❯❯ Whenever I introduce a new term, I italicize it and follow it up with a brief definition.
As I compressed a career’s worth of real estate experience and coaching advice into these pages, I had to make the following assumptions about you, the reader:
❯❯ You’re already a licensed real estate agent. If you haven’t yet taken the real estate license exam, consider the book Real Estate License Exams For Dummies, 3rd Edition, by John A. Yoegel (Wiley, 2017).
❯❯ You’re looking to rev up your real estate business, whether you’re just starting out or have been in the business for a while. You may be deciding which real estate company to join. Or you’ve already launched your career with a good company and are now looking for advice on how to climb the success curve faster and higher. Or maybe you’re interested in refining specific skills, such as prospecting, selling, running your business more efficiently, or building customer loyalty.
This wouldn’t be a For Dummies book without the handy symbols that sit in the outer margin to alert you to valuable information and advice. Watch for these icons:
In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Go to www.dummies.com and search for “success as a real estate agent” to find these goodies. To view this book’s Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
The beauty of this book is that you can start wherever makes the most sense for you.
If you’re a newcomer to the field of real estate sales, I suggest that you start with Part 1, in which I consolidate all the start-up information that you’re likely to be looking for.
If you’ve been in the trenches for a while and simply aren’t having as much success as you’d like, start with Chapter 3 or 4 and go from there.
If you’re pressed for time, facing a crucial issue, or grappling with a particular problem or question, turn to the table of contents or index to look up exactly the advice you’re seeking.
Wherever you start, get out a pad of yellow sticky notes, a highlighter pen, or your note-taking app and get ready to make this book – and all the information it contains – your own key to success. I send you off with my very best wishes!
Part 1
Showing Up for Your Own Success Story
IN THIS PART …
Get an overview of the skills you need to swing the odds for success your way. Find out the basic fundamentals that place agents on the right path to reach their target.
Navigate the process of evaluating, choosing, and joining a real estate company.
Discover how to act and work like a top-producing agent to make your goals a reality.
Research and understand the marketplace in which you’re working.
Chapter 1
Skills and Strategies of a Successful Agent
IN THIS CHAPTER
❯❯ Defining financial success
❯❯ Understanding the role and importance of a professional real estate agent
❯❯ Knowing the importance of lead-generation and sales skills
❯❯ Building your success as a listing agent
❯❯ Choosing the right path to real estate success
Each agent defines success slightly differently. Some agents set their goals in dollars, some are attracted to the opportunity to be their own bosses and build their own businesses, and some want the personal control and freedom that a real estate career allows. Achieving success, however, requires the same basic fundamentals regardless of what motivates your move into real estate. Agents who build successful businesses share four common attributes:
❯❯ They’re consistent. They perform success-producing activities day in and day out. Instead of working in spurts – making 50 prospecting calls in two days and then walking away from the phone for two weeks – they proceed methodically and steadily, day after day, to achieve their goals. And, instead of slamming their Facebook friends with a barrage of posts over a two-week span, they consistently post, engage, respond, and add value multiple times a week. They balance the personal postings that create a window into their personal life with business postings periodically to deliver interesting and relevant value.
❯❯ They believe in the law of accumulation. The law of accumulation is the principle that says with constant effort everything in life, whether positive or negative, compounds itself over time. No agent becomes an overnight success, but with consistency, success-oriented activities accumulate momentum and power and lead to success every time. I read an article on Warren Buffett recently. It said 90 percent of his wealth was accumulated after he was 50 years old! That’s compounding!
❯❯ They’re lifelong learners. The most successful agents never quit improving. Their passion for improvement is acute, and they commit the time, resources, and energy it takes to constantly enhance their skills and performance. You’re reading this book because you have a desire to be better, but that quest can’t stop with this book. It must continue with additional reading, watching, listening, and attending events to improve your skills, strategies, and systems.
❯❯ They’re self-disciplined. They have the ability to motivate themselves to do the activities that must be done. Successful agents show up daily and put in a full day of work on highly productive actions such as prospecting, lead generation, and lead follow-up. They make themselves do things they don’t want to do so they can have things in life that they truly want. Personal discipline is a fundamental building block for success. One of the greatest things about being a real estate agent is being an independent contractor. You’re the master of your domain. You’re the only one who can “require” you to show up to work. That also has a downside if you can’t force or discipline yourself to do the harder success-producing actions.
You’re already on the road to real estate success, demonstrated by the fact that you picked up this book to discover what it takes to become a great agent. This first chapter sets you on your way to success by providing an overview of the key skills that successful real estate agents pursue and possess.
As an original dummy in real estate sales, I’m the perfect author for this book. On my very first listing presentation, I went to the wrong house. Can you imagine arriving at the wrong address for your first presentation? The worst part is that the man who answered the door let me in. To this day, I’m not sure why he let me in and let me begin my listing presentation. I was nearly halfway through my presentation before