6 Essential Tips for Building a Successful Real Estate Agent Career
Becoming a successful real estate agent takes more than choosing a real estate school, passing your license exam and setting up a business. The way you approach your daily activities makes a huge difference to the path your career will take. Here are five ways to help you achieve the professional results you are looking for.
1) Invest in Client Satisfaction
It may be your sales commissions that put food on the table, but they’re only the final result of a much longer process. If you want stable earnings, your clients’ satisfaction should be your top priority every time.
The effort it takes to create and keep happy clients may not pay off immediately, but it’ll bring long-term results though greater loyalty and a constantly growing reputation.
2) Build a Strong Online Presence
It is estimated that 90 percent of homebuyers begin their house hunting by searching real estate online. Close to a quarter of these homebuyers find properties for sale of interest and contact the real estate agent the same day. If you want success, you need to be found by these buyers, and that means building a strong online presence.
Develop an attractive website that shows you’re a professional to be trusted. Make sure your full portfolio is online, and that the details are kept up to date. Spread the word of your website through online and offline advertising. Also, ask a search engine optimization expert to check over your site to see if its visibility can be boosted.
Perhaps most importantly, invest in great content for your website to elevate it above the crowd of real estate listings websites. Writing a blog filled with helpful, expert information marks you out as an agent who’s a cut above your competition. It’ll also help bring in new business by building better search engine results and rankings.
3) Get Active on Social Media
But there’s more to online promotion than a shiny website. Make sure you are consistently active on social media. Spend time building a professional account centered around real estate and related topics like home improvement. There are many real estate coaches that specialize in your online presence. We have found that Chis Talks is a good blog to follow on the topic.
Don’t focus on social media marketing as a way of generating direct sales. Use it to build a reputation as a dynamic, knowledgeable real estate expert whom clients can turn to with confidence.
4) Drop Everything for Leads
When you receive a new inquiry from a seller, drop everything else and respond immediately. Most new clients will contact several real estate agents before deciding who to hire. If you make contact straight away, you’re already at a strong advantage over your rivals. Every little helps when you’re trying to land the most lucrative contracts.
5) Be Proactive and Organized
No matter how hard you work at attracting clients, you’ll have times when there’s no active work that needs your attention. Make sure you have a plan for being productive during these slower periods.
Maybe spend the time updating and improving your website. Or look for new networking opportunities to increase your contacts list within the industry. Remember, you should always be doing something proactive to build your business for the future.
6) Be Resilient
Lastly, when it comes to clients and sales, you’ll lose just as many as you win. That’s just part of the real estate game, and you need to:
- Develop resilience in the face of professional difficulties
- Don’t get hung up on your setbacks, but use them as learning opportunities
- Certainly never let a failure dent your confidence – if a client senses you’re uncertain about your abilities, they’ll quickly move on.
Life as a real estate agent isn’t easy. But if you put in the hours and take the right approach, the rewards can be immense.