In the coming weeks, I will be shopping around for a brokerage to work with. Everyone says I would be a great Real Estate Agent, so I took the leap. I’ve done so many jobs that I can truly talk to anyone (including being an ESL Teacher in Europe, performing artist, logistics representative, and a bartender in the US). I’m a hustler, but I need bigger goals. I am struggling with finding the most efficient formula in order to become successful (selling at the least 5 houses in my rookie year). Within doing research, I’ve learned about SOI, marketing, and networking. Understanding that it’ll be a rollercoaster in the beginning, what is the best way to find a mentor? Also, how do agents “shop” for brokerages? I would like to make as much money as I possibly can within the first 12 months, because I have big bills.
All advice, and comments, are welcomed.
Posted by webbedtoeshawty
2 Comments
Early on: Find other agents who can be your mentor. Ask for their advice often.
Later on: Buy and own properties yourself. The number of RE agents that don’t know shit because they don’t own any properties is astounding. They can’t give insightful information or answers because they haven’t *done* it themselves.
Oh, you caught me on a good day.
First – and foremost – choose your first brokerage well. Some people will tell you that it really doesn’t matter which brokerage you choose because you can change any time. This is true. However, every change costs you time, money and momentum toward your goals.
Next, split does not matter at this point in your career. That being said, do not get sucked into some scenario where you have to split with the office, the team and then again with your mentor and when you open your check, it is not enough to get a tank of gas.
Third, Every brokerage will promise great training, mentorship, leads, a fast track to a fast start in our career and it is basically all nonsense. There used to be a couple eXp mentors that posted in the reddit RE forums that said their “mentorship” was reviewing 3 transactions of paperwork and that was it. This is not mentorship. You need to ask questions about their new agent churn. Which brings me to my next point……
Next, you need to ask a lot of questions because you are also determining if this office is a good fit for you. You obviously need a managing broker, mentor, experienced agent, someone to teach you how to write contracts, how to get clients, how to negotiate, how to hold an open house, there is a bunch of stuff you need to learn. There are so many new agents that post in here about how they were told about all their training, and it was basically logging into the national brokerage academy or training on lead gen. And when specific questions or issues came up, all those promises of always being available for help/questions fell flat.
And you need to ask questions about the office culture. Some offices have a stable full of experienced and helpful agents, other offices are highly charged where their agents would trip their grandmother to get to something before you. Some are business suit all the time, some are much more casual. You have to know what is required, suggested, or acceptable.
Finally, you need to know what all comes out of your check. There are brokerages that will promise a great split and do not bother to mention all the fees associated with working there. Some fees that might be an issue: desk fees, transaction fees, transaction coordinator fees, E&O, marketing charges, website fees, postage, signs, lock boxes, does it cost you money to use the copier? Asking about additional fees will save you from looking at the paycheck and wondering what the hell happened.
Being able to talk to anyone is a great skill set for a Realtor, but you need to be a negotiator and a problem solver, on top of a bunch of other hats you need to wear.