How to Become a Successful Real Estate Agent
The real estate industry offers an exciting and potentially lucrative career path for those who are motivated, personable, and driven. But becoming a successful real estate agent requires more than just getting your license.
Whether you're considering a career change or starting fresh, here are some tips on how to navigate the path to becoming a successful real estate agent.
Determine Your Licensing Requirements
Each state has its own licensing requirements to become a real estate agent. The steps are generally the same, but the exact requirements and the order in which you need to complete things will vary.
As a result, you’ll need to find out your state’s real estate commission website to get a picture of the pre-license process. We also have state-specific guides to help you get the picture, including California, Florida, New York, and Texas.
Get The Proper Education
Once you are aware of your licensing needs, the first step is usually to enroll in pre-licensing courses either online or at a university.
While acquiring a degree can be beneficial – and even expected if you want to go into commercial real estate – many prospective real estate agents find that online courses allow them to meet the requirements more efficiently on their own schedule for less money.
Just make sure that you choose to register with a reputable online provider like us. Additionally, double-check that the school is approved by your state’s real estate commission – otherwise, your hard work may go to waste.
Once you have your license, you’ll need to stay informed about industry trends, economic changes, and certain legal issues that can affect your clients and the investments they make with your help. This includes tax laws, zoning rule changes, and developmental changes among others.
Learn Negotiation Skills
Real estate professionals rely on communication skills, persuasive abilities, and negotiation tactics to attract new clients and close successful deals. As an aspiring agent, you’ll want to study up on the art of negotiation, as well as specific tactics for getting the right price for your clients.
Get A Mentor
Mentors or advisors can tell you that as an agent, you need to do more than just sell. Seasoned agents and brokers have years’ worth of hard-won knowledge that can benefit you if you’re willing to listen.
This is why it can be important to look for brokerages with mentorship programs when you’re choosing where to hang your license.
Explore Relevant Technologies
There are two kinds of technologies that you need to keep an eye on as a real estate agent: those that will make your life easier and those that help you close the best possible deal.
Learning how to leverage social media marketing and a good client management system can be huge in helping you build your practice. These days, you can automate so much of the work of attracting and nurturing leads.
Then, there are the technologies that can help you draw attention to your listings, present them in the best possible light, and get the best possible price for your clients. Since the pandemic, virtual walkthroughs are practically expected by savvy home buyers, and you can save a lot of money for your clients by opting for digital staging instead of renting furniture. Drone photography can be a huge asset for some properties.
And who knows what will come along tomorrow? You’ll want to stay on the cutting edge.
Understand Your Market
The real estate market is a multifaceted and complicated beast.
As a new agent, you’ll have your hands full learning the pros and cons of different neighborhoods and the market value of houses in your area. You need to be able to tell your clients when a property is overpriced, where taxes will be highest, and other information that will matter.
As you get further into your career, you’ll want to get a handle on the larger real estate market. Investor clients can be quite lucrative, but they want someone who can predict where the market is going. This means understanding inventory, knowing how interest rates affect demand, and even what’s going on with the labor market in your area.
Make the Most of Your Continuing Education Requirements
As a real estate agent, you’ll have a lot to learn and stay updated on. Luckily, every state builds professional development into its license renewal process by requiring a certain number of continuing education (CE) credits.
As with pre-license courses, there are a number of ways to meet these requirements, but many people find online real estate CE to be the most efficient way to fit these credits into their schedule. We offer state-approved courses that cover updated regulations, negotiation tactics, and more, including courses that will help you brush up on fundamental concepts.
