Reading books, or at least listening to the audio version, is crucial for real estate agents who are trying to improve their careers. In fact, the average CEO reads four to five books a month, while, according to the Huffington Post, 28 percent of Americans have not read a book in the past year.
If you search real estate books on Amazon there are nearly 70,000 results, with more being published each day. Some of which are great resources, and others are either vanity projects or written to sell you coaching services. It can be tough to separate the fluff from the meat on first glance.
To help navigate the never-ending barrage of real estate books, I’ve compiled this list of must-reads for brand new agents; many veterans could benefit from reading them as well.
The list starts with the fundamentals and then branches out into various titles that will give you a well-rounded understanding of what it takes to succeed in the highly competitive real estate sales business.
Most of these books are also available on Audible, so if you don’t have time to sit down and read, you can listen in the car, at the gym, or my personal favorite, while lying on the beach sipping a margarita.
Dirk Zeller
Your First Year in Real Estate: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional by Dirk Zeller
This book will teach you the fundamentals of real estate and build a solid foundation for a sustainable successful business.
Jim Jaeckels
The Real Estate Agent Redefined by Jim Jaeckels
Guide to goal setting, business planning and managing day-to-day real estate functions.
Gary Keller, Dave Jenks and Jay Papasan
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It’s Not About the Money…It’s About Being the Best You Can Be! by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks and Jay Papasan
This is perhaps the benchmark that all other real estate books are measured against; after 13 years the principals still hold true though some of the numbers may need to be tweaked for current conditions. While you’re at it, pick up The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results and Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times.
Seth Price and Barry Feldman
The Road to Recognition: The A-to-Z Guide to Personal Branding for Accelerating Your Professional Success in The Age of Digital Media by Seth Price and Barry Feldman
The Road to Recognition is filled with actionable and real advice to get you thinking and taking action to create memorable, intentional branding and marketing. This book easy to read and a valuable reference guide for you to go back to again and again.
Leigh Brown
Outrageous Authenticity: You Are Your Best Sales Weapon by Leigh Brown
What I appreciate about Leigh Brown the most, is that she just tells it how it is. Avoid becoming a cheesy sleaze ball, and learn to present yourself in a professional manner online. Outrageous Authenticity is a straight-forward, easy and entertaining read. I definitely recommend the Audible version, which Brown narrated herself.
Seth Godin
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
Seth Godin is a master marketer, this book will show you how to set yourself apart from your competition by focusing on what makes you unique.
Larry Kendall
Ninja Selling: Subtle Skills. Big Results. by Larry Kendall
Real estate is a relationship business; the ninja selling system focuses on developing those relationships and asking the right questions to find solutions for your clients.
Gary Vaynerchuk
#AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur’s Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness by Gary Vaynerchuk (also read The Thank You Economy)
Gary Vaynerchuk has grown his audience substantially from his days at Wine Library by testing and measuring all types of social media marketing. He is all about creating content you’re passionate about and providing valuable content to those you serve. Be sure to check out his keynote speech from last year’s Inman Connect San Francisco conference.
Dan Norris
Content Machine: Use Content Marketing to Build a 7-figure Business With Zero Advertising by Dan Norris
This book is for agents who want to establish themselves as a local authority or become the “mayor” of their town as Gary Vaynerchuk would say. Norris breaks down how to write valuable content that will attract potential clients to your website.
Katie Lance
#GetSocialSmart: How to Hone Your Social Media Strategy by Katie Lance
Katie Lance is the queen of social media. Read this book, and develop an effective social media strategy to share the great content you’ve created.
Darren Hardy
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
I don’t recall when I first read The Compound Effect, but I recently listened to it again on the plane while heading home from a real estate conference. I was reminded of how all of the little decisions we make in life when added together have a drastic impact on the outcome. On one hand consistently networking has led to great opportunities; on the other all of the craft beers I’ve been drinking have resulted in quite the beer belly. (Hmmm.)
Chris Smith
The Conversion Code: Capture Internet Leads, Create Quality Appointments, Close More Sales by Chris Smith
This is the ultimate guide for generating and converting online leads. If you’re going to do any sort of online lead generation, whether it’s through your website, third-party platforms, landing pages or Facebook ads, you need to read this book. It will save you thousands.
Kevin Ward
The Book of YES: The Ultimate Real Estate Agent Conversation Guide by Kevin Ward
This book is full of great scripts that will help prepare you for any scenario you might run into.
Timothy Ferriss
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Don’t go thinking real estate is a four-hour-a-week job; it’s anything but that. However, the concepts in this book will help you understand what your most important activities are each day and how you can use systems to operate more efficiently.
Grant Cardone
The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone
Instead of trying to only work 10 percent of a normal workweek, put in 10-times the effort to get extraordinary results; to succeed in real estate you’ll need to work hard.
Ryan Holiday
Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
As you start to achieve success be mindful not to turn into an ego-maniac. This industry is full of companies and agents who claim to be No. 1. Focus on helping your clients, and continue to be a student of the industry — you can always learn more.
Brandon Doyle, Nicholas Dreher and Marshall Saunders
Mindset, Methods & Metrics: Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent by Brandon Doyle, Nicholas Dreher and Marshall Saunders
Now, I may be a little biased on this one, but Mindset, Methods & Metrics will help you outline a path to success by identifying what works for you, measuring the effectiveness of your marketing and quantifying your daily/weekly activities to achieve your goals.
Bonus reading:
Simon Sinek
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
This is one of my favorite books; I highly recommend it. I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek. On my way into the office today, I was listening to Leaders Eat Last, which I also recommend.
Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell is another one of my favorite authors. If you like Outliers, you should also read The Tipping Point.
Brandon Doyle is a Realtor at Doyle Real Estate Team — Re/Max Results in Minneapolis and co-author of Mindset, Methods & Metrics – Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent. You can follow him on Twitter.
