Six Things I'd Focus On If I were Starting Out in Real Estate Today

Whether you're a new real estate agent just starting out or an experienced professional looking to take your career to the next level, focusing on the foundational elements of success is essential. In the fast-paced world of real estate, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day hustle and lose sight of the key priorities that drive long-term growth and prosperity.

This post serves as a reminder to both new and seasoned agents alike, offering insights into six crucial areas that can make or break your real estate career. By refocusing on these core principles, you'll be better equipped to navigate the challenges of the industry, build a thriving business, and achieve your professional goals. So whether you're fresh out of real estate school or a veteran looking to refine your approach, join us as we explore the essential building blocks of success and discover how to lay the groundwork for a rewarding and prosperous career in real estate.

1. Mindset

Real estate is a challenging business with a significant failure rate. Over 50% of new agents are gone by the end of their first year, and only 13% of those who jumped into the industry are still around after 5 years. When I started in 2008, I was very conscientious about these stats. They told me that I couldn't leave anything to chance with my effort. I didn't want to look back after having paid for my license and licensing school, taken weeks of real estate classes, and done all the study and prep work for the exam, only to say, "if only I had done x, y, or z." This understanding came with the realization that the inability to generate leads is the number one reason agents fail. There's a lot to get right when starting your real estate career, but figuring out and becoming effective with your lead generation is the most important. No leads, no clients. No clients, no commissions. No commissions, no career. If I Were Starting As A Real Estate Agent Today

2. Master Your Craft

First, strive to be as strong as you can be with your real estate skills. It's what the consumer deserves and the right thing to do. You should know your contracts, rules and regulations, have a strong understanding of the local market, good negotiation and transaction management skills, and a good team of resources, like inspectors, lenders, title companies, termite and sewer scope professionals, etc. Understand your value proposition and how to communicate it - be the agent the client deserves.

Your ability to manage clients and transactions to successful outcomes is a critical skill for the client experience and for building your career. You're not going to last long if you can generate client opportunities but do a terrible job fulfilling your agent responsibilities.

Mastering your craft also touches on the "three C's of Real Estate." When you invest in your skill set, it leads to increased competency. Increased competency leads to confidence. When presenting to potential client prospects, that combination of competency and confidence resonates well and leads to increased conversions.

When I first started, I took all the training I could early on, did open houses, met with other industry professionals, and tried to pick the brains of high-performing agents in my office to see what I could learn. I pretty much tried to fully immerse myself so I would pick up all the needed skills and insights as quickly as possible.

3. Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of finding and connecting with prospects, and getting their contact info in order to follow up and follow through to win their business when the time comes for them to pull the trigger on their real estate transaction. 

The inability to generate leads is the number one reason agents fail. There's a lot to get right when starting your real estate career, but figuring out and becoming effective with your lead generation is the most important. The unfortunate reality is that no leads equals no clients, no clients means no commissions, and no commissions means no career. As such, lead generation is the lifeblood of any real estate career. 

When I was first starting my career, I spent a lot of time talking to successful agents, coaches, etc. to learn what lead generation systems they were leveraging and how to build an effective system for myself. Nowadays I would also look into Youtube videos and other online resources. Ultimately, my recipe was working my sphere contacts, along with open house/events leads, and working internet leads. That was a successful recipe and provided a lot of opportunity to get traction with my sphere network while finding “now business” from in-person and online connections. 

For you, think about two or three systems working in concert - typically your sphere of influence plus two others. Immerse yourself, see what others are doing, and look for systems that fit how you like to meet, connect, and present - there's no one-size-fits-all recipe.

Also, give it three months to pay you back. Most agents pick up viable systems but give up after a month or so because they don't think it's working. It takes longer. Think about the success equation - how many viable prospects can you get in front of, and how many of those can you turn into further relationships?

4. Systems

Now that you have a lead, your job is to follow up and follow through, offer value, deepen the relationship, and focus on earning their business and getting to client status.

Oftentimes you end up meeting people two or three weeks, a few months, or even longer before they are ready to pull the trigger on their transaction. If you don't have a system to stay organized and top of mind with your prospects, you're going to lose them and miss out on capitalizing on the effort and hard work you put in to earn their business.

Absolutely invest in using a CRM if you feel comfortable. They're tailor-made for keeping track of people, and while there may be a learning curve to figure out the system, it's well worth the investment. You can leverage automation like neighborhood reports, property alerts, automated emails, and texts to stay top of mind. It's a huge efficiency boost and makes sure those key steps get done and pay you back. Some systems even give notice when a prospect takes activities that indicate they may be getting closer to their transaction, giving you a timely heads-up to check in with them.

5. Sphere

Your sphere of influence should always be a part of the focus of your lead generation systems. Your sphere are the people that know you, like you, trust you, and would likely use you or refer you as their real estate professional of choice. Because you already have a relationship with them, they have some of the highest conversion rates. Too many agents leave money on the table with their sphere.

The recipe is simple - list everyone, but be creative. Most agents get like 15 names, whereas I encourage agents to look beyond just close friends and family to friends of friends, co-workers, past co-workers, etc.

Don't reach out right away; instead, spend some time learning your craft and gaining experience so you have value to show. Work on your presentation skills, do open houses, and get your talking points down.

You're almost reintroducing yourself to your sphere now as a real estate professional whose services they should consider, and you only have one chance to make a first impression. Don't squander sphere opportunities by connecting before you're ready. You don't want to get peppered with questions and leave them unimpressed.

So much of winning consumer business is the presentation, and whether they're doing it deliberately or just naturally, consumers are sizing you up when they first talk to you and tell you about their situation. They're asking themselves, "Does this person know their stuff? Can we trust them?" Your sphere thinks this way too.

It's the agent's job to find people that are looking to buy or sell real estate sometime in the near future. It’s not easy. Prospects can be elusive and hard to pin down. But it’s your responsibility to follow up with them, stay persistent and try to further that connection so you can make a 

6. Rinse and Repeat

Much of your effort will be fueled by persistence and consistency. Once you find the right recipe to generate good, consistent business opportunities with prospects you've got a chance with, it's about putting in the effort on a regular basis with quality.

Find what works, refine it, and stick with it. It's going to be a messy process sometimes, but if you just keep at it, things will fall into place. This effort is fueled by consistency and persistence.

In conclusion, whether you're a new agent just starting out or a seasoned professional looking to take your career to the next level, focusing on these six key areas - mindset, mastering your craft, lead generation, systems, sphere of influence, and consistent effort - will lay the foundation for a successful and rewarding real estate career. By implementing these strategies and continually refining your approach, you'll be well on your way to building a thriving business and achieving your professional goals.