What should I do while I’m getting my real estate license

[Saul Lechuga]

Hello everyone,

I have decided to get my real estate license, I am currently taking the courses needed. Any suggestions on things I should start doing now while I’m in the process?

[Michael Dumler]

@Saul Lechuga since you're in the process of getting licensed, I would start networking/interviewing with different brokerages. Determine what each brokerage has to offer for newer agents and if a structured training program is provided. In the meantime, I would also start letting everyone in your sphere know that you will soon be a real estate agent. Until you are officially licensed, see if you can at the very least shadow/work for a real estate agent to get a better grasp on the market and what the industry entails. Hope this helps!

[Saul Lechuga]

@Michael Dumler Thank you for sharing your advice with me.

[Joshua Janus]

I would spend a lot of time learning your market. Memorize important factors, statistics and events going on around the area and have a comprehensive understanding of your local real estate market. If you plan on being an agent for investors, make sure to have the advantages and disadvantages for investing in your market(s) clearly outlined so you can come off professional, prepared and trustworthy. 

[Austin Johnson]

as said above, learn your market. are you planning to niche down or be a general agent? figure that out. I'm about a month into being an agent and I've already learned what I do and don't like. (I love investors, don't love first time home buyers) figure this out by asking yourself who would you like to work with? and interview brokers to see who matches your style. while interviewing, DONT focus on commission splits. We're both new. while I feel confident in my knowledge of real estate as a business, there's a lot that I don't know. go for a broker that offers guidance. you can always switch later to better commissions. I would hate to have great commissions and low support vs great support and mild commissions. learn, grow, then make the decision to go after the money. I personally want to be THE investor's agent locally and be the expert. having someone supporting me with the gray ins and outs of the business is worth more to me now than the larger commission split.  hope this helps. feel free to DM me anytime. we're both brand new agents so it will be exciting to see how we each grow!

[Sean McDonnell]

@Saul Lechuga Where are you located? The biggest problem most agent have when starting out is lead generation. I would start that now! Go buy the book The 7 Levels of Communication and implement the practical advice from that book. Network with people in your market and start making a lot more friends. It takes a while to build a business largely fed by referrals but that is the most cost effective lead generation strategy in my opinion. Good luck getting started!

[Saul Lechuga]

@Sean McDonnell

Hi Sean, I am located in Central Texas area, thank you for the information. I will definitely check out the seven levels of communication! 

[Saul Lechuga]

@Austin Johnson

I appreciate your feedback, this is very helpful. I will definitely be looking for a place to help me grow and become more knowledgeable. 

[Ryan Kelly]

@Saul Lechuga my best advice is find a mentor. Don't try to reinvent the wheel, but rather learn from those more experienced than you. Ask yourself - WHY are you getting a real estate license? If it is for money, that's the wrong answer. You need to have a passion for the business and use that passion to determine what type of Realtor you want to be and who you will serve. 

[Dave G.]

@Saul Lechuga I agree with @Michael Dumler comments. To add to them, you should look at how to grow your sphere too. The successful RE agents in my area are involved in the community in many ways to increase they're network. For example, one guy I've worked with many times was a volunteer high-school lacrosse coach for years and he got a lot of business out of that seasonal, couple-hours-a-day investment. Plus he enjoyed it. 

Good luck to you.

[David Bain]

Aloha Saul,

I'd recommend you seek out a solid mentor in the industry and work to learn vs. earn.  What I mean by that is rather than chasing the brokerage that profits you the most (splits and fees) chase the one that provides you the most value to build yourself as a solid real estate professional.  If that also happens to be the one that profits you the most, then its a perfect storm. 

It's about the people in this industry so much more than the logo above your name. 

[Bruce Lynn]

Start building your database of name/phone/email/FB/Linkedin/address of people that know, like, and trust you and will do business with you or will recommend people do business with you.

This is your #1 source of business....and the easiest business to get.

That way you hit the ground running.

[Tanner Sherman]

Start getting to know people now. You want to build up that pipeline so the second you have your license (and hung with a brokerage) you are ready to start writing offers. 

Definitely don't deceive people by leading them to believe that you are already licensed, or discuss anything that would be in the duties of a real estate agent. What you can do is go through you phone book and call everyone, just to genuinely see how they are doing, and when they return the favor and ask how you have been you can let them know you have decided to go get your real estate license and will be a full time Realtor in "x" months. People that show an interest in that you should follow up with at least monthly, and I guarantee you will land a couple sales out of it. 

[Wale Lawal]

Network with others, start building those connections.