Approaching a Sponsoring Broker

[Serena Salvato]

Hi all,

I recently started my lessons for the New York Real Estate License. At the weekend my husband and I went to a few open houses to start getting a feel for the market. We met with a broker in luxury real estate who really knew his stuff. He was approachable, professional and on further research has had a very lucrative career to date. Whilst my aim with the exam is to enable us to access MLS and gain a good grounding in the industry, I think it would be a good idea to work for this broker for a period of time, to learn the ropes in luxury real estate, whilst continuing my deals on the side. I need a sponsoring broker in order to pass the exam so really want to make a good impression with this broker.

So here are my questions:

1. How do I approach him to ask if he would be interested in sponsoring me. 

Would email or phone be good? 

Should I offer to take him to lunch or is that too forward?

2. What questions should I ask? 

Should I just come out and ask for a "job". 

Do established agencies even hire newbies?

3. How do I make a good impression?

Are there any brokers reading this who can tell me what would impress them?

(A little background on me - I am a Doctor of Philosophy, with a strong emphasis on statistics and data analysis, so know my way around research, data and figures. I am Oxford University educated and have a cursory understanding of marketing through my husband who is an entrepreneur).

Thanks so much for your input in advance!