Top Mistakes Made by New Real Estate Agents

So, how do you avoid the top mistakes made by new real estate agents? Well, we got that covered for you, so don’t worry. Becoming a successful real estate agent requires a great deal of planning and strategy. A lot of the success comes from putting the right plans in place at the right time, which creates a balancing act of training, prospecting, and marketing. Whether you’re in the process of obtaining your real estate license or you’ve recently obtained your license, the following tips will help you get off the ground.

Continue reading about the biggest mistakes real estate agents make, so that you can be sure to put yourself in a position to succeed.

5 common mistakes made by new real estate agents

Starting out on a new venture is always a daunting task. It’s common to run into some issues you probably didn’t even think about when planning out your road to success. These are some of the biggest mistakes new real estate agents make that you should try to avoid when starting your business.

1. Not Having a Business Plan

As we mentioned previously, a successful real estate agent must be ready to plan effectively. When becoming a real estate agent, you’re essentially starting your own business. Having a plan in place to grow that business is essential if you want to succeed. Without the proper plan in place, you will likely waste your precious time and valuable money.

Avoid this by really taking the time to plan out your short-term and long-term goals as a real estate agent. You’ll want to make sure you have stipulations for the money you’re spending and avoid throwing money at the wrong problems.

2. Not being financially prepared as a new realtor

Going with the theme of real estate being a business, you have to make sure that you are financially prepared to take on this responsibility. Not being financially prepared is one of the most common real estate agent rookie mistakes. There are a lot of expenses that you may not think of when first beginning your business. Before even starting out, you’ll need the money to cover your licensing and exam fees. Also, you’ll want to save for purchasing business cards that you can hand out to clients.

When first starting out as a real estate agent, you should be prepared for the fact that you may not have any commission coming in for the first few months. It takes time to make a sale and to build a client base.  In fact most Agents make no income in the first six months of business. Having money put aside for the ramp up, licensing costs, and start up marketing is critical.

3. Expecting immediate results

Starting out as a real estate agent is intriguing and exciting. It can be easy to get caught up in the possibilities that real estate can bring for your career. It’s important to realize that the successes you’re looking forward to will take time to achieve.

No one starts out as a real estate agent and immediately experiences an influx of clients and potential sales. It takes time and effort to prove to potential clients that you are the right agent for them. Be patient, disciplined, consistent,  and put in the work, to see the fruits of your labor.

4. Not going the extra mile

When becoming a new real estate agent, you need to understand that putting in the extra effort is going to put you ahead of the game. You can’t expect to get ahead in this business by doing only what’s necessary and only what everyone else does. Show your clients that you are willing to go the extra mile to make the buying or selling of their home a less stressful process. Be ready to answer phone calls from your clients with the many questions they are bound to have. Remember that you are there to guide them through the sale or purchase of the home.

Also, make sure to go the extra mile when determining the list price of a home, and getting it ready for market. Some new agents will simply go off of comps in the area when determining the sale price. It’s important to take every step seriously. This means not skipping out on the pre-listing inspection, staging, landscaping and professional photography.

5.  Using the wrong avenues for marketing

When you’re first starting out in real estate, chances are you probably don’t have a ton of extra money to spend on your marketing strategy. This is why it’s important to focus your marketing campaign in the right places, to drive realtor leads. It probably seems like a good idea to spend the money on marketing through channels like newspapers or magazines. However, this type of media doesn’t always show great results in terms of marketing.

Instead of spending the extra money to print advertisements in those sources, focus more on networking at events, or sharing your business on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, etc. Using the right real estate agent tools, you will not only save you money but give you more reach in terms of your advertising, and help cultivate that lead generation that you need to really market yourself for real estate clients.

How are new real estate agents successful?

If you can be sure to keep these common mistakes in mind when starting out as a real estate agent, you will already be ahead of the game. Too many people go into real estate thinking it will be an easy process, one that will yield immediate results. This is almost never the case.

What really makes a great real estate agent is careful planning and execution. To become successful, you need to put in the effort to plan financially, put into place effective real estate marketing ideas, and provide the best services possible for your clients. By keeping these points in mind, you will be on your way to growing your business, providing high quality services, and enjoying the life of a real estate agent.