If you look at popular culture and shows like Selling Sunset, you might think that becoming a successful real estate agent is easy for just about anyone interested in modern houses and chic blazers. In reality, getting a career as a real estate agent up and running isn’t for the faint of heart—it takes serious time, effort, and willingness to push through challenges. However, if you have enough dedication and passion for the industry, use the 12 strategies outlined here to help you learn how to be a successful real estate agent.
1. Create a Real Estate Business Plan
Anyone wondering how to be a top realtor should start with a business plan. This plan is a way to track goals and make the wisest decisions—like a roadmap to success for real estate agents. Your real estate business plan should include your mission, who you want to work with (your ideal client), your farm area, your marketing strategy, and an honest evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses.
For more details, check out our free guide on creating a real estate business plan.
Key Takeaways:
- Creating a solid business plan is imperative to grow your real estate business
- Your business plan is your roadmap to success, helping you track and achieve goals
- A business plan for real estate should have specific elements to help you decide how to best spend your time and resources, so it’s wise to use a business plan template.
2. Choose the Right Brokerage
One of the first tasks you’ll do when you get a real estate license is to choose a brokerage to work with. This decision can be daunting because it can greatly impact your career and the support you receive. For instance, brand new agents often value a robust training program to help their business get up and running. On the other hand, more seasoned agents may instead look for a brokerage with higher commission splits and may not necessarily need a brokerage with extensive training or mentorship options.
As you choose the best real estate company to work for, make sure you also consider what they offer in terms of marketing assistance, lead generation, real estate software, or additional income opportunities. The company you choose will impact your real estate salary and, ultimately, your success. Make it a point to interview several brokerages before choosing the one that fits you best.
Key Takeaways:
- Ask yourself what is most important to you looking for in a brokerage—is it training, the highest commission splits, leads, software, mission, or marketing expertise?
- Interview multiple brokerages to understand your options
- New agents may benefit from a brokerage that emphasizes training, while seasoned agents may value commission splits
3. Determine Your Mission, Vision & Values
Another way agents can learn how to be successful in real estate is by defining what’s most important and meaningful personally and how they can apply it to their business. Perhaps it’s giving to local charities, helping renters become homeowners, or even having an honest, professional rapport with your clients. Ask yourself questions like these:
- Why do I want a career in real estate?
- Who do I want to help?
- What’s important to me as an entrepreneur?
- What impact do I want to have on my local community?
Often, business owners turn to their real estate mission statement when making business decisions. Determining your ultimate goal in your real estate career will help you define your overall mission, vision, and values. Knowing these crucial aspects of your business will not only drive your success but also give you a sense of purpose.
Key Takeaways:
- Determining your mission, vision, and values will help you make appropriate business decisions
- Your unique mission and priorities will also help you connect with clients who have similar priorities
- Consider who you want to help, why you want to help them, what impact you want to have to define your mission
4. Work with a Real Estate Mentor
Whether you plan to jump into real estate full-time or begin a part-time real estate career, having a mentor in the beginning is extremely valuable. As a new agent, every new transaction and interaction will bring up new questions—many of which aren’t covered in your real estate training. Although your broker can be helpful, it’s important to have both a broker and an agent that you can reach out to with questions or to bounce ideas off of.
The best place to find a mentor is from your brokerage or at local networking events. Some brokerages, such as eXp, have a mentorship program where you can pick or be assigned a specific mentor to help you with your first three transactions. However, if you don’t have an official mentor relationship assigned to you, you can always ask around your brokerage for senior agents who may be willing to meet with you.
Key Takeaways:
- Having a real estate mentor is separate from being in a real estate brokerage
- The right real estate mentor can offer unique training, personal expertise, and personalized support
- You may be assigned a mentor from your brokerage, but if you aren’t, you can form your own mentorship
5. Build a Strong Network
If you ask, “How do I become a successful real estate agent?” you should consider your network. A common real estate saying is, “Your success is directly tied to who you know.” You may have also heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” In real estate, your network is the foundation of all success. Your network consists of everyone you know, including potential clients, other real estate professionals, and other business owners or professionals like mortgage brokers, home inspectors, lawyers, etc.
Potential buyers and sellers are more likely to hire someone they already know and trust than a stranger. They’re also more likely to hire someone who has been personally recommended by someone else they trust. This means that your network—also called your “sphere of influence”—is your bread and butter, where most of your leads and referrals will come from.
This is why building a strong network is crucial if you want to become a successful real estate agent. A strong network that generates consistent, valuable leads doesn’t happen by accident—you have to nurture it and actively reach out to create new relationships. Keep in touch with your network in various ways throughout the year, like email, text, phone calls, snail mail, social media, or in-person events.
Key Takeaways:
- One of the most important ways to be a successful real estate agent is through your real estate network
- Your real estate network is also called your “sphere of influence” (SOI) and includes potential clients and potential referral sources
- Building and maintaining a strong network is key to generating leads and referrals
- Nurture your SOI in a variety of ways, like email, text, phone calls, social media, snail mail, or in-person events
6. Improve Your Business Skills
Real estate agents are entrepreneurs, so it’s well-known that they wear many different hats. As an agent, you’ll schedule, plan, and run face-to-face listing appointments, choose and manage your marketing methods, write emails and social media posts, track your income and spending, and do administrative tasks. Chances are that you’re already great at some of these tasks but not others. It’s imperative to know your strengths and weaknesses and how they align with your responsibility as an agent—using our business plan template above will help with this.
Remember that your weaknesses do not prevent you from learning how to become a successful real estate agent. Instead, seek CE courses, additional brokerage training, or speak with a mentor about honing the skills you need to improve.
Key Takeaways:
- Becoming a real estate agent requires a diverse set of skills from marketing, negotiation, and finance
- It’s important to consistently improve your skills in every important area of real estate, including marketing, sales, communication, lead generation, administration, real estate law, and the housing market
The CE Shop is a great option to expand your real estate knowledge. They provide a wide array of courses for continuing education and Real Estate Business Builder professional development. Check out their classes today.
7. Specialize in a Real Estate Niche
Choosing a specific niche is one of the most effective ways to become a successful real estate agent. New agents are usually tempted to take any and all possible clients regardless of their specific needs, but this method usually takes more of the agents’ time and energy. It’s much easier to learn everything there is to know about one particular type of client, neighborhood, or type of property than it is to learn the entire market.
Some popular real estate niches include:
- Farm areas or specific neighborhoods
- Military clients
- Rentals
- Buyers or sellers
- First-time homebuyers
- Vacation rentals
- Luxury real estate
Sometimes, a niche will come naturally as you start your career, but other times, it will require intentionality to find a gap in the market. Once you find a strong niche, put yourself in the shoes of your potential clients to determine their needs and how you can help them. Make sure to brush up on common real estate terminology specific to your clients or properties.
Key Takeaways:
- Building a niche means learning everything there is to know about something specific instead of focusing on learning the entire market
- Having a specialized niche helps you build more authority within a specialized area
- Niching down also helps you stay consistent and market more strategically to a specific audience
- A few popular niches include buyers, sellers, rentals, investors, military movers, and luxury real estate
8. Focus on Your Unique Personality & Strengths
One of the most important concepts for those learning how to be successful real estate agents is that you don’t have to be like other successful realtors. Many new agents think that they have to do X, Y, and Z to succeed since that’s what they see. However, your personality is an important part of your business, so your business and marketing strategy should match.
For example, cold-calling FSBOs and door-knocking would not be enjoyable for introverts. Even if it’s an effective strategy for another agent in your area, trying a method that doesn’t suit your strengths will cause you to feel exhausted and burnt out. This is why it’s important to learn your unique real estate sales personality and choose marketing strategies that best suit you.
Take our free real estate sales personality quiz and learn which personality and marketing methods fit you best; you might be a creative, a sales pro, an introvert, a community expert, or an innovator.
Key Takeaways:
- Successful agents choose marketing strategies that best fit their personality
- Learning your strengths, weaknesses, and unique sales personality will help you generate and nurture leads more effectively.
9. Leverage the Right Tools
The motto for learning how to be a successful real estate agent is to work smarter, not harder. You could do most real estate tasks manually. Still, you can massively increase your productivity and results by choosing the right lead-generation tools and marketing software to boost your business.
Of course, in a world of AI and an unlimited number of software programs, it can be confusing to choose the best ones. Focus on tools that keep you organized and accountable, such as a quality CRM (customer relationship manager) and a robust website builder with lead gen and marketing tools.
Key Takeaways:
- The right tools can maximize productivity and efficiency
- Strategically selecting the right tools and software can make or break your success
- Consider tools like a CRM, website builder, email marketing platform, or social media manager
If you want to work smarter, check out Wise Agent (smart, wise—see what I did there?). It is an all-in-one CRM, lead generation, and marketing tool that will help you save time while making money.
10. Build Your Personal Brand
It’s obvious that relationships are crucial to your success as a realtor, but building a unique, personalized brand is just as powerful. Your personal brand should incorporate your personality, mission, values, and niche. A strong brand will set you apart from your competition and help you effectively communicate your value to your ideal audience.
Key Takeaways:
- A real estate brand combines your niche, personality, values, and mission
- Building your personal real estate brand is the best way to differentiate yourself from the competition
- If you struggle to define and build a brand, read Real Estate Branding: The Complete Guide for Agents.
11. Be Prepared for Slow Months
Even for the best realtors in the country, success in real estate varies from month to month. Out of all the pros and cons of being a real estate agent, this inconsistency is one of the biggest challenges of this career choice. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the slowest period of the real estate market is typically December to February, and the peak season is April to June.
The best way to become a successful real estate agent is by being prepared for the slow times in the market. Start by setting aside a percentage of your commissions from your busier months. Another way to make up income is by taking up a real estate side hustle like photography, teaching, or managing properties. Plus, there are other jobs you can get with a real estate license to supplement or even replace your sales income.
Key Takeaways:
- All real estate agents experience ups and downs in their real estate business
- Preparing for slower months is key to being successful in the real estate industry
- Plan ahead for low-income months by setting aside a portion of your income from each sale
- Consider taking on side hustles or other jobs in the real estate industry as you build a consistent income
12. Learn How to Bounce Back from Rejection & Failure
The cold, hard truth is that in real estate, you will get rejected—a lot. FSBO prospects will hang up on you mid-sentence, doors will be slammed in your face, people you thought you connected with will ghost you, and deals will fall through at the last minute, no matter how hard you work. This happens to all agents, and the more successful you become, the more often you will fail.
But if you’re willing to learn, the real estate industry will force you to be resilient and to learn how to bounce back from failures. Reach out to other realtors to vent, share experiences, and remind yourself you’re not alone. Find an in-person community to combat loneliness; this could be your brokerage office or a public workspace. Prioritize self-care to remove stressors, like meditation, exercise, and good quality sleep. These items will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle as a real estate professional.
Key Takeaways:
- One of the most important parts of learning how to become a successful real estate agent is learning to become resilient
- Rejection and failure as a real estate agent are inevitable, no matter how hard you work
- Embrace the lessons that come from your failures, and bounce back by connecting with other realtors who have had similar experiences
- Don’t forget to practice self-care as a way to stay resilient!
FAQs
Is it hard to become successful in real estate?
Yes, being a successful real estate agent doesn’t happen by accident. However, it’s possible for anyone who is willing to put in the time and effort to improve their skills, bounce back from rejection, and learn what works for their business. Consistently using the strategies above will help you build a sustainable career in real estate.
What are the chances of becoming a successful real estate agent?
One study found that 75% of realtors fail within the first year in the industry, and 87% within the first 5 years. That’s quite an attrition rate! From a statistical point of view, your chances of becoming a successful real estate are extremely low. However—those are statistics. Your true chances of becoming successful depend on you. If you want to drastically increase your chances, focus on some of the top tips we’ve laid out; start with a business plan, build a strong network, and stay resilient in the face of failure.
How do you survive your first year in real estate?
The first year in real estate is often extremely challenging, so getting through it will come down to your preparation and your growth. You need to have a few months of expenses saved up for the beginning of your career so that you can focus on growth. The first year should be focused on growing your network, leads, clientele, marketing tools, and real estate knowledge. Set yourself up for success by being financially prepared and dedicated to growing through the challenges and slow months.
Bringing It All Together
Learning how to become a successful real estate agent may seem simple, but it requires a ton of dedication and strategy. You’ll give yourself the best chances of success by following the steps in this guide, including a comprehensive business plan, intentionally building a network, leveraging technology and tools, and preparing for the inevitable ebbs and flows of the market.
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