• Real estate is not a job. It's a business, and starting a business is expensive.
  • New agents should spend time taking in any training and information on pricing a home that is offered by their office or local board.
  • Take odd behavior with a grain of salt.

New real estate agents leave school armed with basic knowledge about real estate rules and laws. Then they go off into the wild, wonderful world of real estate with the expectation that they will find their agency and hit the ground running.

Most agents will find, however, that it’s not that simple. Here are four of the most common questions asked by new agents, along with some sensible advice:

Where do I find customers?

Real estate school is not structured to teach new agents how to generate leads and find customers. Tom Ferry — real estate coach and trainer — quoted the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in stating that 87 percent of agents fail during their first five years in real estate. One reason is that agents leave real estate school without much or any knowledge of how to generate leads.

Also, agents don’t spend time exploring their unique value proposition (UVP). It’s not always necessary to do what everyone else is doing. New agents should spend time exploring what type of real estate agent they want to be and what will make them successful.

How do I do a CMA?

Agents are not usually taught in real estate school how to complete a comparative market analysis (CMA) and interpret a market analysis. A property market analysis is a learned skill that one masters with practice and time. With that said, it’s not a science, and even the best agents will overshoot their pricing from time to time.

The key to succeeding long term in the real estate business is planning, hard work and consistency.

Are you new to the real estate business? Share your story in the comments section below.

If you’ve been around the block as an agent and are fondly remembering your start in the business, we want to hear all about your first sale. Please email us to inquire at contributors@inman.com, and your story might end up on Inman.

Kellie Tinnin is a Real Estate Agent in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Follow Kellie on Twitter @KellieTinnin.

Email Kellie Tinnin.

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