Help Me Save My Career

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Help Me Save My Career

Kareem Lyons
Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes

Hi 

I know I post a lot on these forums but I really want to gain as much knowledge as possible. I have been in real estate for about 6 months now and have yet to make any real money. I have trouble figuring out what I should be doing on a daily bases as I found myself just sitting at a computer all day. Now I know must people will say '' Lead Generate '' and I understand that. 

Most of my leads come from passive sources like a bus ad , zillow , etc . I want to know what I should Actively be doing on a daily bases. My broker actually gives me probs because I get the most leads out of all new agents in the office , But these Leads arn't making $ as they are low quality.

I wake up in the morning and just wait for a random low quality lead to call me. My day is usually structured like listed below. 

1. wake up look at emails 

2. do stuff on social media 

3. service leads/cleints I have now 

4. lead generate which I don't know how to efficiently do so I just end up watching training videos.

5. repeat steps.

Now I have no issues with getting my hands dirty. Over the past month or so I have passed out hand written letters in the amount of 200-300. Passing out these letters have resulted in one contact that I lost track off , being chased by dogs , yelled out for stepping on someones property , etc. 

I am currently with weichert realtors and I feel like this is a good place for me. I have and good online training program with very insightful content. I have a sales manager and a broker that sell in the $10 million+ range that I can call at anytime and they are very helpful with tips. I know no one can really hold my hand in this business but at the age of 21 I refuse to give up. I am content on being a six figure salary real estate agent no matter the odds. 

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Most Popular Reply

Dean Letfus
Specialist · Memphis, TN · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y

@Kareem Lyons just to give you a few ideas. 

I landed in Memphis from another  country and started investing/flipping full time. Full disclosure I did have a relationship with a company that was extremely helpful in teaching me about the US market and local knowledge however I only made a dollar if I found deals and found buyers.

So what I did daily was:

Drove at least 20 streets in a zip I liked. Anything vacant I would get out and ask neighbours etc. and do whatever I could to find the owners.  Then I would search local craigslist listings looking for private sellers.

I developed relationships with some local attorneys and accountants and would visit them weekly asking for any clients looking to sell homes or deceased estates.  I built friendships with property managers and asked them to send me anybody needing to exit houses.

Then I would look on the MLS for any homes that had been listed for way longer than normal sales timeframes and contact the agents to see why they hadn't sold and whether anything could be done to get them bought. Often if the sellers were "price proud" I would explain seller financing to the agents and some of my best deals were completed with agents bringing me debt free sellers.

May be a Memphis thing but then I built relationships with every wholesaler I could. i rung every craigslist advert every day and within a month I had met pretty much every wholesaler in the city. They became my primary source of leads for the next 3 years.  Many of them are here on BP.

Lastly I told everybody I met what I was doing and that I was paying $500 for any lead that I could turn into a purchase. Bought a lo of houses this way as well.

Then on teh other side I started telling people who were renting that I could probably help them into their own home. I did several lease purchases and straight birddogging for people wanting to buy and charged them a fee. This was the easiest money to make as there is no risk. The hard part is to educate a home buyer that they should spend 90K on a home, (80K purchase and 10K my fee), and spend the next year doing a minor rehab which would cost them maybe 10K rather than spend 130K on the next door house already fluffed up.

I was usually in my car by 7AM and rarely finished before 10PM 6 days a week.  But I left 12 months later with an entire business now running well with great local staff I had met on the streets and with a million dollars capital I had made in that year.

This is going to sound insulting which is not my intention but my overall impression of most US people trying to make a go of this business is that they were fundamentally lazy. I knew if I worked 16 hours a day, no one else would be so I was likely to be first in line for more and more deals. I was right!!  I have been called at 11PM with a deal and driven and met them at the house at midnight. FIlled a contract in on teh hood of the car and closed the next afternoon.

Get a map of a small zip and drive it, door knock everything trashed, vacant, uncared for, FSBO. Do that for 10 hours a day for a week I think it's impossible not to find a deal that you could make 5,10,20 even 50K off.

Last thought. Some of my best deals were those with damaged title. Find a really good attorney title specialist and often they can be fixed. I remember buying a house on auction.com for 26K. title was bad. Attorney fixed it over 2 weeks. I sold it for 55K contemporaneously.  That was a good day!!!!!!

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  • Caleb Heimsoth
    Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y
    I’m not an expert by any means but you probably need to spend more money on direct mail or something more active. Have you asked friends and family? From my understanding most of the leads from the sources you listed usually aren’t very good.
    4Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Caleb Heimsoth:

    I’m not an expert by any means but you probably need to spend more money on direct mail or something more active.

    Have you asked friends and family? From my understanding most of the leads from the sources you listed usually aren’t very good.

     yah when I do direct mail I hit 60-75 homes. I never receive responses so Im always scared to go all in. I have told people Im in real estate but its seems that most of my sphere don't care. Its more of a '' thats great '' then they go about their day forgetting what you told them in 1 week. The people that do know what I do they dont really spread the word.

    2Reply
  • Caleb Heimsoth
    Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons have you comsidered focusing on investors solely?  You’re on BP.  Investors buy a lot and often.  You’re in a great investors market.  

    I have a tendency to work consistently with agents that are good at what they do by investors point of view 

    3Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Caleb Heimsoth:

    @Kareem Lyons have you comsidered focusing on investors solely?  You’re on BP.  Investors buy a lot and often.  You’re in a great investors market.  

    I have a tendency to work consistently with agents that are good at what they do by investors point of view 

     Yah I actually have 2-3 investors in my pipeline. Thing is that the market is so freaking fast its hard to catch a home thats not gone in 24 hours. Homes are selling for 10k-20k over asking , So if you dont have a strong buyer then your SOL. I need to figure out how to get sellers if I ever wish to do anything. 

    2Reply
  • Caleb Heimsoth
    Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons yeah typically new agents are recommended not to spend time with buyers and instead find listings as this is where most agents make their money.  Buyers can take forever to find a home.

    The other alternative is find off market deals as I’m guessing what you’re referring to as far as stuff going fast is on the mls

    Good luck!

    2Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Caleb Heimsoth:

    @Kareem Lyons yeah typically new agents are recommended not to spend time with buyers and instead find listings as this is where most agents make their money.  Buyers can take forever to find a home.

    The other alternative is find off market deals as I’m guessing what you’re referring to as far as stuff going fast is on the mls

    Good luck!

     thanks

    1Reply
  • Zach SikesBusiness Member
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Edmond, OK · Member since 2011 · 452 posts · 183 votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons

    I run a good sized real estate team with a lot of successful agents.  There is so much to learn in your first years that it's hard to it by yourself.  I'd recommend looking for a great team to join that can help you move in the right direction.  Our agents lead generate every single day, and you need someone to show you how.  Go find the best ones in your area.  If you need help finding a team, let me know and I'll be happy to ask around for you.

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    10Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Zach Sikes:

    @Kareem Lyons

    I run a good sized real estate team with a lot of successful agents.  There is so much to learn in your first years that it's hard to it by yourself.  I'd recommend looking for a great team to join that can help you move in the right direction.  Our agents lead generate every single day, and you need someone to show you how.  Go find the best ones in your area.  If you need help finding a team, let me know and I'll be happy to ask around for you.

     I dont know of any teams or how a team would work with me. I cant imagine a experienced realtor wanting to help a newbie and split commission that much lol.

    1Reply
  • Zach SikesBusiness Member
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Edmond, OK · Member since 2011 · 452 posts · 183 votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons

    What would keep them from wanting to help you? What do you mean by splitting commission that much?

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    2Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Zach Sikes:

    @Kareem Lyons

    What would keep them from wanting to help you? What do you mean by splitting commission that much?

     I dont see how they would want to help me be successful. I was always told that experience agents want to get people out of the way as its more clients for them and less competition. I dont know much about teams but I would guess they split commission's , I dont see why they would want to do that after the broker split unless its a big transaction or high amount of closings

    0Reply
  • Ben Leybovich
    Rental Property Investor · Phoenix/Lima, Arizona/OH · Member since 2012 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    8y

    OK. You are in Columbus, one of the best markets in the country, and the best in the mid-west. You have a license. Columbus is late in the cycle. Prices are up, and so is the competition...

    Put all of those together - what do you have?

    It seems to me that in order to perform today, you need some type of competitive advantage. What's your? So...what is it?

    OK. Agreed - you don't have a competitive advantage, specifically as it relates to investing. Why not put some money behind your license? $5,000 per month invested into the right platforms will get you about $100,000 - $120,000 of commission income in your first 12 - 18 months. In second year about $250,000 top line. It's a much more efficient market than investing in a cycle such as the one we are in :)

    Be objective and cerebral about this. Understand the direction of the flow and row your boat in that direction, Kareem.

    Good Luck!

    7Reply
  • Zach SikesBusiness Member
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Edmond, OK · Member since 2011 · 452 posts · 183 votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons

    We do it because of the high amount of closings. We simply do too much business for me to handle myself, so we had to hire additional agents. I know a ton of great team leads or head brokers across the country, and their biggest problem is finding quality agents, not finding enough business. 

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    3Reply
  • Caleb Heimsoth
    Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y
    Kareem Lyons if listen to Zach Sikes he’s offering to help you. If you don’t know how teams work that probably means you’re not getting the good training you think you are
    6Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Ben Leybovich:

    OK. You are in Columbus, one of the best markets in the country, and the best in the mid-west. You have a license. Columbus is late in the cycle. Prices are up, and so is the competition...

    Put all of those together - what do you have?

    It seems to me that in order to perform today, you need some type of competitive advantage. What's your? So...what is it?

    OK. Agreed - you don't have a competitive advantage, specifically as it relates to investing. Why not put some money behind your license? $5,000 per month invested into the right platforms will get you about $100,000 - $120,000 of commission income in your first 12 - 18 months. In second year about $250,000 top line. It's a much more efficient market than investing in a cycle such as the one we are in :)

    Be objective and cerebral about this. Understand the direction of the flow and row your boat in that direction, Kareem.

    Good Luck!

     thanks for the advice , what would be the right platforms in your opinion. 

    0Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Zach Sikes:

    @Kareem Lyons

    We do it because of the high amount of closings. We simply do too much business for me to handle myself, so we had to hire additional agents. I know a ton of great team leads or head brokers across the country, and their biggest problem is finding quality agents, not finding enough business. 

     Okay I see , well if you could help me with that I would appreciate it. 

    0Reply
  • Abdul Shishi
    Member since 2018 · 82 posts · 40 votes
    8y

    I like Bens idea.  Whatever it is.   Investing in Platforms seems the way to go. 2nd though can you really say something you havent made any money yet a CAREER?   Drama wont get you anywhere.

    0Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Caleb Heimsoth:

    Kareem Lyons if listen to Zach Sikes he’s offering to help you. If you don’t know how teams work that probably means you’re not getting the good training you think you are

     Yah Im grateful for any feedback. I never found a lesson on how teams worked but I can ask. I know I was originally going to sign with Keller Williams. I was told that I would be set on a team or mentor where I would help them with their transaction but get a 20% cut. After adding their monthly fees ( my current broker doesnt have any ) I realized I would be in the hole more then I am now. 

    1Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Abdul Shishi:

    I like Bens idea.  Whatever it is.   Investing in Platforms seems the way to go. 2nd though can you really say something you havent made any money yet a CAREER?   Drama wont get you anywhere.

     well yah I get what your saying , I just choose that word since that I want it to be

    0Reply
  • Ben Leybovich
    Rental Property Investor · Phoenix/Lima, Arizona/OH · Member since 2012 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Kareem Lyons:
    Originally posted by @Ben Leybovich:

    OK. You are in Columbus, one of the best markets in the country, and the best in the mid-west. You have a license. Columbus is late in the cycle. Prices are up, and so is the competition...

    Put all of those together - what do you have?

    It seems to me that in order to perform today, you need some type of competitive advantage. What's your? So...what is it?

    OK. Agreed - you don't have a competitive advantage, specifically as it relates to investing. Why not put some money behind your license? $5,000 per month invested into the right platforms will get you about $100,000 - $120,000 of commission income in your first 12 - 18 months. In second year about $250,000 top line. It's a much more efficient market than investing in a cycle such as the one we are in :)

    Be objective and cerebral about this. Understand the direction of the flow and row your boat in that direction, Kareem.

    Good Luck!

     thanks for the advice , what would be the right platforms in your opinion. 

     commissions.inc, realtor.com, zillow.com should get you started.

    1Reply
  • Kareem Lyons
    OP
    Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 22 votes
    8y

    also does anyone have advice on what actually I should do when it comes to active stuff ? . I feel like sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours isn't it 

    0Reply
  • Patrice Boenzi
    Real Estate Agent · Geneva, IL · Member since 2015 · 403 posts · 172 votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons What @Zach Sikes is telling you is very accurate. Getting up and running can be difficult because, in a lot of places, no one will take the time to help you are share what they know or their stuff. There are so many resources, free ones, that can help you get started. Getting started you need a mentor. Do you have a mentor? Has someone taken the time to train you (not just on-line). I like your determination! Let me know if I can help you in any way. PM if you need something. Good Luck!

    1Reply
  • Matthew Olszak
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons If you don't want leads handed to you at a high-cut, low-cost (ala team-structure), you need to generate your own - leads aren't going to fall on your lap until you get BIG. Terminate any contracts you can right now, including ZTR. PM me for some facebook groups to join and learn how to hit the phones HARD - expireds, FSBOs, and circle prospecting. Put your ZTR money towards Vulcan, EspressoAgent, Mojo dialer, and cole realty resource (at least use espresso agent). On weekends, knock on doors - find a partner if you aren't comfortable going alone, lenders can be great pals. Get a low cost monthly-pay CRM like LionDesk to put the contacts you make on a drip and hit them frequently. Get training like MoreGCI to track what productivity you need to be making each month.

    Most of all, stop reading/learning. You should know enough by now, so start DOING. If you continue to "train" you are only burning time because it feels productive (like in a W2 job), but if you aren't getting results, what's that worth? You can't pay a mortgage with your "learning time". You need to be producing sales TODAY that pay out in 30-45 days. Its really not that hard to do. After 6 months you should "know" enough.

    One last thing - direct mailing 60 people is a HUGE waste of money. Stop doing that. Expect a 0.5-1.5% RESPONSE rate, and even lower conversion rate. I just mailed out over 6k letters, and I'll be doing the same next week. If you can't go big, you won't go anywhere in the direct mail world. At the very very least do 200/mailing so you can get bulk-mailing rates @ around 22 cents/letter.

    AND Super-Lastly - you aren't "in" real estate. You are a licensed real estate professional. Get in that mindset. Tell people that.

    25Reply
  • Sharon PowellPro Member
    Realtor · La Vernia, TX · Member since 2014 · 153 posts · 124 votes
    8y
    Matthew Olszak said a mouthful. Buying into Zillow etc sounds great, but with what money? Most agents are just trying to stay above water for the first few months. There are just as many ways to be creative in lead generation as there are to finance investment deals, and it’s possible to not have to spend a dime on marketing. As was said before, chances are pretty good that you know enough now to get things rolling. If you’re waiting for business to come to you though, that’s just not going to make you successful. So back to your question about what to do all day... here’s what my days look like in general right now. Mornings: Read, reflect, review goals, work out. Social media. Take care of current clients. Emails/messages/calls. Marketing project of the day. Afternoon: Prep for evening showings/meetings. Milk route. Visit builders, regular drop-bys, replenish business cards, network. Showings/client meetings. Evening: Showings/client meetings. Follow-up phone calls, texts, letters, emails. Review day/goals, prep for next day. Being proactive and getting- and staying- in front of people will make them think of you when they hear people talk about buying and selling. Be consistent with regular communication and face time. Bring value to others first. And above all, follow up with the leads you’re already getting. In a nutshell, step away from that screen and go get involved in your world. :)
    7Reply
  • Dean Letfus
    Specialist · Memphis, TN · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons just to give you a few ideas. 

    I landed in Memphis from another  country and started investing/flipping full time. Full disclosure I did have a relationship with a company that was extremely helpful in teaching me about the US market and local knowledge however I only made a dollar if I found deals and found buyers.

    So what I did daily was:

    Drove at least 20 streets in a zip I liked. Anything vacant I would get out and ask neighbours etc. and do whatever I could to find the owners.  Then I would search local craigslist listings looking for private sellers.

    I developed relationships with some local attorneys and accountants and would visit them weekly asking for any clients looking to sell homes or deceased estates.  I built friendships with property managers and asked them to send me anybody needing to exit houses.

    Then I would look on the MLS for any homes that had been listed for way longer than normal sales timeframes and contact the agents to see why they hadn't sold and whether anything could be done to get them bought. Often if the sellers were "price proud" I would explain seller financing to the agents and some of my best deals were completed with agents bringing me debt free sellers.

    May be a Memphis thing but then I built relationships with every wholesaler I could. i rung every craigslist advert every day and within a month I had met pretty much every wholesaler in the city. They became my primary source of leads for the next 3 years.  Many of them are here on BP.

    Lastly I told everybody I met what I was doing and that I was paying $500 for any lead that I could turn into a purchase. Bought a lo of houses this way as well.

    Then on teh other side I started telling people who were renting that I could probably help them into their own home. I did several lease purchases and straight birddogging for people wanting to buy and charged them a fee. This was the easiest money to make as there is no risk. The hard part is to educate a home buyer that they should spend 90K on a home, (80K purchase and 10K my fee), and spend the next year doing a minor rehab which would cost them maybe 10K rather than spend 130K on the next door house already fluffed up.

    I was usually in my car by 7AM and rarely finished before 10PM 6 days a week.  But I left 12 months later with an entire business now running well with great local staff I had met on the streets and with a million dollars capital I had made in that year.

    This is going to sound insulting which is not my intention but my overall impression of most US people trying to make a go of this business is that they were fundamentally lazy. I knew if I worked 16 hours a day, no one else would be so I was likely to be first in line for more and more deals. I was right!!  I have been called at 11PM with a deal and driven and met them at the house at midnight. FIlled a contract in on teh hood of the car and closed the next afternoon.

    Get a map of a small zip and drive it, door knock everything trashed, vacant, uncared for, FSBO. Do that for 10 hours a day for a week I think it's impossible not to find a deal that you could make 5,10,20 even 50K off.

    Last thought. Some of my best deals were those with damaged title. Find a really good attorney title specialist and often they can be fixed. I remember buying a house on auction.com for 26K. title was bad. Attorney fixed it over 2 weeks. I sold it for 55K contemporaneously.  That was a good day!!!!!!

    27Reply
  • Ryan MurdockPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    @Kareem Lyons

    I'll second @Zach Sikes advice on joining a team. There is no way I would have made it in this business if I had just started as an independent agent like you are doing. It can be done, but in my case I probably would have fizzled out. I spent a few years with a team until I was established enough to break off on my own. 

    Yes, team commission splits and workload can be brutal but education and experience almost always come at a cost. No doubt you can find a high producing agent/team in your area who could use some help. You'll probably get the lower end leads and duties until you prove yourself but at least it gets you out on the streets and active.

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    1Reply
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