How to survive your first 2 years in real estate sales.
A career in real estate sales is an amazing achievement and a very rewarding profession. Unfortunately, about 20% of new salespeople will leave the industry after one year and about 30% after two years (market dependent).
Here are some ideas to help you if you are just starting out as a real estate professional.
1. Have enough savings to rely on for your first year.
Do you know how much it will cost you to get started in real estate?
In the same way that if you opened a restaurant or any other business, you need to budget, plan and prepare for the first few years before your revenue starts to cover the costs. You need to do the same with real estate (after all it is a business).
· Create a budget for yourself that includes your expenses. It's a good idea to consider costs for petrol, marketing, equipment and technology you will need to purchase to enable you to get started.
· Ask yourself do I have enough money to sustain myself and my family with no income for six months to eight months? If the answer is no, it's a good idea to review your situation and make a decision on the right time to move, as even the best real estate agents and salespeople have slower periods. Can you reduce outgoings, or do you have time to start part-time while you get set up? You may choose to stay in your job a little longer, save more money and start when you can.
2. Find a supportive company/office/manager
A supportive environment can be an impactful ingredient to a salesperson’s ability to keep going. When joining an office/company/talking to a manager, ask yourself:
· Will they be supportive and inclusive?
· Ask them what common strategies they use to support new salespeople.
· Do they have processes in place for new salespeople?
· Do they have examples of how they’ve helped new salespeople in the past?
· Ask yourself, do I like them, do I want to work here?
3. Prepare mentally
Working in real estate sales is tough, especially mentally, for a number of reasons:
· It is an ongoing process. You will constantly think “where is my next… coming from” - it is always a chase. Learn to switch off to do something that takes you away. Spending time with your family without your phone for an hour a day, running, meditating, going to the gym. Find a way to switch off.
· It can be incredibly lonely, you will be alone most of the time. Prospecting, negotiations, waiting for buyers, driving to appointments. There is a lot of alone time. Prepare yourself for it.
· The ups and downs in real estate are very high and very low and they can happen many times in a day. Learn to balance your emotions or it will drive you nuts and out of the industry.
· Set goals to work towards you, and make sure you include the smaller stepping stones to achieve those goals. When closing sales is slower than you would like, knowing you are achieving these set goals along the way can help with your morale.
4. Patience is crucial
It takes time to build a business, to build a reputation, and to be known. You will need to repeat your sales process again and again and again. Many times with no direct results to your actions. You need to understand that this will be the case, be ready for it, and be patient.
Keep going it will turn around it just takes time.
5. Find a mentor
Having a mentor who is also a real estate professional can be a great help to your first two years in real estate. Someone you can look to when learning the industry can completely change your business.
A mentor can be a manager an experienced real estate salesperson (don’t be shy about asking for help), or a paid mentor (like me). A mentor can guide you, correct you before mistakes are made, and give you guidance on what to do and what not to. A mentor can give you the support that you need but also push you to keep working towards your set goals when you don’t.
6. Understand challenges are part of the game
Accept the challenges with a smile and a good attitude. They are there anyway so just accept them learn from them and enjoy the journey.
For cost-effective sales training check out our online courses here