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Becoming a real estate agent is a career path that can prove to be very lucrative, but like with any other job, it takes perseverance and skill to succeed in the industry. Real estate agents however differ with other more conventional professions in that the money they make is often dependent on commissions from the sales they make, which means that the profession entails some risk as well.
Success as a real estate agent doesn’t come automatically. While experience is indeed invaluable, there are also some quick tips you can implement that will definitely put you ahead.
Create a Professional Image
Your image as a real estate agent is one thing that you can never neglect. Having a professional image will lend you more credibility and trust, and will thus lead to more referrals and more opportunities to make a profit.
Aside from creating a professional image through advertisements that are clean yet aesthetically pleasing, your image is also reliant on your actions as a real estate agent. This includes dressing professionally for meetings, maintaining eye contact, and observing punctuality, as well as being articulate and respectful with how you communicate with clients.
Make a Business Plan
It’s virtually impossible to succeed as a real estate agent if you’re a person who prefers to just go with the flow career-wise. It’s essential to set goals, both short-term and long-term, in order to have things that you know you have to work for.
A business plan will serve as your blueprint and will guide you through every step that you make as a real estate agent, and should help you adjust to any unpredictability that the job brings.
Manage Your Contacts
The career you lead as a real estate agent is directly tied to the contacts that you have. The more high-value contacts that you have, the easier it will be for you to find buyers and sellers of property. To truly become successful, it’s essential to get your name out there to help you attract more clients. Networking is a fundamental skill to have as a real estate agent, but it doesn’t end there.
You should also be efficient with your contacts and classify them according to what you can give them and what they can give you. By managing your contacts well, you’d know who to call for particular situations and this will help you do your job more quickly and effectively. Every person you interact with throughout your career may be of great value in the future, and it just takes one contact for your career and life to be changed forever.
Be Proactive
A real estate agent that’s hard to reach and doesn’t give regular updates is frowned upon, and may even lead you to less clients in the future. Remember that real estate agents help clients make and process life-changing decisions, and you should always give your clients a sense of security.
Always give regular updates to your clients even if they’re not asking for it. You should also be following up regularly on anything that concerns your client in order to get transactions done as quickly as possible. Not only will this help you create a more reliable image, but this will also allow you to move on to the next client and take on more work and thus expand your horizons.
Utilize the Internet
The internet is now an essential tool for any successful endeavor. Creating a network can become a long process, especially for real estate agents who are new to the industry, but a great way to make yourself known is through advertising.
In this time, the best and easiest way to advertise is through the internet. Create social media accounts and a website for your services so that clients can find you. Also include relevant information about you such as your experience, accolades, and education so that clients can have a glimpse of what you can offer them. This can also greatly help you shape your image.
Take Care of Your Finances
The money you earn as a real estate agent is rarely consistent. It takes not just skill, but also luck in order to earn huge profits consistently. It’s inevitable to have times when the sales just aren’t coming constantly, and this is one of the main drawbacks of a career in real estate.
However, this may also be viewed as the price to pay for an otherwise possibly lucrative career. With proper management of your finances, you can easily get by through down times without having to turn to other ways to make money.
Network with Other Agents
There are times when you have clients that aren’t necessarily part of your market, and this happens with other agents as well. Other real estate agents aren’t always your competition, and they should likewise be a part of your network. Connect with other real estate agents by referring them to clients that are more in line with their field of specialty, and you can expect that they return the favor in the future.
Curtis Brown is writing a blog for perfect agent, a blog dedicated to a real estate agent in the process of selling or renting a property. Also, offer the best service in the real estate industry by connecting customers with top performing real estate agents. He has written articles on most real estate, real estate agent, and home related topics.