people in real estate sales stay focused and do the things that will lay a great foundation in order to build a successful career over a long period of time.
It’s also to help give established agents a few tips on getting yourself out of a rut if you’re going through a rough patch or struggling.
New in real estate? Here’s what I’d do:
Being new in real estate should be super-exciting and not scary, providing you have the fundamentals set out correctly. If you have this, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a highly successful career.
Think of it like building a house… If the foundations to a new house are built poorly, then the house is going to fall down pretty quick. But if the foundations are built solidly, the house will last a lifetime. So make sure you get the basics right from the start to avoid issues later on.
I’m going to list below a bunch of things that are important to do in your first 12 to 24 months in real estate sales to set yourself up for future success. Some of these points also go for established agents.
- Be consistent and disciplined – FULL STOP.
- Get to the office at the same time every single day. This is the first point to achieving great consistency and discipline. If you can’t nail this part, you’ve got a problem.
- Be as consistent as you can with your prospecting. For example, make calls at the same time every day so it becomes a habit.
- Ask lots of questions of people who have more experience than you. You might also want to identify five to 10 top performing agents in your city, call them up and take them out for coffee or lunch so you can pick their brains about how they got so successful and what they currently do to remain at the top of their game.
- Set up your database properly. The number of times I see poorly organised databases is ridiculous. Have enough categories, have the right categories and work them. If an agent’s database isn’t on point, then their prospecting and relationship-building suffers.
- Learn the listing and sales process inside out. Until you know this really well, you’re not ready to go out on your own.
- Build your database of property owners in your market as quickly as possible. The quicker you do this, the sooner you’ll progress your career and start to get traction.
- DO NOT work 9am to 5pm if you’re serious about becoming really good. You need to go above and beyond. If you put in the hard yards early on, you’ll be repaid at a later stage. So do what you need to, plus some.
- Learn and become great at the service and nurture process with buyers and property owners.
- Learn, practice and be consistent with booking in as many face-to-face appointments as you can. Big business is done face-to-face, so if you haven’t got the ability to be dominant and book in a heap of appointments each week, you’re going to struggle. If you’re not meeting buyers and owners/sellers, then what are you actually doing?
- Service the hell out of as many buyers as you can. Remember, 90 per cent of buyers will one day turn into sellers.
- Start to create exposure for yourself, then maintain it. This can be done through calls, text, email, letterbox drops, internet, print and social media. Make sure you’re consistent with it, otherwise you won’t have any impact.
- Work hard, be sharp and always keep learning.
Here’s what you can do if you’re an established agent and are struggling or going through a rough patch
If you’re a sales agent, I’m sure you’ve been through a stage of your career where things haven’t been as good as you would have liked them to be. If not, I’m sure that stage is coming – sorry to say. When you’re struggling, the last thing to do is panic and make silly decisions.
Just think to yourself… What was I doing when times were good and I wasn’t struggling? Whatever that was, do it. In short, when times are tough, prospect hard and market smart. Here are a few things you may want to consider doing.
- Hit the phones and doors. Speak to as many property owners as you can and ask every one of them: “Are you thinking of doing anything with your place in the next three to six months?”.
- Revisit your marketing plan. If you don’t have one, MAKE ONE. How is it working for you? If you’re not getting good feedback and leads from it, something is wrong. You’ll need to change it up.
- Follow up every face-to-face appointment you’ve ever had in your career. Don’t be afraid to call people from two, five or 10-plus years ago. Remember, you’re struggling; would you rather sink or swim? You just never know where and when your next lead will come from.
- Follow up everyone that’s ever bought from you, and everyone you’ve sold for. See what they’re up to.
- If you’ve had successful stages in your career, do what you were doing back then. Even if you’ve been doing that and you’re still struggling, keep going. Perseverance is key.
- Brainstorm new ideas and systems, then implement.
- And finally, stick to the basics. Speak to as many people as possible, book as many face-to-face appointments as you can, and get into as many doors as you can. Keep building your database. Keep up your exposure to the database. And keep creating and maintaining world-class relationships with buyers and property owners.
