Starting out as a real estate agent is like being a small fish in a pond full of sharks. Some of your colleagues have years and years of experience and a book of clients to match. Although this can be intimidating at first, having that positive mindset will ensure that you become just like (or even better than) the rest of the sharks in your brokerage. Making sure you're patient and allowing yourself to identify and follow through on opportunities is key to building your brand successfully. Something you can try is offering a helping hand to your colleagues with open houses. Offering to help with open house coverage in exchange for access to any direct buyers who attend these events will give you the ability to begin to build your client base. You'll be able to build the foundation and grow a relationship for an immediate sale or a bigger one down the line.

Whether you're starting your own business or buying and selling properties, timing is everything. Being realistic with the amount of time you need to start to make money and the times which are best to sell is crucial for your success. This can be challenging for some Real Estate Agents but, being able to recognize trends in the market is a valuable asset and can lead to larger opportunities and will save you from wasting your time. Also, understanding timing when planning and budgeting will give you a fighting chance in today's competitive market.

Doing your research before jumping on a client can save you a large amount of time and can make you a lot more money. Being able to determine what properties and clients you choose will help you not only build a good reputation but, create a great foundation for future sales. Doing research doesn't end with your clients and properties. Researching yourself and what your reputation is will give you a better idea of where you can improve as well as what you should be continuing to do. 

The saying "nobody's perfect" could not be truer in the world of real estate. With trends in the market always changing, there is no one true way to sell homes and close deals. Being able to learn and pick up things along the way is crucial to your success as a realtor. Learning can also be just listening to clients needs. Every client is different but a lot of their needs are similar. By listening to and learning about different clients, you'll have the tools to deal with any challenges that come your way in the future. 

Today, communication is huge and what better way to communicate with your clients than with something they use every day. People are always using social media. Whether its to keep up with trends or just to pass the time, it is the most constant form of communicating messages to other people. Building your social media presence is just another way to build your contact list. Being able to effectively communicate with your clients through social media and keeping them notified on everything that's happening can close a deal without you doing much work. People feel connected to you even if you have never met them and the foundation to a business relationship will be strong when you do get in front of them to sell a home. Make sure you have more than one social media platform where you are consistently posting content for your followers as it will allow you to generate leads and more importantly more sales. 

Source: National Association of Realtors

Gary Vaynerchuk is famous for this statement and he has a point. When you fall in love with everything that comes before the sale you become a master at getting to the end of the sale quickly and more efficiently. From finding the lead to prospecting future clients, becoming obsessed with each detail will express your passion for what you and that will translate to your clients. Make sure you ensure that your only purpose is to make sure that your clients get the highest level of service and that you are there solely to solve their problems. This will show your clients that you truly do care about them and their needs which will more than likely lead to sales and opportunities in the long run.

Being able to understand your target market fully is a major advantage that can lead to growing a client base quickly. For new real estate agents, understanding everything from the car the client drives to what they do on the weekends is a great tool in finding the right fit client. This will give you information without trying to get it out of your clients and will also make them feel more comfortable working with you. Understanding your target will also allow you to tailor your approach so that it fits your client's needs. 

When starting your real estate career, it is very important to align yourself with a strong broker. It is a lot easier to build a business if you have the proper mentor who has insights on the situations you are soon to experience. Many agents career fails due to the lack of support when they need it. Remember when selecting a broker if the price is non-existent, you get what you pay for. Along with your social media platforms, your website should be something that your clients can go to for more information. This is another form of communication between you and the client. Your website should be easy to navigate through and should be visually appealing as well. Inside this visually appealing website, there should be an area that has all of your contact information, credentials, and an option to sign up for alerts regarding new listings in the client's area of interest. By having these features on your website you will grow your database.

Similar to building a database, networking is foundational to growing as a realtor. Going to events to network and gain insight from other people in the same field will do nothing but benefit you and help you build your knowledge. Networking isn't just talking to people and hearing their insights and opinions, you can also network through helping people out. Like we talked about in the first tip, offering to help people with your knowledge, skills, or expertise is not only good relationship building between your colleagues but can also make you the first person they think of when they need a referral.

Having something your clients can see on a monthly basis is an effective way to make sure that your clients have your name top of mind for referrals and other opportunities. Whether it's through emails or a physical newsletter in the mail, sending them out is one of the best strategies for building client relationships. Inside your newsletter, you should have information on upcoming open houses, new listings, news about the housing market and other helpful tools. A great example of a newsletter service that is effective is the "Touch 24" newsletter. It has everything from info, to testimonials, to small things to help you pass the time. This newsletter is also customizable and gives you the ability to have your name all over the newsletter. These newsletters are always effective and a great way for new agents to get their name out there.

If there is one thing that you can use both when working and in life, it's being honest. Being honest with your clients may not sound like much but it has a massive impact on your business. Honesty has many benefits. Firstly, it keeps your reputation healthy. Being honest with your clients on your opinions will give your clients give them the ability to trust your word and make the sale go more smoothly. This will also build your reputation as an honest agent. Secondly, being honest with not only your clients but with yourself will help you stay on track with your goals. It can be easy to stray away from your goals sometimes so, being honest with yourself and accepting that you fell off and need to come back to your goals will make sure you do just that. Finally, being honest will help build your client relationships. When your clients view you as an honest person they will come to you for more than just real estate. They will have enough trust in you to not only sell their home but to be their friend. Honesty, combined with a number of other things, will help you sell homes with ease.

Always looking for leads and potential clients is a great way to stay relevant in the world of real estate. Like a hunter, you always should have a plan of attack. This means knowing where your leads are and when to pursue them. Understanding if the lead is warm or if it's dead will help save you time and will allow you to put more of your efforts towards different ventures. This will also train your brain to point out the signs of a warm lead before you finish researching. The only way to do any of this is to be always hunting for your leads. Making it a habit to look for new clients at least one day a week will build your database as well as build that client book all realtors are always eager to grow. A good hunter always chooses the right weapon to hunt their prey, the same thing goes for generating leads. You can cold call areas that have a higher number of houses for sale to see if other people would like to sell their homes. Also, you can send out an ad on social media where prospects can fill out a form to get in touch with you and inquire about buying or selling homes. Getting leads on your own is not the only way you can generate them. Giving your current clients closing gifts like cutting boards or key chains for buying or selling a home with your name on it will bring the leads to you. This tactic is fairly easy and will definitely give you business. Companies like Agency Gifts specialize in these types of closing gifts and make sure your name gets out there. All it takes is for one of your client's friends or family to see one of these gifts to plant a seed in their head to buy or sell a home with you.

Helping your clients buy or sell their home should not be where your relationship ends. You should be reaching out to them on a scheduled basis. The intent of reaching out to clients is to continue the relationship as well as to possibly generate some referrals in the process. You also should not be looking for referrals either. Contacting past clients to ask how they like the home you helped them buy or their favorite feature of their home is a great way to lead into asking for a referral. You should also be prepared to give referrals out as well. Some clients may experience some issues with their home or would like to renovate right away after purchasing homes, so having contractors that you can refer to your clients is something you should keep in your pool of resources..

In today's society, fear of missing out (or FOMO for short) has become a major trend. Now you might be asking how this relates to real estate or how this even can help you gain clients and close deals. Well, bragging about happy clients and selling homes is actually an asset when trying to grow your database. The more exciting information people see, the more they want to be a part of what's going on. So by showing the rest of your audience how happy your clients are with your work through social media or whatever means of communication you use, you will create that buzz and FOMO amongst them and generate more clients. This seems like an unorthodox tool, but it is actually useful when generating leads.

Along with your social media platforms, your website should be something that your clients can go to for more information. This is another form of communication between you and the client. Your website should be easy to navigate through and should be visually appealing as well. Inside this visually appealing website, there should be an area that has all of your contact information, credentials, and an option to sign up for alerts regarding new listings in the client's area of interest. By having these features on your website you will grow your database.

Being able to share is one of the most difficult but rewarding things a realtor can do. If you feel like you shouldn't be sharing knowledge and experience, think about when you first started your journey as a young fresh realtor with nothing to your name. You were taken under the wing of a mentor or somebody you looked up to, so why not do the same for others? There is a benefit to sharing with others as well. Not only will you build a new relationship, but you may learn something from the person you are sharing the information with and potentially see things from a different perspective. You can only grow from sharing your experience with people in the industry. It will help grow your networking skills and teach you how to mentor different people. Once people come to you for advice you will understand that everything you've done has paid off.

No one realtor is the same nor is there one perfect way to close a deal. There is one thing that a realtor can do that will aid their success. This aid is being yourself. By being yourself and not some robotic salesman, you are opening yourself up to your clients and making them understand that you are a human being just like them. Being yourself also gives you the ability to put your own spin on a sales method and tweak things that make you feel more comfortable. This will make selling homes become seamless and will make you feel like you aren't working. Once you show yourself to your clients you are giving them something to relate with you on and become more comfortable with working with you. They will understand that you are genuine and understand that your main goal is to give them not only a home but a place of comfort where they can create their memories.

We found these 10 things to be important when starting out a career in real estate.