Too many would-be real estate agents obsess over the licensing test, then fail in their first two years because they didn’t develop a plan and follow it for success in becoming a real estate agent. They passed the test, but failed to understand the business, to develop a budget and a business plan, or to learn the ropes that aren’t taught or covered in the test.
These are not just tips, but tools to help you to go into the business with a plan in place to be successful. Learning about the pace of the business, the costs of doing business, and getting to the right prospects is critical.
1. Basic Checklist for Becoming a Real Estate Agent
This article prepares you for the others to follow. Here you’ll learn the major points to consider in becoming a real estate agent and starting your business in the right way. Keeping these tips in mind will help you to use the others that follow to set up a plan that you can follow, but even more important, believe in. A realistic start and plan will give you the confidence to go out and make it happen.
2. Reasons for Failure After Becoming a Real Estate Agent
Knowing why others have failed, and a large percentage do, will be an important factor in keeping your new real estate business plan on track. Most successful people in any business will tell you that they are successful not only because they studied ways to be successful, but that they also studied the failure of others in order to avoid the same mistakes.
3. It’s a Business – Know Your Expenses Before Becoming a Real Estate Agent
How much are your personal expenses? You need to know, as they go on while you’re trying to kick off your new real estate career. Becoming a real estate agent doesn’t stop the rent, food, clothing and other expenses. Here’s some help in making sure you have a handle on those expenses and a plan to make sure that they’re paid while still allowing you to devote time and budget to your new business. There’s even a spreadsheet at the link that you can download to estimate your personal and business expenses.
4. Planning Income With a “Sales Funnel” Approach
Becoming a real estate agent requires that you know your present and future expenses, both personal and business. However, that’s just half the puzzle. What about your income? Sure, it’s sales, and who knows how well you’ll do at first, or how many deals you can get done in your first couple of years? You can develop an income budget just like an expense budget, and you’ll get a spreadsheet and a step by step process to come up with a realistic estimate of what you can expect for income the first year or so.
5. Develop a Marketing Budget When Becoming a Real Estate Agent
Now that you’ve gone through the steps for estimating expenses and income, you can develop a budget for your marketing efforts. You probably thought about this in the income funnel approach, as the number of leads you’ll get from direct mail will be based on the number of mailers. So, you know how many you want to mail, and can determine that expense budget item as well as others in this article.
6. Choosing a Broker When Becoming a Real Estate Agent
Choosing your first broker to carry your license could be the difference in success and failure when becoming a real estate agent. Making the right choice requires an understanding of your needs, both income and training related. While one broker may seem to be offering more leads with floor time, are you going to get the training you need to do a good job with those leads? Learn in this article how to work toward a decision, including considering both anticipated income and expenses.
7. Income Splits & How The Money Is Divided – Broker Choice
While “splits” can weigh heavily in your first broker selection, they shouldn’t be the only criteria. Learn here how the money is divided up between all of the parties involved, including franchises. In estimating your income in the spreadsheet provided, you can change the numbers for split percentages to compare results and the impact on your income. Keep in mind that the initial split can get better once you show your broker that you’re going to be a deal generator. So, don’t make your broker decision based only on splits.
8. Fast Track Your Prospect List When Becoming a Real Estate Agent
In this article you’ll learn proven ways to get a jump on building your “sphere of influence” or prospect database. Many are the old “tried and true” ways others have used to get started. They’re here because they work. Take this step in your business plan seriously, and you will see income sooner, and may be able to go into your income funnel spreadsheet and make positive adjustments.
9. Basic Checklist for Using Technology and the Internet
You just learned about some “tried and true” methods for getting a fast start on building prospects for your new real estate business. But, the new reality of marketing in this business is the Internet and technology. Starting early in planning and building an effective Internet presence will make a huge difference in the long run. Becoming a real estate agent who is highly successful will require the Web.
10. Choosing a Marketing Niche for Your Real Estate Business
While it isn’t something you need to do right away, and you may never do it, consider studying your market area in order to specialize in a niche market in the future. Learn in this article some of the most successful niches chosen by others. Congratulations on your decision, and good luck and success in becoming a real estate agent.
Source: realestate.about.com
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