9 Tips for Becoming a Successful Real Estate Agent

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1. Partner with other agents

Maybe a buyer or seller isn’t some your cup of tea. Or on the other hand, their price point isn’t in your ballpark. 

Rather than dismissing these potential customers, you should co-list or co-represent them with competitors, as indicated by a board of top-creating specialists at Inman Connect. 

2. Use a publicist 

For as little as $500 every month, you can tap a publicists long-standing associations with writers to help position you as the neighborhood “noted source” for all things real estate. 

3. Pitch stories to journalists 

Reporters are continually hunting for story angles. As opposed to only propose that they use you as a source, hand them scoops on a silver platter. 

Are large garages or guest houses trending? Tell them.

“They’re starving for stories,” said Andrew Greenwell, CEO of Pleasanton, California-based Venture Sotheby’s International Realty. 

4. Tap vendors and investors for leads

Dzhibrailova drained business from vendors and investors she met as a property manager to establish a foundation for her real estate business. Accountants and lawyers tend to be particularly potent sources of business, Kramer said. 

5. Host loads of open houses 

“Open houses are the best thing when you don’t have business,” Kramer said. You don’t need to spend any cash to have them, and they generate leads, which can enable you to acclimate yourself within the neighborhood and its residents. 

6. Don’t turn down any deals

When you’re getting your legs, never turn a buyer or vender away. A few exchanges may not convert into fat commissions. In any case, they may send more business your way or purchase pricier homes later on. 

7. Maintain connections with past customers and referral sources 

Kramer says buying lunch (typically $50 per meeting) four times a week for contacts delivers about a 10 percent return on investment, much higher than the 2 percent return on investment he sees from blanketing neighborhoods with postcards.

Dzhibrailova sends market refreshes, just-listed cards,  just-sold cards, and birthday and occasion cards to past customers. 

Sending previous customers listing and open house notifications can also pay dividends, Kramer said. 

8. Hire a real estate coach

Coaches aren’t for everyone, but Christophe Choo, an agent at Coldwell Banker Previews International, said coughing up $1,000 a month on coaching from The Mike Ferry Organization has delivered a tenfold return on investment.

“I need that little lift to get me going the following week,” Choo said. 

9. Establish an online presence

Paying developers to build a website that ranks high in search results is a more cost-effective and sustainable online marketing strategy than buying search engine advertisements, panelists said. 

Kramer, who said he has three in-house representatives continually working on his site’s SEO (site design improvement), said as of late he won a $30 million posting through his online presence. 

“That is your lifeblood ahead,” Kramer said of SEO. 

Dzhibrailova said Yelp, where she ranks as one of the top five agents in her market, has had a tremendous impact on her business.