Michael Love’s Top 5 Tips for Starting Your Career in Real Estate
At Love&Co, we’re focused on developing emerging real estate talent, ensuring that our unique agency continues to serve Melbourne’s community in a way we can be proud of.
The only way to achieve this goal is by training, mentoring and supporting our staff. As such, Love&Co have a unique training program tailored to our real estate cadets’ needs – and we’re always on the lookout for trainee property professionals with a hunger for a career in our industry. Whether you’re leaving school and fancy yourself calling auctions and listing properties or you’re looking for a new challenge, we invite you to reach out to and discuss employment opportunities at Love&Co. In today’s blog, Love&Co Director Michael Love shares his top 5 tips for agents at the very beginning of their real estate career.
1. Do As You Say, Say As You Do
As a young agent, it’s really up to you to pay close attention to all you’re taught, and to show initiative both within your agency and within the community. Keep your promises to your colleagues and Principals, and extend that courtesy to your vendors and buyers. If you’re due at a listing presentation at 7pm, do everything in your power to make that happen. The early days of your career are not the time to be skipping out on your obligations.
2. Make the Most of What You’ve Got
Agents are often unfairly portrayed as flashy and ‘over the top’ when it comes to their appearance. While many successful agents may indeed earn the commissions required to fund lifestyles of ostentatious wealth, this won’t necessarily be the case at the beginning of your career. Don’t feel pressured to keep up with your high-powered peers: make the most of what you’ve got. Present yourself as well as possible, invest in a great suit or business attire that fits with your budget, and commit to keeping your vehicle in good condition, whether it’s a BMW or a Nissan Bluebird! That means regular cleans, keeping up with servicing and removing too many personal items that could impact on first impressions – that includes your fluffy steering wheel cover and dice!
3. Seek Out a Mentor
I believe mentoring is of huge importance to all careers – but is of particular value to those in performance-based roles like that of an estate agent or property manager. No agent is the same agent they were 5, 10 or even 30 years ago – you’re always growing, though your role may stay the same. Actively seeking out a mentor that you work with in your early days as an agent will teach you valuable skills and give you access to a fresh perspective on your performance.
4. Begin Prospecting From Day 1
Prospecting is the single most important part of being a successful real estate agent – but that’s not to say you’ll be a total pro at the art by the end of week 1. The key is just to start! Try phone calls, try community engagement, try face-to-face meetings – see what works for you. Every agent excels at a different form of prospecting, so find you strength and hone it. It’s also important to become familiar with your agency’s database. Ensure you’re well-versed about your CRM, so you always know where to find your hot leads when you need them.
5. Make Mistakes
…and learn from them. Real estate is a complex industry – just because it doesn’t require years and years of training to begin practice doesn’t mean you stop learning. In a KPI-oriented environment, there will be days when you feel overwhelmed, or as though your prospecting efforts aren’t paying off. But keep at it. Try new things and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Ask for help when you need it, and really get stuck in. It’s moments when things don’t go to plan that you learn most from.