The Real Estate Rookie - Tips for Starting Your Career

By Terri Emmett

TIP #1: A career in real estate is quite unlike any other. Having a flexible schedule, being your own boss and setting your own rules are compelling reasons for becoming a real estate agent and these rewards can be tremendously motivating. Like any other job, though, there will be times when positive emotions rule the day and there will be days on end of disappointment and discouragement, particularly in the beginning. Realizing that these seemingly endless days of frustration are merely the bottom steps on the stairway to success will be first lesson you need to learn in the business. Getting past these first eager, lean and discouraging months will be your first major victory. Some very successful people in the business didn’t make a dime their entire first year.

Of course you don’t want to think it’s going to take YOU that long – because you have a business plan mapped out and you have family and friends that “know” people. Those are, of course, important elements of getting started in real estate, but until a transaction has been completed at the closing table, you will not see an income. From the time a contract is presented until closing a deal, a million little things can go wrong. Instead of becoming discouraged, utilize your time to learn all you can from every angle of the business.

TIP #2: There is no such thing as a never-fail, no work secret to becoming rich in real estate or in any other business, so please don’t fall for any financially burdening method promising to make you an overnight millionaire. There are a number of ways to receive leads, and the more lines you have cast into the water, the greater your chances of obtaining them.

Most methods of obtaining leads you hear about include:
· Cold calling
· Knocking on doors in a “farming” area
· Mailing lists
· Hosting open houses for co-workers who have listings
· Joining clubs and organizations

These methods can become time consuming, discouraging and expensive, but refuse to give up. Your goal is to ultimately be able to sit by your phone and have leads come to you, of course, but you will need new customers throughout your career and must never stop searching for them.

Regardless of how you acquire them, follow up on every lead and stay focused on your goals. Give it time and don’t give up. Visit www.reagentsclub.com for the most basic and down-to-earth marketing and advertising tips in the business.

TIP #3: There is no question that you will need to devote full time to your real estate venture. When you get leads, you must deal with them immediately and that often means dropping what you are doing and following through with whatever action the lead may necessitate without delay. This can only be accomplished if you are dedicated to your job on a full-time basis.

Even if you do have a savings account set aside to carry you through the first unprofitable months in the business, consider holding onto a flexible part-time evening job during the crucial first year. It will mean working some long hours, devoting a full time schedule to your real estate business in addition to the part time hours you will be working, but a savings account can evaporate quickly. Having a little income to help stretch your savings is better than having no income at all as you watch your nest egg deplete at an alarmingly rapid rate.

TIP #4: Don’t be intimidated or discouraged by the self-promoting ads of your competitors on the Internet. If some of those agents did everything they claim they’ve done, they would be 149 years old. What they don’t tell you is that they have a crew of hired helpers that do much of the legwork for them.

Another thing you will notice in their self-serving proclamations is that they all claim to be #1, followed by their astounding success stories. What they don’t consider is that nobody gives a rip. To a new agent, these success stories can be overwhelming and discouraging when your own phone doesn’t ring for days on end. Savor each of your own small personal victories and don’t measure yourself against those who have already spent decades in the business.

Terri Emmett has three online courses: BIBLE PROPHECY: 100 STEPS TO ETERNITY, http://www.prophecyguide.net; THE ORGANIZER'S CLUB, http://www.organizersclub.com; and THE ORGANIZED HOUSEKEEPER’S SIX-WEEK CHARM COURSE, http://www.charmcourse.com; in addition to many other informational sites focusing on Home and Family.