In these times, double down — on your skills, on your knowledge, on you. Join us Aug. 8-10 at Inman Connect Las Vegas to lean into the shift and learn from the best. Get your ticket now for the best price.
When you’ve been through it all — good times and bad times and even super-scary times — you want to share your knowledge with others. After all, you weathered the storm, held your own, and learned a thing or two (or three) along the way. Why not put that hard-won knowledge to work for the younger agents in your professional network, on your team, or at your brokerage?
So right now, while the market swings to and fro, we asked you to share the No. 1 thing you’d tell new agents right now. Should they be cutting costs? Expanding their marketing? Learning about real estate investment? Should they change their niche or switch brokerages? Should they just hunker down and ride it out? Wow, you really came through. Here’s your best advice:
- Look at the big picture. Does the past repeat itself in a niche market? No, it does not.
- Maximize the opportunity with every client during every transaction so they will feel compelled to refer you to their family, friends and colleagues and call you the minute they are thinking about purchasing their next home. Be extremely thorough and detail-oriented and do things that are unexpected. I hear my clients say all the time, “I didn’t know that agents did that.” Go above and beyond in everything you do. If you consistently do that, you will have a long and successful career built on referrals. You will never need to spend a dime to obtain clients.
- Invest in yourself. Now is the time to learn marketing that you’ve never had to do. Learn social media and the importance of it. Learn to be a better, more experienced agent.
- Spend all your free time socializing with your existing family, friends, their friends and making new friends. You can do this in person, through social media commenting and direct messaging, and by hanging out with people in person. Eighty percent of our business comes from people we know or someone they referred to us, so the more people you know personally, the more business you will have. Post tons of pictures and short videos of homes for sale that your sphere might be interested in every few days, including pre-owned and new. Make yourself look busy and successful, but not bragging or too busy to help new clients. Socialize and post on social media. Make sure everyone knows you’re an agent and the clients will start rolling in.
- Real estate is not for the faint of heaart. It is not a part-time job. We have to be willing to work when our clients and customers don’t. And ultimately remember it’s not how much we make, it’s how much we net. It takes money to make money.
- Take your time to build your sphere strong and resilient to any change in the market. Your foundational network will sustain your during down times. “Stay in your lane;” don’t worry about what other agents are doing or selling. Focus on your practice, your customers and your effective marketing. Rentals turn into buyers and sellers; don’t turn down opportunities. The more customers you meet and serve, the more opportunities will come your way.
- New agents? No matter the market, it is the same when I train agents: No matter if you have another job, part-time, full-time, it doesn’t matter as much if you don’t treat this job (in real estate) as a full-time job. Fake TV shows about the industry are just that, fake. Learn the craft the right way, and work it like a full-time job or else it is just going to be a very expensive hobby.
- Get back to the basics of real estate
- Remember: There is no spoon! Create the market in your mind and project that market to your prospects and clients.
- No. 1, I hope you saved a lot of money before you started this gig and No. 2, you’ll do well if you work hard every day. Every single day.
Now it’s your turn! Give us your best advice in the comments below.