10 Tips To Help You Become More Successful As A Real Estate Agent

Market knowledge is one of the best indicators of a real estate agent’s level of experience and skill. As a result, how you go about increasing your awareness of the market will depend on whether you’re starting your career, established in the industry or already a veteran broker.

New agents must spend a significant amount of time learning about home value by researching comps and current market conditions. However, veteran brokers should spend more time learning to anticipate how home value will be impacted by changes in the industry, economy and local area.

If you’re just starting your career, establishing baseline knowledge can be an intimidating endeavor, which is why it’s best to begin with the needs your potential clients are most likely to have. “You’re going to want to know what comparable properties are going for in a standard three-bedroom, two-bath home, as that’s going to be the main search criteria for a majority of your buyers,” says Megan Blum, licensed real estate agent at Flux Real Estate in Seattle, Washington.

For more established agents, enhancing your knowledge may mean expanding the boundaries of what you consider to be your “local” market and becoming well-versed in the sales data for the ZIP codes in your greater area. “Have an idea of what the difference in data is for each ZIP code or neighborhood,” Blum advises. “Knowing the average sales price, average days on market, average amount of new listings per week will help you be able to educate and communicate with your buyer or seller on what to expect.”

But enhancing your knowledge of the market should go beyond inventory and sales data for seasoned brokers. “Be aware of hot spots and topics for each specific community,” says Stacye Pratt, REALTOR^® and owner of LSP Real Estate, LLC in Denver, Colorado.

To stay apprised of the market, successful agents go beyond the MLS. If you want your expertise to stand out in the business, you should read industry news on both the national and local markets and keep up to date on any projects or trends that may affect property value.

Unfortunately, there are many negative stereotypes about real estate agents. Agents are often painted as pushy individuals who abscond with 3 – 6% of the purchase price after merely putting up a “for sale” sign in the front yard. Although we know this typecasting is inaccurate when it comes to the majority of hardworking agents, it’s crucial to be aware of these stereotypes, so you know what you’re up against.

Your work to combat these assumptions should begin with the first conversation you have with potential clients, especially if you use cold calling as a means to generate leads. “When I’m working to gain a client’s business, I will put the ball in their court while still maintaining control,” says Blum. “I will make a comment like ‘I don’t want to be that agent that calls you all the time, so just let me know when the time is right to schedule this meeting, and we’ll go from there. Otherwise, I’ll try to reach out in a couple of weeks if I haven’t heard from you.’”

Blum also ensures that she explains to potential clients that she’s not in the business to score a quick commission but instead is interested in educating buyers and sellers in all areas of the process. “Setting up the expectation that you know how most agents are, that you’re not desperate for their business and that you will reach out after a realistic amount of time will give the client the idea that they have control – which in a way they do, but so do you as the agent,” she adds.

After all, being successful in the industry requires that agents build their clients’ trust. By acknowledging that you’re aware of the common concerns buyers and sellers have about working with a real estate agent and demonstrating how you’re different from the stereotypes, you can build that trust much faster.

Two heads are better than one may be a cliché, but there’s definitely truth to it when it comes to the real estate industry. Although the thought of having to split a commission may cause some to groan, teaming up with other real estate agents can ultimately help you increase your income and grow your business.

“It will help you to get an overall feel of what the market’s doing throughout your entire region instead of just in the pocket that you buy and sell,” says Blum. “They also might specialize or have gone through situations that you haven’t come across and will be able to give insight into what to expect if it happens to you and vice versa.”

Partnering with other real estate agents certainly allows you to benefit from their market knowledge, experience and clientele. By working on a team, you can learn new skills, pool resources and represent even more clients at once. You may have to share commissions to do so, but think about how many more will come your way because of it.

For new agents, working on a team provides a great entry into the industry and access to more clients. However, working with a mentor offers the opportunity for hands-on learning.

“Having a mentor is invaluable,” says Pratt. “A mentor can broaden your knowledge outside of book smart to practical applications of various scenarios that cannot always be taught with a textbook.”

Blum believes that a major benefit of finding a mentor is the ability to learn about the systems and processes they have in place. Although some inexperienced agents choose to read off scripts, those who work with mentors gain the knowledge they need to have genuine interactions and build relationships with clients.

“Mentors will also have clients under contract (most likely), so a new agent can attend inspections and be walked through the entire process, shadowing them rather than getting under contract themselves and having no idea what to expect,” says Blum. “It was huge for me to attend a lot of inspections in the beginning to get an idea of what to look at in homes that could be red flags, big perks, etc.”

In the real estate industry, reputation is of the utmost importance, especially since so much business is generated through word of mouth. Your reputation is essential, but so is the reputation of your brokerage firm.

The best firms already have an established brand that your clients will recognize, even if they haven’t heard of you. So, leveraging it will also enable you to use your agency’s credentials and prestige to your advantage.

“Similar to working with a mentor, a firm will have a great system set in place,” says Blum. “They will have marketing that has already been in place for years that people will recognize, and there will be a high caliber of quality (hopefully) tied to the name.”

Furthermore, by making the most of your firm’s resources, you can learn niche aspects of the business that will enable you to improve your knowledge and skills.

“Firms will also usually have vendors that they are connected with, and you can learn more about home buying and selling through other services that might be needed, such as septic inspections, sewer scopes, lending, etc.,” she says. “At the end of the day, firms provide education, and that’s the most important tool you could hope for.”

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