Blog Posts

Mar
19
4 Ways To Survive Your First Year In Real Estate
By Nithya_CML

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I have good news and bad news for you.



The good news is that real estate can be a very rewarding and lucrative business.


The bad news is that you’re probably going to fail in your first year.


That’s not my opinion, unfortunately. It’s a statistical fact, and it is a very depressing one.


According to NAR, more than 80% of you simply won’t hack it in your first year.


Now, I could go into all of the reasons why people fail but it would take a decade to list them all. I don’t want to just drone on endlessly about why real estate agents bite the dust in their first year. I want to do this opposite.


Wouldn’t it be great if you could go into your first year as an agent armed with elite strategies for success?


Imagine if you could miss all the potholes on the road to riches that trip up most agents.


That’s exactly what I want to do for you today. I’m about to deliver 4 ways you can arm yourself for the long road ahead.


But before we dive into the goodies, I need to ask you for a huge favor! Please subscribe and share so you can continue to get tons of free actionable advice that will help you survive, thrive, and dominate in real estate. Your subscriptions and shares are what put food on my table and it means the world to me each time you do it! A million thanks for your support.


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Be Cautious About Spending


One of the first and most painful lessons that new real estate agents get shoved down their throats is this business is fucking expensive.


Like…..REALLY expensive.


There is not a single real estate agent from the last 10 years that did not feel the sticker shock in some way during their first year. Between MLS fees, Association dues, broker fees, websites, etc. your startup bill is going to be hefty.


Worse yet is that bill will probably continue to grow if you make it the first few years.






Many agents are completely unprepared for this because there is not enough adequate education out there about the costs to become an agent.



Even those agents that enter the business with a well-padded bank account usually find themselves hemorrhaging money the first year.


The second you get your license you are bombarded with a billion different marketing products and services all promising to be “THE IT” thing that you need for your business. 99.99999999% of it is pure bullshit!


Anything that promises to be easy, simple, or instantaneous is going to hurt your brand, your business, and your bottom line.


I want to caution you to be very, very, very, VERY careful about spending your money in the first year. There are a lot of people that will tell you that you “need” certain things that will never produce a penny of ROI for you.


Invest In Timely Education


As a new agent, education is extremely important.


That test that you took to get your license is great for testing your ability to remember stats and laws.


It’s not so great at teaching you how to build a social media presence that attracts Millenial buyers.


How to be Successful in Real Estate in 2018 by RealEstateRevolution Podcast



It doesn’t mention anything about holding a crumbling deal together. It sure as shit doesn’t explain what to do when every contract you had pending completely falls through, the same week. Trust me that happens more than you could possibly imagine!


Therefore, you need to dive head-first into as much education as you can get.


BUT don’t waste your lead-generation time sitting in 100 hours of classes and seminars and all that bullshit! Instead, you need to “invest” in education strategically.


The best way to learn a lot fast? Audio!


Podcasts like The Real Estate Revolution and audiobooks are the smartest way to get smart about anything because they allow you to multitask. You can listen and learn in the shower, while driving, while cooking, and pretty much while you do anything.


Here’s 3 amazing books that I highly recommend you download to expedite your success:




  • Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook




  • The One Thing




  • The Lean Startup




Identify Your Ideal Clients


This is huge. By huge I mean massive. By massive I mean if you don’t take another word of my advice, PLLLEEEEEEEAAAASSSSEEE take this piece!


The first thing you need to do as a real estate agent is identify who your ideal clients are. This is crucial to your happiness, health, and your ability to kill it in real estate!


Honestly, if you want to rise from rookie to rockstar you need to start with identifying who your target client is going to be. They need to be people you enjoy working with, as well as, a profitable niche.


I’m not talking about buyers or sellers here.


I need you to get VERY specific. For example, move-up buyers, earning $3 million+, with young children. But honestly, if you were one of my clients, I would make you get even more specific than that.


Why?


Here’s two (of the many) reasons:


Because I want the majority of your clients to be people you actually enjoy spending your time working with. Especially, since you probably just left your shitty job to stop working with/for people that suck.


Real Estate Niche Marketing | Profitable Real Estate Niches | Sarah Layton






But also because it is FAR more lucrative to target people as specifically as possible.



Spray and pray marketing is very attractive but it is a very expensive and fast route to failure.


Instead, you need to identify your target and then make sure that everything you do in terms of branding and marketing speaks directly to those people.


Find A Strategic Coach Or Mentor


There are a lot of people out there with opinions on whether or not you should have a coach.


Here’s my two cents on the subject.


If you don’t have insanely high levels of accountability, self-motivation, determination, confidence, competitiveness, and self-control, then you should get a coach or mentor.


If you would feel better to have someone holding your hand through the million and one questions the industry will throw your way day-in-and-day-out this first year, you should have a coach or mentor.


If are scared that you might not have everything it takes to become one of the 13% of people that actually do survive (NOT PROFIT) this first year, then hire yourself a real estate coach or find a mentor.


Just be careful who you choose.


I won’t go into all of the details about how to choose one now, but you can read about that in my article 4 Must-Have Qualities In A Real Estate Coach.


However, if you’re 1,00,00,000% positive that you got this real estate thang, then don’t bother for now. Just continue to invest in audio education.


Want A Personalized Success Strategy From Me?


I offer content marketing services if you would like to jumpstart your career and invest in a long-term future in real estate. You can sign-up for a free consultation here.


But at the very least, I would love to have you subscribe and continue to consume my content as I will strive everyday to deliver you the most value I can. That’s a promise!


Schedule a free strategy call with me here and check out my Realtor Resource shop to arm yourself with everything you need in your exciting new career!