Beginnings aren\u2019t easy. Even seasoned real estate professionals will tell you that at the start, it was a struggle. Most would say that if they had a chance to start over again, they\u2019d do a few things a bit differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I left a corporate job at American Express to join Zolo Realty. At the time, I wanted a challenge and I wanted a career that allowed me to do what I was most passionate about: helping people. Now, as the President of Zolo Realty, I’m happy to say I’ve never strayed from that initial goal of helping others. These days, I focus more on helping agents, but I’m confident that the lessons they learn translate into a better experience for the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve been told that I’m good at helping people and I think part of that success is because I’m willing to learn from my mistakes. And truth be told, I’ve made more than a few. In an industry where you can feel quite lonely and confused, it’s nice to know that there are some managers (and business models) that are still committed to helping you become a successful Realtor. Here are three lessons I wish someone told me when I first dove into the real estate business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nothing works as it should without having a clear goal. Set your goals and develop a strategy to realize those goals, even if it\u2019s only in your brain. Many failure stories come from agents that didn\u2019t know how to nurture potential sellers and grow their brand. The toughest sell is that first sell and the best strategy is to have a plan. Of course, like many eager agents, my plan was great on paper. Knock on doors; tell them how much I want to help; wait until the clients came rolling in. Another version of this is to tell all your family and friends that you\u2019re now a Realtor and watch all their trades come in and you won\u2019t have to cut them a family and friend deal discount, either!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Truth is, these plans rarely work. So build a better plan. Plan not to earn anything for six to nine months. You read that right. No real income for six to nine months. Once you know how to make that work then you can concentrate on the real work: Becoming an expert in your chosen area. Get to know the neighbourhood. Knock on doors. Volunteer at events. Get to know your neighbours. People work with people they trust, so, become a trusted member of that neighbourhood. It will pay off. I promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The real estate market is very competitive and there are thousands of real estate agents fighting for the top spots in every market, so distinguishing yourself from the crowd is not as easy as it might seem. Focus on something one or two attributes that really speak to you; perhaps it’s your impeccable work ethic, your astounding customer care or your sharp negotiation skills. Just choose attributes that really highlight your key advantage and then promote this heavily. Very heavily. Eventually, clients who care about these attributes will find you and, if you give them great service, this will guarantee a regular flow of clients that know what they\u2019re looking for and why you\u2019re the agent to give it to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be treated like a professional you need to look like one \u2014 and act like one. You have to hold high standards in both the way you conduct your business and in how you present yourself to others. Maintaining a professional look is a must if you want to be taken seriously by clients. So go through Facebook and delete those college party photos. Now go through your wardrobe and update your professional attire. Not all Realtors where a suit and tie, but all successful Realtors take their profession seriously enough to dress up and present their best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, being a successful Realtor boils down to long-term relationship building. You won\u2019t get it all right at the start and you will make your own mistakes along the way. But, even in the difficult times remember: Your chosen profession is a very rewarding one. It can bring you the fortune you seek \u2014 both the material and the emotional one \u2014 if you\u2019re willing to work for it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Being a successful Realtor boils down to long-term relationship building and to do this well you need to develop good work habits. Here are three tips to establishing a solid foundation in a career in real estate <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":9285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"guide":[],"class_list":["post-9516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-trends"],"acf":[],"zolo_excerpt":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9516"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21594,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9516\/revisions\/21594"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9516"},{"taxonomy":"guide","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide?post=9516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}