I’ve worked in and around the real estate industry for over a decade now, and I’ve come to realize an unsettling truth: Many real estate agents eventually fizzle out.

Some new agents start their career with gusto, but then they disappear to pursue other opportunities when they realize how much work goes into selling homes. Even experienced realtors occasionally crack under the stress, and they eventually let their passion fall to the wayside to focus on something else. There are even some people who study long hours to earn their real estate license—only to focus on real estate part-time!

In my career, I’ve found the best real estate agents are the ones who are focused, determined, and constantly evolving. Sure, good customer service is important, but it’s those three factors—focus, determination, and evolution—that separate average realtors from the true leaders.

To help, I’ve compiled some of the best lessons I’ve learned over the years, many of which I gained while working as a real estate agent myself!

How to Advance Your Real Estate Career

If you’re truly interested in advancing your real estate career, here are some strategies to follow:

1. Find a niche.

Finding your niche as a real estate agent can be incredibly useful in unlocking a new, focused stream of referrals and inquiries from potential clients. At first glance, this seems counterintuitive. After all, how can getting more specific in the types of clientele you work with actually increase referrals?

Being more targeted makes you easier to find—and your colleagues better understand exactly who you work with.

You can niche down however you want as a realtor. A few examples:

Focusing on farmhouses in southwestern PA
Focusing on tiny homes.
Focusing on greek revival-style mansions
Focusing on homes and cabins in the region of national and state parks

A niche makes you the go-to expert, and that sort of specialization makes referrals and leads even easier to come by!

2. Map out your business plan.

This is an important step for any business, and it’s especially important when you’re working as an independent contractor for a real estate company. And while that real estate company may provide some useful resources (like training and connections with other individuals), you should still map out a business plan to keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed and rudderless.

A good business plan encompasses:

Thorough Industry Analysis - Take stock of where the industry is and where it may be in the next five to ten years. Some questions to help you get started: What are the current trends within the industry? What strategies are your competitors currently using? Where is the industry headed in the next five years?
Budget - How much money do you have set aside for marketing? Hiring? Membership fees?
Marketing - How will you market yourself in a crowded real estate market? How can you use your network, social media, signage, website, and other tools and resources to reach a larger audience?
Goals - Where do you want to be in terms of revenue and profitability in the next six months, two years, and five years? Working backward from those goals, what steps should you take to reach them?
Human Resources - As you grow over the coming months and years, will you need to hire an assistant or full-time employee? If so, what will hiring that individual require?

3. Find a mentor or partner.

As you look forward, you may benefit from finding a mentor to help you grow or a partner to help you expand your business.

Reasons for Finding A Mentor

If you’re struggling to progress your career as a real estate agent, an experienced mentor can help you find a way to clear those hurdles. If they’ve already been there before, they can provide detailed solutions to your problem.

As a bonus, they may also tap you into their own professional network while passing referrals long to you—two major, significant wins!

Reasons for Finding A Partner

While you should never enter a partnership without a strong desire to get into business with someone else, it’s an idea worth considering regardless of your current status.

Ideally, your partner has strengths where you have weaknesses. If you struggle with back-office responsibilities, a business partner could potentially have those skills to pick up where you struggle. Similarly, you may be able to offer expertise or skills in areas where they are lacking.

Working together can elevate both of you while allowing you to focus on more of your strengths.

4. Develop a new skill.

Developing a new skill is another avenue toward becoming a great real estate agent because it helps you provide additional value to your clients.

For example, you could learn:

How to flip houses.
How to have an exciting and consistent social media presence.
How to take great photos or videos of a house.
Construction best practices.
Interior design best practices.

Learning any one of the above skills could potentially open additional revenue streams while helping you stand out from the rest of the realtors in your region!

So, where can you learn new skills as a realtor? New Local Realty can teach you new skills to create additional opportunities for you as a professional. Contact us to learn how to get started, or read on for more information!

Working With New Local Realty

As community-minded and investor-focused homebuyers and home-sellers, New Local Realty can unlock significant new opportunities in your real estate career. For example, working with New Local Realty can be your opportunity to:

Learn new skills
Tap into new markets
Unlock a huge pool of investors

We’re constantly looking for energetic realtors who can find great houses, realtors who have extensive networks, and realtors who are willing to learn the New Local Realty process. For example, we’re constantly searching for blighted or low-cost homes that can be quickly flipped. With that in mind, we’re willing to teach realtors how to:

Analyze a property to assess its current value, including how to go into the field and look at specific parts of the home
Assess how certain rehabs would increase that property’s value
Factor in current rent values and homes values in the region when estimating the cost of a home

While we’re ready and available to help real estate agents increase their skill set, we’re also available to work in other capacities as well. For instance, we’re willing to pay realtors simply for bringing in great potential properties—we’ll do the rest!

Contact New Local Realty to Get Started

If you’re interested in working with New Local Realty, contact us. We can’t wait to meet you!

How to Progress Your Career as A Real Estate Agent: Guidance for New and Experienced Realtors