SOLD: Every Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Building a Profitable Business is available now!

SOLD provides a much-needed look at how successful real estate agents build their business, close deals, and generate commissions. In this book, best-selling author and expert real estate agent @David Greene shares everything he wishes someone had shared with him—including the exact processes he used to become rookie of the year and top agent in his office.

Whether you’re a newcomer to the real estate world or a seasoned agent that never got mentorship, this is the book you've been waiting for. Learn from the best, refine your business, and become a top-producing real estate agent in record time. You can get the book, along with some stellar bonus content, on the BiggerPockets Bookstore!

In the spirit of helping new agents be the best they can be, we want to know: Agents, if you could travel back in time, what’s the ONE tip you would give to yourself when you were first starting out?

@Kaylee Walterbach

Number 1 tip,

If you wouldn't feel comfortable of buying a property in a certain part of town, don't buy it.

Talk to more people.

Pick and work your niches.

Instead of marketing to a bunch of strangers, strengthen existing relationships and then (eventually) ask them for referrals. They already know, like, and trust you so it's easier to get referrals through them than it is to build new relationships in hopes of finding a buyer/seller.

Make a list of 50 people you think like you enough to refer business to you. Talk to them at least once a month. On the third month, talk to them like you always do but include a request for referrals. Repeat every month.

If done properly, most of them should offer you at least one referral which will result in plenty of business. For those that don't, remove them from the list at the end of the year and replace them with new names. Rinse and repeat.

Look to the market for your niche before you start investing in marketing. Do a SWOT analysis for your market and try to find the segment or segments that are being underserved and target them. 

For brand new agents: read the contract and all buyer paperwork 10 times and then read them all again 10 more times and take notes on what you don't understand and ask someone. When you are new, you forget that to write an offer you actually have to understand every page that is in there so you can explain it to someone.

 Selling houses is great but this industry has so many different avenues to be successful in. My recommendation is to diversify your business model as much as possible: 
-Retail sales
-Wholesaling
-Build a brokerage
-Property Manage
-Project Manage (Other people's flips) 
-Flip your own properties
-Build your own rental portfolio

Invest in Real Estate! 😝 

Originally posted by @Nathan G. :

Instead of marketing to a bunch of strangers, strengthen existing relationships and then (eventually) ask them for referrals. They already know, like, and trust you so it's easier to get referrals through them than it is to build new relationships in hopes of finding a buyer/seller.

Make a list of 50 people you think like you enough to refer business to you. Talk to them at least once a month. On the third month, talk to them like you always do but include a request for referrals. Repeat every month.

If done properly, most of them should offer you at least one referral which will result in plenty of business. For those that don't, remove them from the list at the end of the year and replace them with new names. Rinse and repeat.

Exactly  my wife was a trainer for Floyd Wickman back in the day.  His son Gino has done very well with his books..

But what you describe is what I seen seen Lori do for years.. build a referral base.

Also for star agents in Northern CA  Martin Levy was I think the first mega star  he created the team concept before KW was even in business ( I think )  and that guy NAILED it..

I am glad to see BP talking about the life long benefits of creating a real estate sales business that can stand the test of time and once you get about 10 years in it can be very very good.. as opposed to wholesaling which to be successful is constant big budget marketing and you really don't build reporte' with your sellers like a good agent does.. and the buyers well they are investors and you know how loyal they are ..  They aren't!!  your just another wholesaler 

I'm not an agent but man does this sound like solid advice:

Originally posted by @Nathan G. :

Instead of marketing to a bunch of strangers, strengthen existing relationships and then (eventually) ask them for referrals. They already know, like, and trust you so it's easier to get referrals through them than it is to build new relationships in hopes of finding a buyer/seller.

Make a list of 50 people you think like you enough to refer business to you. Talk to them at least once a month. On the third month, talk to them like you always do but include a request for referrals. Repeat every month.

If done properly, most of them should offer you at least one referral which will result in plenty of business. For those that don't, remove them from the list at the end of the year and replace them with new names. Rinse and repeat.