Secrets of Successful Real Estate Agents

Many real estate agents fail in the first two years.

They assume that once they get their license, their phone will just start ringing with prospective clients on the other end. New agents are also likely to underestimate expenses and overestimate their actual income.

This type of thinking is consistent with a lack of conscientiousness, a must-have trait for any successful real estate agent. Professional growth in the real estate industry relies on your ability to be constantly mindful and never get complacent.

Here are the some of the secrets of today’s top-producing real estate agents.

1. Have a Business Plan

Success depends on many things, but having a plan is a good start. Top-producing agents don’t reach their goals by accident. The success you see is the most likely the result of trial and error combined with hard work. Without a plan, there's no telling where you'll end up. Even if you're not exactly sure where you want to be, a flexible plan is better than no plan at all.

2. Set Goals

Measuring success requires setting goals, working towards them, and tracking progress. A common trait among successful real estate agents is that they're always setting goals - daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Setting a series of attainable short-term goals helps you slowly but continually grow your business and reach long-term goals over time.

3. Determine Your Budget

Just as with any business it's critical to set a budget. Calculate your living expenses, figure out your business budget, and revise as necessary. It's a good idea to save up enough to last you at least six months when you decide to start selling real estate, or you might choose to keep your day job for a while.

4. Set Realistic Expectations

Unlike a conventional job where you make the same wage or salary week in and week out, being a real estate agent takes time and hard work to pay off. Don't expect to start making a profit in your first week of being a real estate agent - it doesn't work that way. The area you live in is a huge factor of how successful you can be. For example, California has more million dollar agents per capita than any other state.

5. Prioritize Client Relationships

An important aspect of determining your ability to attract new clients is how well you communicate with them and appeal to them. Becoming a homeowner is the kind of life-changing decision that can inspire lots of nerves and anxiety, so it's important to empathize with your clients. This builds respect and trust in the relationship, and is likely to translate to referrals for years down the road.

Fun Fact: On average, referral business accounts for 89% of all real estate transactions.

6. Work Well with Others

Don't treat your colleagues like competition. It pays to be helpful when dealing with another agent. Believe it or not, some agents avoid showing property because of the listing agent. You want to be the agent that others look forward to working with. If you're professional, fun to work with, and fair, you will always have agents who will want to work with you. Communication and professionalism are essential.

7. Keep a Positive Mindset 

The first step towards success is believing that you can achieve it. Top-producing real estate agents don't waste their time worrying about failure. Everyone has bad days but instead of letting them bring you down, learn from your mistakes and figure out what you should do differently next time.

8. Stay Motivated

In order to be successful in real estate you need to commit to it. It’s estimated that 87% of new real estate agents fail in their first 5 years. This is usually due to a lack of understanding of what's involved and the amount of dedication required.

It takes a special type of person to succeed in any business. As a real estate agent you need to be prepared to deal with the struggle of a fluctuating market and difficult clients.

While some people are naturally driven to accomplish their goals, others need a bit of help to stay focused and motivated.

9. Don't Burn Yourself Out

Successful real estate agents working today understand that they must preserve their resources (and their energy) to continue growing their business.
These agents and brokers make an effort to schedule time away from work for themselves. Anyone trying to make it to the other side of their dreams can understand how easy it is to fall into working 70+ hours per week, but it’s important to remember balance is key to achievement.

10. Nurture Your Database

We'll save you some time (and money) learning this lesson: the best leads aren't the ones you can buy online. Instead, leads that come from word of mouth marketing - usually the clients who you’ve already developed meaningful relationships with. That's why it's important to nurture these relationships. They will generate repeat and referral business.

To attract more leads on the internet, the most successful agents constantly spend time adding valuable content to their site and continually measure the results of their efforts. Successful real estate professionals know how much value an engaging, informative site provides their business.

If you want to specifically target your leads, you need to organize them into a contact list. This can be accomplished without using expensive customer relationship management software. Instead, you can use free alternatives like Google Sheets or even keep your database in a free Mailchimp account.

11. Get a Mentor

Getting started in the real estate business can be overwhelming and challenging. Working with a real estate mentor to help new agents cultivate their skills to become successful. Everyone is faced with difficult decisions, and having advisors who you can trust to always give you the best advice will benefit your career. Having a mentor will help you learn the industry and build the right skills that can improve your chances of success.