What’s your motivation?
There’s a lot of emotional ups and downs in real estate. It’s important to maintain a steady, solution-focused, positive attitude for clients who are navigating anticipation, difficult decisions, and potential disappointments.
Consider your motivation for pursuing a career in real estate–and ensure that this motivation will ground you on the more challenging days.
At the end of each day, you want to know you served your clients best interests to the best of your ability, and you provided value at each stage of the process.
Interview different brokerages and real estate teams before making a decision.
It might be tempting to commit to the first brokerage you connect with, but you’ll never regret taking the time to respectfully explore your options. You will also want to consider the benefits of joining a real estate team and whether it’s the right choice for you.
Personally, I was confident in my decision not to join a team; however, there are many advantages to joining a team, including mentorship, lead generation, and marketing under an established brand name.
Build a business plan based on your strengths.
Lead generation was the biggest wake up call for me after I got my license. I was confident in my ability to provide exceptional client service, but I didn’t fully anticipate how challenging it would be to connect with clients–especially as a brand new Realtor.
There are a lot of licensed Realtors and it takes time to get your name out there and attract new clients.
Methods for connecting with clients:
- Sphere of influence (people who know you)
- Contacting expired listings
- Online lead generation
- Door knocking
- Cold calls
- Open houses
Build a business plan that utilizes your strengths and a marketing plan that emphasizes your unique characteristics.
Be open to trying new things, but do not undervalue the importance of being consistent.
Budget yourself time to get your business off the ground.
There are many factors that will influence the time it takes for a new Realtor to complete their first deal.
It’s not unrealistic for a new Realtor to work three to four months before securing their first deal, and, depending on the closing period, they may not get paid for that deal for another three months.
This is an important reality for any new business to consider. As much as possible, budget yourself time to get your business off the ground and have a plan for handling periods of inconsistent income.
Do the work to be an expert in your community and a valuable resource.
You are now in an industry where you are dealing with peoples’ largest investment–that is a big deal.
There are many steps that you can take to ensure you’re upholding this responsibility and serving your client well:
- Study market date
- Stay up-to-date with news on policy and development affecting real estate
- Review municipality documents on zoning
- Understand the Official Community Plans (OCPs) in the communities you serve
- Attend open houses and view new listings on your own
- Shadow other agents
Ask questions: Other agents are here to help.
Despite what you may see on television series, there is a high degree of good nature and shared leadership amongst Realtors.
Our collective goal is to best serve the public and uphold a high standard of service in our market–that means mentoring new agents and leading by example.
I’m relatively new to the real estate industry myself, I’ve been licensed for over two years now, and I am deeply grateful for the mentorship I have received in this career.
If you ever have any questions, I’m always happy to have a conversation. You can call or text me at 250-634-2141, or email me at [email protected].
I hope this was helpful and, as always, I appreciate you taking the time to read and/or listen to the content I share.
Go crush it!
Thank you for being here,
Alex Hughes* and Ricki-Lee Jewell, Victoria, BC Real Estate Agents
*Personal Real Estate Corporation
