If you’re looking to be a successful real estate agent, the best way to achieve that is by treating your investment company like a small business. If you can do that, success should come your way eventually.
If the idea of treating yourself like a business seems complicated, it’s not as difficult as it seems. In fact, it can help you get more dependable sales leads on a regular basis.
It is essential for investors and agents in the real estate industry to keep up with the constantly changing landscape. I discuss some key small business systems below that will help develop successful real estate agents. If you want to be successful in this industry, I suggest you read on.
How To Become A Successful Real Estate Agent In 10 Steps
When you put small business systems into place (which you will learn how to do shortly), not only will your life get better, but you will also be helping to make your current and future clients’ lives better too.
Today’s real estate landscape requires agents to provide personalized experiences to customers. If you’re not keeping up with the latest trends and technologies, you’re only wasting your time and your customer’s. Use these tips to give your business the advantage it needs when you’re ready to take charge of your own destiny.
- Be Available
- Set Goals
- Have a Marketing Plan in Place
- Become an Expert in Your Market
- Build Relationships
- Ramp Up Your Social Media Efforts
- Implement Small Business Systems
- Don’t Only Focus On Selling
- Find A Mentor
- Use The Right Tools & Technology
1. Be Available
While you might be working with five clients at one time, you will not be making a profit if you cannot give each person your undivided attention. Answering the phone and collecting potential client information is easier than ever with caller ID, but you should still try to respond to calls from current customers when possible. They likely have a simple problem that has a simple solution, and you would be surprised at how valuable availability is to the average small business.
Make sure to ask every client about their preferred method of communication. Do they like texts, emails, or old-school phone calls? Whatever the answer is, be sure to interact with them on that medium. Clients will notice when you make an effort to personalize their experience and remember the “little things.”
2. Set Goals
A large percentage of the population does not set goals, and an even smaller percentage of people who do set goals write them down. If you take the time to write down your goals, you are much more likely to achieve them. You should make setting goals a part of your daily routine.
It is important for all real estate entrepreneurs who want to succeed to set goals, as goals give you a way to track and measure progress. Without knowing how you hold up to the competition, you cannot tell if your business is improving. Setting specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound goals is a sure-fire way to lock in success.
3. Have a Marketing Plan in Place
To be successful in automated marketing, you must hit all your bases, personalize every customer experience, and use a mix of new and old marketing strategies. You also need to define your target audiences. Once you find a successful strategy, you can duplicate it across multiple mediums.
4. Become an Expert in Your Market
With the internet providing much needed information about potential homes, homebuyers are not as inclined to use agents and investors. Real estate agents need to present themselves as experts in the market in order to draw in customers that are looking for guidance.
Kris Lippi, who runs the website ISoldMyHouse.com, says it’s best to stick to your local area when you’re starting out as a real estate broker. He says that reputation is key in the real estate business, and it’s easier to build up a good reputation in an area where people know you.
It is advantageous to be current with the most recent news in your industry and to focus on your specific geographical market.
5. Build Relationships
If you want to be a successful real estate agent, you need to be prepared for a always having a busy schedule. However, even though you will be busy, you still need to make sure that you are building customer relationships. This means that you need to go above and beyond for every transaction. This may mean working late nights and long hours, but it is something that you need to do if you want to be successful. Remember, nobody said that it would be easy to be successful. It doesn’t matter if you are selling a home for a low price or a high price, you should always have the same attitude with every client.
Ms. Castrorao argues that building relationships is the most important indicator of success for a real estate agent. According to her, the goal is to have repeat clients and grow that client’s network.
A good way to create and keep customer relationships is by paying attention to every client’s individual needs. Agents who spend too much time worrying about making money cannot understand what their client wants. Remember that a real estate agent is less like a salesman and more like a guide—someone who helps people through one of the most exciting (and usually overwhelming) experiences of their lives.
6. Ramp Up Your Social Media Efforts
A big aspect of staying up to date on current trends and technologies is being present on social media. Even if you don’t consider yourself technologically savvy, here are four platforms you should join:
- Facebook is the most popular social media platform with over two billion users. It’s a great platform for advertising, whether you want to show off a newly listed property on your newsfeed or broadcast your services through a paid ad campaign.
- LinkedIn is a great way to connect with professionals in your field and learn about new opportunities. The newsfeed is also a great place to find new friends and get answers to your questions.
- If you’re looking to reach a younger audience, particularly first-time homebuyers, Instagram is a great platform. You can show off your creativity with visually appealing posts of interior and exterior shots from your open houses.
- By using Twitter, you can keep your clients and potential clients up to date on your life in real-time. You can answer relevant questions asked by your followers or describe your journey in just 140 characters.
7. Implement Small Business Systems:
In order to be successful, small businesses need to be structured, following strict processes with well-defined strategies. They also need to have action plans based on clear goals, and most importantly, they should focus on customer needs. It’s okay to try new things, but be sure to test them out so you can keep the ones that work and get rid of the ones that don’t.
8. Don’t Only Focus On Selling
The most important thing for a real estate agent to remember is that, while selling the house is their ultimate goal, it shouldn’t be the only thing they focus on during their interactions with potential buyers. It’s just as important to build a connection with buyers and make them feel comfortable, so that they trust you. If buyers believe you’re looking out for their best interests, they’re more likely to buy the house.
9. Find A Mentor
Look for an experienced professional in the real estate industry who can show you the ropes of selling a house. This way, you’ll become familiar with the paperwork involved in real estate transactions, and feel more confident and capable of handling a deal on your own. Some brokers offer training programs that can give new real estate agents the chance to gain experience.
10. Use The Right Tools & Technology
It’s important to use the right technology for your marketing campaign if you’re a new agent. Having a strong presence on social media platforms will help you reach a larger audience. You should also create a website that potential buyers can visit to see the work you do and the services you can provide. This can help you stand out from other agents who may have more experience than you.
Additional Tips For Success
You can give yourself an edge in your market by taking more steps to stand out. Here are a few extra tips that will help you along the way:
- If you want your business to be successful, you need to create and maintain a budget. This budget should include all of your work-related expenses, commissions, and any other income or costs associated with your work. Keeping track of all this information will help you stay on top of your finances and make improvements where necessary. You can find a helpful business budget template by downloading it from the internet.
- As a real estate agent, it’s important that you get comfortable with self-promotion and seeking out new opportunities for publicity. A great way to get started with this is by signing up for Help A Reporter Out (HARO), which will allow you to provide insight to journalists working on real estate-related content. You can also build relationships with reporters in your area so that you’re top of mind when future opportunities come up. Both of these practices will help you get your name out there and potentially expand your network of clients.
- team up with another agent in your area – splitting commissions – can help you gain more experience and increase your overall business. Think about the skills and connections you could bring to the table and partner with an agent you could learn from.
- You should develop a system to identify whether a lead is a serious buyer or not, in order toScreen Your Clients. If you waste your time chasing leads that ultimately wind up leading nowhere, you’ve lost valuable time.
Summary
There are many advantages to becoming a real estate agent, but it takes time and effort to be successful at it. Having concrete goals will help you achieve success and track your progress. By following the steps outlined above, you will be well on your way to becoming a successful real estate agent.
