Ask the Real Estate Expert About New Real Estate Agents

What advice you do have for newly licensed real estate agents who want to be successful?

For the New Agents

I’m going to take a leap here and answer this as if the question were asked by a new agent. However, if you are a broker/manager with new agents, my answer should work for you as well.  Two things immediately leap to my mind: training and education.

Training can be done by a company, and some companies offer wonderful training. Training is not at all levels in the real estate industry; it runs the gamut from “Here’s your desk, here’s your phone, good luck, you’re on your own!” to companies which require that new agents complete an in-house training program before being allowed to take floor or opportunity time.  My advice on training, whether your company does a lot or does a little, is this: “Get a mentor!” A good company may help you with this, even offering the seasoned agent a percentage of your commissions while you are training.

It is money well spent on your part (if it comes out of your share) or the company’s (if it comes out of their share) because it will make all the difference between success and failure. The mentor should be a top producer, experienced, knowledgeable and above all, ethical. Learn it right the first time. You want to attach yourself at the hip to your mentor. Be a sponge, and absorb everything. Ask questions constantly. Take notes. Be willing to do some grunt work, like man open houses and the like.  A mentor can keep you from becoming one of the at least 50% of the folks who get into our business and leave during their first year.

Second, on my list is education.  Currently, 58% of the licensed agents in the United States have less than five years in the business.  On top of that, many of them either pursue no additional education — there are actually some states with no CE requirement  or the bare minimum.  Get an education, and get it as fast as you can. National Assn., of REALTORS® studies over the years, have proven time and again that agents with REALTOR® designations earn more money than their counterparts. 

Finally, this is just the beginning -- you may discover you have a niche in the senior market, so you end up taking SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist). Or maybe you sell resorts and the second home. So, you end up taking the RSPS course (Resorts and Second Properties Specialist).  And of course, go to every educational program your local association offers. Read trade magazines, and go into realtor.org, edit your profile as to what interests you, and ask to be put on their weekly mailing list. Education and training are a journey, not a destination never stop learning.