New Agent Advice Needed

[Yisell Perez]

Hello everyone! 

I am a newbie on BP and also in real estate. I am starting my real estate course next week and I would love some advice. 

What do you recommend I do before, during and after classes start? What is the best way to market myself? How do I look for the best place or person to work with? How do I build a portfolio? How does pay work? Should I start part time? I just need and would be grateful with all the advice, recommendations, pros and cons, do’s and dont’s you can give me! I am very excited and eager to start and excel in this industry, so any and all advice is appreciated! 

Also I am in the North Jersey area close to NYC and all major highways. Any tips for a new agent in this area? Is another area recommended? 

Thank you for reading my post and helping a prospective new agent like myself! :) 

[Irene Nash]

Hi Yisell, you asked great questions, I'm super busy this week so can't address all your questions right now, I'm sorry, but for starters I think it would be super helpful for you to read or listen to a few books that directly apply to skills you'll need in the RE business. 

These are books I've found extremely useful, even after nearly 20 years in RE:

'Never Split the Difference', by Chris Voss. A great book on negotiating, which most RE agents get little or no training in, and a lot of the training they do get is bad, IMO.  This is a great one to listen to on Audible because voice tonality is a big part of what he teaches. (It's not fluff or manipulative, just good psychology.)

'The 1-Page Marketing Plan' by Alan Dib. A lot of fundamental small business marketing principles boiled down into an actionable format.

'Atomic Habits' by James Clear. Truly helpful in establishing good habits. Highly recommend Audible version, he has a good voice and the print version has tiny print and seems overwhelming.

And while you're at it (especially if you're a perfectionist, like most RE agents are, including myself), 'Finish - Give Yourself the Gift of Done' by Jon Acuff.  If you find yourself not executing on good ideas because you need to do more research/don't know every single thing about it, etc., this is an important book and IMO should be required reading before going into business, especially real estate. :)

In RE you're equally in marketing (marketing yourself) and in skill building (expertise in terms of contracts, negotiation, etc.) In other words, you want to be highly competent and then you need to make sure others know you're highly competent, otherwise you're highly competent with a silent phone. :) These books are good starters for how to gain skills that help you in both of those departments. Good luck!