Welcome to Real Estate: 3 Steps To Start Your Career

Congrats on your new career! Here are three tips to help you succeed.

Congratulations—you’ve joined the real estate industry, and whether you realize it or not, you’re now a business owner. Welcome to entrepreneurship! Now, your success is all on you. Having been in this business for over 21 years now, I’ve learned a lot. It took me a long time to get into the swing of things, so today I’d like to share some of the insights I’ve gained throughout my career that will help you do well in this business from the very start.

First, in order to build up your business, you need to form a business plan. I highly recommend that you read “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent” by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan. The methods for forming a winning business plan as spelled out in this book are tried and true. Our own business here in Tulsa has achieved “millionaire real estate” status, and it’s all because we followed the models and systems described in the text. The book will also teach you what kind of mindset makes for a millionaire real estate agent, as well as the myths that pervade the market and how you can overcome them.

The next step in figuring out your business (at least for me) is to set up your database. To even have a real estate business, you need to have people to help, so create a list of all the people you know (and some you don’t) in a place where you can continue to nurture and follow up with them. That will help generate leads and referrals for your business. If you’re unable to pick up the phone or connect with people, you’re probably not going to be very successful in this industry.

To store, organize, and manage your database, you need a customer relationship management system (CRM). It can remind you when you need to follow up with clients or reach out to them, as well as other tasks related to your database. Now matter how smart you are, over time, you’ll start to forget things, so having a CRM is essential.

Finally, you have to create a budget to go along with your business. The reality in this business is that we’re not paid until closing day, which means you’re going to be working for free for a while during your training periods. That means you might need to reach out to someone to help pitch in for the household expenses that you may not be able to pay for now. Financial hardship is one of the reasons that so many agents leave the business.

For my part, I was so far behind with spending my personal money that by the time I got my first commission check, I had to pay off my own debts. Don’t be like me—plan ahead so that you can pay yourself for the work you’re doing, and save the rest of the money so you can put it back into your business. Similarly, don’t forget to anticipate paying your taxes!

In the end, I want you to have become a rockstar agent with a successful career in real estate. If you have any questions or would like more tips to help make sure that you have a business plan, a working database, and a budget that will allow you to succeed, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you get your business up and running.