I got my RE license in Louisiana to make it easier to find investment properties. So far, I've had a little success and have our second rental property under contract. I've loved having access to the MLS and being able to make my own offers.

So here's the thing... I also used my license to help a friend of mine to purchase a home, and that commission check for $4,900 I got yesterday has me hungry for more.  I've got a full-time job that keeps me pretty busy, but I do have time to do some part-time work.  I hung my license at a smaller office and I believe most of the agents are part-time.  I'm setting a goal for myself to close more transactions than any of the other agents in 2018, other than the broker.  

When I got my license I had no intention of doing any work as an agent for other people, but now I believe it would be a waste not to use it.  And it will allow me to earn extra income to help purchase more investment properties.  But, I need to learn how to be a good agent.  I've been listening to some podcasts, but what other resources would you recommend to a new agent to get educated on what it takes to be successful in this field?  

I've got the bug now, and I want to do big things in 2018.  Help me get this upcoming new year kicked off in the right direction.  I know there are some successful agents on this forum that have lots of knowledge to share. 

If you really want to be successful at real estate, you have to do it full-time. I don't know any "good" agents that are part-timers. Yes, they can fumble their way through the average transaction that has few - if any - hiccups but they're doing a disservice to their clients and they are putting everything at risk when things go sideways.

As long as you do it part-time, you will only get occasional work. I would never hire someone that only dabbles in heart surgery when I could find someone that specializes in it and charges the same rate!

Originally posted by @Nathan G. :

If you really want to be successful at real estate, you have to do it full-time. I don't know any "good" agents that are part-timers. Yes, they can fumble their way through the average transaction that has few - if any - hiccups but they're doing a disservice to their clients and they are putting everything at risk when things go sideways.

As long as you do it part-time, you will only get occasional work. I would never hire someone that only dabbles in heart surgery when I could find someone that specializes in it and charges the same rate!

 I bet you are slaughtering part time agents on listing appointments with this comment Nathan. Were you always a full-time agent or did you also transition into the job? The issue is a lot folks (self included) are transitioning from regularly paying W2 jobs and building the business before taking the leap into full-time commission based sales. I guess the question is sort of a "chicken and egg" discussion. Am I not getting big business because I am not a full-time agent, or am I not a full-time agent because I am not getting big business yet?

Real estate sales is like any sales: your reputation will play a huge factor, which in turn becomes a word of mouth situation. That’s why it’s hard up front. You’ll always have to grind but the first 12-24 months will tell you where you stand.

I did it in NYC and it wasn’t for me. Not because of the grind- that part was easy.

But he’s right, part time agents don’t last. You get outworked. You’re at your job and someone else is on the phone or at a showing. It’s not a weekend gig.

@John Knisely It's definitely a tough slog as a part time agent - and you're probably not doing the big numbers because you're not in the business full time.  In this case, the chicken came first.

And you're right about how a good full time agent will eat your lunch, but hopefully within the bounds of ethics and good taste.

As a full time (and then some) agent, I'll remind sellers that most part timers tend to treat this profession as a hobby, hoping that while they hold down another full time job, that they'll trip over a couple of deals each year.  They have far less experience and won't be sharp negotiators.  I'll throw in a couple of good examples of how I've negotiated circles around part timers.

As a part time agent, I'd say that I'm available when you (the client) are.  Evenings and weekends is when there's the most activity in real estate.  Because I'm not up to my eyeballs in business, I can focus all of my available time on your needs.

As the owner of a small brokerage, I'll promote the personal service.  We're not part of a monster big-name brokerage, where you'll get handed off to junior team members once the ink is dry on our listing contract.  We hold your hand through the entire transaction.

If I were a member of that monster big-name brokerage, I'd ask them whether they were seriously considering having "mom and pop" represent them in the biggest transaction of their lives.

The key, at least in my opinion, is to figure out what your strengths are and promote those - but most of all, promote what you will do for your client.

@John Knisely about 80% of all agents quit within the first 1-2 years and over 90% quit within five years. Why? I think it's because they don't treat it like a business. They get their license and "plan" to "work on it part-time for now" and eventually grow into full-time. They sell a couple houses for a friend or family member, make a couple commission checks, and spend those checks on personal things rather than growing their business. Next thing you know, it's time to renew their license but money is tight because they just bought a new truck, had another baby, took a trip to Cabo . . . fill in the blank.

I don't see it as a chicken-or-egg question. It's more of a "business-or-hobby" question.

Either you karate do "yes" or karate do "no." You karate do "guess so," (get squished) just like grape.    ~ Mr. Miyagi

@Nathan G. so it sounds like the "part time" aspect is in mindset and action rather than hours worked. A full-time agent could be working 40 hours a week as an agent and wasting 30 of them on  meaningless tasks, while a part time agent (with an additional full-time job) could work on their real estate business 10 hours a week and have a similar output. Perhaps more if their full-time job creates a strong prospect list.

Thoughts? I absolutely have full-time plans as an agent but am not yet ready to take off the golden handcuffs from the corporate job.

@John Knisely it is possible, but not probable.

According to the latest numbers I could find, 7% of all agents account for 93% of all transactions. I can assure you the 7% are not part-timers. These are people marketing themselves heavily, working full time (and then some) to pick up new business. They stay educated, they study the market, they network, and are on top of their game in all respects.

I can give you real-world numbers from my own market. We have 150 agents in Park County with a population just under 30,000. Average income for the area is $46,000 a year. Only the top 20% of all agents are meeting or exceeding that income level. That's before deducting expenses like licensing, insurance, taxes, dues, marketing, etc. All of them work full-time on their business and treat it like a business. Every one of them has a college degree and most of them have already completed another career, raised their kids, etc. Most of them have been in real estate for over ten years. Only two of the top 20% have less than ten years experience in real estate. 

The part-timers? They're near the bottom of the list with a few sales per year. I'm sure most of them started with the same idea as you: work part-time until they are more financially stable and then jump in full-time. But it never happens.

I firmly believe you could make as much - or more - by putting less effort into your current profession to earn a promotion, work over-time, or switch to another employer. Making money part-time in real estate is extremely difficult and likely to fail.

Yeah I get there is, and always will be, a debate on whether a part-time agent is a good thing or not. That’s not what I’m asking though... I’ve already decided I’m going to be a part-time agent. I don’t have a goal to give up my full-time job in the future to be a full-time agent. I have a job that pays six figures, where I work half of the year and have 7 weeks of vacation time. 

I got my license for investing, but I can also spare 20-30 hrs per week for my “side hustle”  My job also has lots of down time while I’m on the clock to be able to be online and doing RE work. 

What I need to know is if you’re starting from scratch and trying to learn how to be an agent, which resources do you use to learn?  My broker and the other agents at the office are very good about answering my questions, but I’m looking for some “training “ to teach me how to be a good agent. I’ll deal with my time constraints. Any recommendations?

Again... I don’t want to make a career as a real estate agent. My investing is the most important thing to me, and money earned as a real estate agent will go towards that. 

I recommend you read "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" by Gary Keller and apply what works for your schedule and time available.  I believe that's what you were looking for in your original post?

Professionalism is a matter of HOW you do something, not HOW MUCH TIME you spend doing it.

@Shaun R. first off congrats on getting licensed. Second, you learned what I learned when I started off - cash flow is great, but it's not that passive and $100 a door per month is $1,200 a year when I could easily just grab a commission from the license I got and reinvest it (yes, there are differences in taxes and passive/active but you get the jist). Long story short, I disagree with a lot of what is being said in these comments.

The vast majority of part time agents treat it as a hobby, have no idea what they are doing, etc. But, if you are actually investing on your own and help people out with the same level you personally look at deals, I would argue you are probably doing a better job than 95% of the full time agents that never invest. In addition, if you have the "crush it" approach, you will be fine. The vast majority of agents fail not just because they can't do the job, it is because most people who start a small business fail (they never have done it before).

As @Robert Leonard mentioned, Gary Keller's book is a good read. Talks a lot about focusing on listings vs. buyers and the follow up/touches that are required to really build out a business. If I could do it all over again, I would stay disciplined and buy a house each time I got a commission. One way to grow out the system might be to offer property managment for clients you help with purchases. This will teach you a lot about the process (and likely that you don't want to do it, but how to manage a property manager down the road). 

Lastly, keeping your full time gig makes you less "dependent" on the sale. I have some part time agents on my team and I tell them to leverage it. Sure, a full time agent goes in and talks smack about a part time agent. I tell the part time agents to go in and talk smack about the full time agents if they really need to (PS - most agents are not actually competing against anyone else during those listing presentations either). "Well seller, my full time job that pays me $100K+ makes it so that I am not dependent on the commission check from the sale of your home to pay for my kids to go to school - instead I am motivated to ensure you get the most you can" - try that one out. Maybe wordsmith it a bit. It also reminds your clients that you are smart enough/work hard enough to have a full time job. A lot of agents (not the top producers but the others) really just "fell" into real estate and do it because they could not make a career out of something else.