Your first year in real estate can be quite challenging as you try to learn how to sell real estate and become established. Moreover, as a beginner real estate agent, you will be expected to perform a variety of roles. This can be overwhelming. Nonetheless, with the right strategies and hard work, succeeding in real estate is possible. If you are wondering how to sell real estate as a beginner real estate agent, this blog is for you.
Here are 10 tips that can help you start strong in your real estate career:
Pro Tips for How to Sell Real Estate
1. Increase Your Knowledge
Even after getting a real estate license, you need to continue learning about the business. There is a lot to learn about the real estate industry and your knowledge should be growing with time. Moreover, it’s crucial to be up to date on what real estate agents are doing, real estate laws, best practices, and trends. The real estate industry is quite dynamic and so you need to keep learning to stay relevant and to be able to sell property. You should invest in training, books, and courses to enhance your skills as a real estate agent.
Related: 12 Best Books for Real Estate Agents
2. Have a Business Plan and Stick to It
Developing a business plan is one of the most basic and most important tips on how to sell real estate. As a beginner real estate agent, you should never let your enthusiasm to get your first client keep you from putting together a solid business plan to map out your goals and the strategies to achieve them. A solid plan will help you focus on important tasks and keep you organized. Make sure you never deviate from your plan. If it’s not working, first establish whether you are implementing it properly. If you change it, then stick to the new one.
3. Have a Budget
Regardless of the industry, all successful businesses have budgets. Having a budget is even more important when you are just getting started since you will probably have limited funds. To make good use of every dollar you have, you should get a grip on your business and personal expenses. You’ll need to pay for your licensing classes and exams, create business cards, etc. You will also need to have a financial cushion since it is unlikely that you are going to make a substantial amount of money selling real estate in your first few months. Not having to worry about money that first year will help you focus on selling.
4. Choose Your Brokerage Carefully
Not all brokerages are the same. As a new real estate agent who is still learning how to sell real estate, you should find a brokerage with active, continuous training. You should also consider the size of the brokerage, their reputation, their goals, their location from your home, the technology they use, their average number of listings, the quality of their listings, their marketing budget, whether they are affiliated with the National Association of Realtors (NAR), etc. When you are first starting out, you shouldn’t focus much on the split. Try to see how you can tap into their resources and learn how to sell real estate.
5. Treat It as a Full-Time Job
One advantage of being a real estate agent is the freedom and flexibility. Unlike a normal 9-to-5 job, you won’t be chained to the office. However, you should treat it as a full-time office job, especially during your first year. At this point in your real estate career, you are still learning how to sell real estate. Therefore, I would recommend that to keep going to the office regularly and get the most out of it. As a new real estate agent, the community in the brokerage office could contribute a lot to your success. You will learn a lot from other experienced agents in the office and understand the mechanics of the industry much quicker.
6. Improve Your Social Media Presence
Making money as a real estate agent boils down to how good you are at real estate lead generation. However, in your first year as an agent, paid marketing may be difficult due to limited funds. Moreover, since you haven’t been in the business for long, you can’t rely on referrals and past business. Social media real estate marketing is one of the free marketing strategies you should consider. With a strong social media presence, it will be easier for potential clients to find you online. Create social media accounts on multiple platforms and use them to promote your business. Make sure you post great photos regularly and engage your potential clients. This will keep you in the game as you build your real estate marketing efforts.
Related: 22 Real Estate Social Media Marketing Ideas for Agents
7. Build Your Own Website
As a new agent, having a website is also a great strategy for generating real estate leads. Ideally, your website should include your credentials, contact information, and listings of the properties you have available. To have a professional-looking website, consider hiring an expert. It doesn’t have to be too expensive. In this day and age, anyone can build a website without spending a lot of money. And whatever you do spend will be worth it once you start selling real estate and seeing results!
8. Build Your Sphere of Influence
Succeeding in real estate is greatly dependent on your network. If you have many people in your sphere of influence, you will be able to generate more business and more referrals. Hand out business cards not only to the people you know but also to the new people you meet. You can get new contacts from your family, friends, and associates through word of mouth. You can also build your network by joining local realtor associations and attending real estate forums.
Note that sustaining relationships is as important as establishing them. Even if they don’t help you generate real estate leads right now, they may in the future. Therefore, keep in touch and maintain a good relationship with your customers, prospects, and other real estate professionals.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Real Estate Networking for Agents
9. Find a Mentor
Becoming a real estate agent is not going to be a walk in the park in your first year. Having an experienced broker or agent on your side to guide you can be very helpful. You will be able to learn how to sell real estate by asking questions and through observation. It would be good if your first transaction is overseen by a successful real estate agent. Eventually, you will become confident enough to guide your clients through a real estate transaction with ease. You can find a mentor from your brokerage. Keep in mind that not every established agent will be willing to mentor you. However, by being persistent, you can sway the odds in your favor.
10. Use the Latest Technology
The process of selling real estate is quite complex, especially if you are a new real estate agent. To maximize your efforts and stay ahead of the game, you should stay current with new developments and technology. There are several useful real estate tools that new real estate agents can use to improve their efficiency and grow their business. One such tool is Mashboard. This tool will help you in qualifying real estate leads and finding a wide variety of investment properties for your clients.
Related: 4 Real Estate Systems Agents Need to Have in Place
The Bottom Line
The first year for most real estate agents is often the most challenging. Nevertheless, anyone can learn how to sell real estate and be successful. If you want to turn into a respected, seasoned real estate agent, you will need to put in the work and get into the right habits. The above tips will ensure that you start off on the right foot.
Need more tips to boost your real estate career? Be sure to read our blog.