New real estate agents have an amazing opportunity to purposefully build a business from the ground up with unlimited income potential. Even though the median wage for a real estate agent is $49,000, an agent who’s focused on deliberately building a community and business, and who positions themselves as an area expert, will quickly see their income increase in proportion to their efforts.
Community Builder
An agent that’s situated at the center of the community will be the first resource for many of their clients, and they’ll be able to build a strong network to tap into for leads. When an agent provides consistent and valuable information, they become a fixture in the community.
Becoming a community builder can look like this:
- Send out a newsletter of local restaurants and events that clients might be interested in.
- Make notes of important client dates and send birthday or anniversary cards.
- Host community events and sponsor a day at the local pumpkin patch or waterpark.
- Get involved with charity projects such as blood drives, back-to-school events, or galas for area charities.
- Keep clients up-to-date with a quarterly newsletter about real estate trends that affect them.
Savvy Business Owner
Even though certain elements of being a business owner may come naturally to you, there will be other aspects of the role that aren’t intuitive. A savvy business owner will figure out their weaknesses so they can improve on them.
Master of Organization
Missing a deadline could cost you an entire deal, so knowing when forms need to be signed is a critical part of the negotiation process. Not everyone is naturally organized, so if you need a little organizational help, here are some quick steps you can take:
- Invest in a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, and use it to keep in touch with past, present, and future clients. Some CRMs can automate your communication which reduces the amount of time you spend on client outreach.
- Purchase a shredder for your office. Rather than setting aside papers to be disposed of later, immediately shred old or unimportant documents and stop clutter from accumulating.
- A large whiteboard outlining all of your current deals can help you keep track of where each client is located in the home buying or selling journey.
- Whether you prefer digital or paper format, a calendar is an absolute necessity to ensure that you never miss showings, client meetings, or appointments.
Marketing
The lifeblood of your business is leads, and leads begin with marketing. With over 99% of Millennial home buyers starting the home buying process online, internet marketing is going to play a big part in your lead generation, now and in the future. If you don’t feel comfortable creating and running your ad campaigns, hire a digital marketing agency and outsource your weakness.
Pro-tip: Continue to keep an eye on other marketing methods. When one marketing channel becomes oversaturated with real estate ads, trying a different channel like radio, TV, or billboards could yield surprising results.
Laws and Regulations
Don’t find yourself on the wrong side of the law. Stay on top of changing real estate regulations and protect both your business and clients.
Figure Out Your Finances
Self-employment taxes can be confusing. There will be some cost as you create your real estate brand, but how much of that is tax-deductible? Whether you teach yourself how to keep track of your finances or you hire an accountant to help you stay on top of your operating costs, investing some time to understand how finances work in self-employment allows you to keep more of your income.
Early Industry Adapter
Staying on top of industry trends helps you stand out from your peers. Adapting to new marketing channels or keeping an eye on new loan products make you the go-to real estate expert for your clients.
Build Your Expertise
What sets apart a local real estate expert from a casual real estate agent?
Local Expertise
“The problem with real estate is that it’s local. You have to understand the local market.”
Robert Kiyosaki
AgentStory lets home buyers and sellers find real estate agents who are local experts. So how do you become a local area expert?
Buyers and sellers will have different priorities, but these are some of the topics that you should familiarize yourself with so that you can speak knowledgeably about the local area:
- Typical homes for the area
- What the neighborhood HOAs are like
- Price of homes
- Average days on market (DOM)
- Test scores at the schools
- Property tax issues or policies
- City or county policies that impact homeowners
- City, county, or state infrastructure issues
- Future developments that will change the cityscape
Furthermore, you should consider subscribing to the local paper, joining community Facebook groups, attending chamber of commerce meetings, and talking to other real estate professionals so that you’re on the inside track for local news.
Home Expertise
Giving advice about a topic you’re passionate about is so much easier than advising others on a topic that you only have surface knowledge about. A person who lights up talking about the best hiking trail is your go-to person for advice when you’re thinking about hitting the trails. It’s similar in real estate.
An agent who gets excited talking about the best neighborhoods, must-have house features, and new listings will attract clients who are thrilled to work with them. When they can give suggestions about area-specific features like swamp coolers, oil furnaces, or xeriscaping, then clients will trust them to give solid advice about the quality of the homes they’re looking at.
The Bottom Line
How are you solving your client’s problems? Knowledgeable and organized agents have more tools at their disposal to solve real problems for their clients. An agent with a strong network can instantly plug a client into a community and provide immediate, tangible results that only strengthen their client-agent relationship.
