Tips & Advice for The New Realtor

Ahh. You just passed your Real Estate exam and acquired your license. Congratulations! You’re wide-eyed and ready to hit the ground running, speaking with top local producers looking for advice about how to be a good Real Estate agent.

Every Real Estate professional and business owner knows that prospecting never stops. You must build this inescapable part of the business into your everyday routine even when revenue is steady. The last thing any new Real Estate agent wants is to worry about an unstable income.

Your all-important pipeline is built on various activities, including networking events, print ads, Facebook ads, door hangers, meticulous follow-up, a sphere of influence/referrals, cold-calls, repeat clients, and door-knocking. In the first couple of months of starting in the business, most new Real Estate agents obsess over the latest techniques, scripts, services, and seminars, listening to every guru that mentions “Brand” or “Value” in their content.

Don’t be like most, who fail to really look at what is working best in these avenues. It’s easy to fall into the trap of jumping to every shiny new object or buzzword that pops in your circles. Don’t.

Are you wondering how to be a successful REALTOR? Here are some Real Estate agent tips for beginners to keep in mind during your prospecting sessions.

Being a Realtor is exciting and can be a never ending learning opportunity.

Door Knocking: Are You Keeping Track of Your Doors?

First things first—make sure you plan and analyze your door-knocking strategy instead of winging it. Take a small notepad with you and mark a tally for every door you knock on, separating them into columns of “answered” or “not answered.” Timing is everything, so also note the time of day you go out to knock on doors. After you’ve compiled enough data, you can start refining the streets you cover during specific hours to maximize your prospecting activity. You want the use of your time to be as effective as possible.

Make notes of your conversations with the owners, so you have talking points ready for your next visit. Do not hit them with the same script from the first visit; it comes across as insincere and tacky.

Try something like this:

“Hey, Tom! I spoke to one of your neighbors, and I wanted to say hello and give you a heads up on this new burrito place on 4th street. I remember you mentioned you loved burritos.”

They will appreciate you remembering details, and it makes the interaction more personal than the usual “I know you said you wanted some time to think about your move, so I’m just checking in.” Emotional connection is key in the Real estate Industry.

Following Up:

Your chance of converting a Real Estate lead into a client relies heavily on your follow-up strategy. Ask yourself the following questions:

What does your follow-up look like?
Do you have an intentional plan for every touch for your prospects or do you just wing it?
How many touches/follow up attempts do you make before you give up on a lead?
Do you do the work?

Don’t lie to yourself or others when assessing your follow-up. These are essential questions to ask, and if you can’t hold yourself accountable, who will?

Have A Plan For Every Touch:

Keep a set sequence of touches/follow-ups after the first contact and enter the lead into your CRM. Don’t make every touch about them buying, selling, or about you. Mix up the follow-up touches between in-person visits, phone calls, emails, and text messages. Of course, you are not limited to these. One way to stand out from the competition is to give thoughtful realtor gifts to your leads and clients.

Use the notes you take during door-knocking sessions to have a couple of topics planned, but there’s no need to stick to those topics only. Allow the conversation to become whatever it becomes, and let your prospects talk more than you do. LISTEN!

If business doesn’t come up in conversation, you haven’t lost. In fact, this is a huge win. Statistically, 80% of sales require five follow-up calls after the meeting, so you have plenty of touches to discuss business.

Consumers are armed to the teeth with information these days, so don’t think you’re the gatekeeper of elusive data. The first few touches are about building the relationship, not serving them the information they can find with a quick search on their phone. Be different from other REALTORS. Don’t try to blend in with the crowd by mimicking tactics and behaviors. While you want to be different, don’t forget to make friends with other REALTORS, you never know if they’ll be referring you business one day.

Nurture Your Clients and Referrals

As a new Real Estate agent, one of your main goals is to retain clients and earn referrals so that you can bring in revenue. One of the most critical things to know about Real Estate is the importance of emotional connection. Consumers quickly get tired of the stereotypical pitches and cold calls that they hear from every other agent they’ve encountered. Instead, you want to provide a unique experience with an emotional impact.

With prospects, it’s important to remember small details about them and have conversations that aren’t all about business. Once you successfully turn a lead into a client, you can take things a step further with thoughtful gift-giving.

Giving thoughtful gifts makes you stand out to your clients because it allows you to make an impression beyond your transactions and professional interactions. Gifting Real Estate packages creates impactful emotions, causing your clients to naturally share good things about you and your brand. One small gesture can result in significant benefits for your Real Estate business.

The next time your client gets asked, “Do you know a good REALTOR?” they’ll remember how you went above and beyond for them and provided 7-Star Service. You will stand out.

Remember That “No” Is Part of the Process:

Accepting the reality of rejection is one of the most crucial pieces of advice for beginning Real Estate agent. Know that the ups and downs are part of the process and the nature of the job. You will receive what feels like a million “No’s” before you get a single “Yes.”

After every “No,” quickly dissect the conversation, preferably immediately leaving the conversation, so the details are still fresh in your mind. Use every “No” as a learning opportunity and an indicator of the pressure point. Ask yourself:

How was my speech pace?
How was my body language?
Did I hesitate in my responses?
What was their body language saying?
What was their verbiage really saying?
How did I deliver valuable information?
Was I smiling?
Was I present or was I reciting a script?
Where can I improve?

To help, we can’t stress this enough: Roleplay. Roleplay. Roleplay. This is a great way to get desensitized to rejection and perfect how you speak AND listen. You hear this advice in interrelationship communities, too: Listen to understand. Don’t listen to reply.

A solid piece of advice for new Realtors: Breathe.

Take Time to Breathe:

While this isn’t necessarily a staple in prospecting, taking a quick breather doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. In fact, prioritizing your mental and physical health is one of the most overlooked new Real Estate agent tips. We know you’re hungry for success, but you don’t want to burn out!

The job will be there tonight, tomorrow, the day after, and over the weekend. It’s ok to turn off the job and go back to being a person and enjoying a bit of untethered time. There is no need to instantly reply to every text message and email when your phone lights up. There is not a client in the world who would say, “I’ll only buy (or sell) if you respond to me in the next 5 minutes! Otherwise, no deal!”

Yes, we also know you are excited that all of your prospecting efforts paid off, but it’s best to create boundaries for yourself. Otherwise, your free time will quickly be overtaken by work. Most sales careers provide autonomy, but because you can choose when you want to work, most salespeople decide to work all the time. Now isn’t that some Grade A irony?

Take a moment to truly think about the question, “What makes a good Real Estate agent?” Will you be a good agent if you’re exhausted and burnt out? Don’t add to the noise by constantly working and perpetuating the notion that Real Estate professionals are machines that live and breathe their careers. While working hard is not a bad thing, we can maintain a healthy balance by creating boundaries.

Re-Energize During the Peace & Quiet

This work-life balance will allow us to recharge, prevent burnout, maintain enthusiasm, and keep our edge and clarity.

Don’t be surprised when you are struck with new and exciting ideas during the free time you give to yourself. It’s during these slow times that you allow the dust to settle, and you get to see just a tad clearer. This reminds us of one of our go-to REALTOR tips: “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

Work will always be there, so don’t worry about hauling buns to scale the summit when the summit is never-ending.

Mindfulness can also help you learn how to be a successful Real Estate agent. Meditation is always a great way to slow things down and puts us in a state of being present. Use apps like Calm and Headspace to help you with guided meditation and track your progress and practice.

Final Thoughts On How to Get Started As a Real Estate Agent

Welcome to the Real Estate world. You are embarking on an exciting career journey full of ups and downs. While you might feel nervous about being a new Real Estate agent, your hard work will surely pay off. We hope you take these tips to heart and turn your new business into a thriving success.

For more articles on elevating yourself, your business, and those around you, head to our articles page.