Excerpted From What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School, by Carla Cross
You are interviewing to join a real estate company. Before you get into that office, what questions are you going to ask? Here are what I believe are the 5 most important questions new agents should ask–and my take on the answers you should get.
1. What are your minimum production expectations for agents in their first 3 months? 6 months? 1 year?
This question will tell you whether you’re considering joining a company/office of focused, career-minded professionals, or a company/office of part-timers, low producers, and those who just want to snag a couple of sales. If the manager has no minimum expectations, he/she willing to hire anyone to ‘give them a chance.’ That’s not a business, it’s an opportunity to create an avocation.
2. How are you going to help me launch my career? Describe your start-up program and schedule for me—orientation, training, and business start-up plan. (*Ask to see the specifics of the programs).
You would be amazed at how many real estate offices do not have an orientation resource or process for you! Without these systems and processes, though, new agents have no way to find out where the files are, how to get the various keys, codes, and operations associated with the office, the Multiple Listing Services, and the National Association of Realtors® information. Lack of these checklists and systems indicates that the manager either doesn’t care much about the quick success of the new agent and/or that he or she doesn’t hire many new agents.
3. What kind of results does your start-up plan and initial training gain for your new agents? How many transactions are they doing, on average, by month three? (Ask to see the statistics).
You shouldn’t be concerned if there’s one (or more) top producer in the office. That may have little to do with your own success. You should be concerned with the programs and strategies that manager is going to implement to assure you reach your goals (and the office minimums) in your time frame.
4. Coaching and Accountability: Who will be coaching me to the start-up plan? How will I be held accountable?
Who will coach you in your first few weeks/months about the activities to assure you’re on track to quick success? How often? What will the coach use as a game plan? (It should be your business start-up plan!) What’s the cost? Is the coach trained as a coach? What support and ongoing training and monitoring do the coaches have? Talk to a newer agent in that office who has been coached, too. If there’s no formal, scheduled coaching and no or little accountability, you are on your own to figure out how to sell real estate!
5. What other specific support will assure I am successful fast?
Listen carefully to this answer. Is it a ‘branding speech’ to sell you the benefits of that particular company, or does it focus on helping you individually reach your goals? If the interviewer mentions support services such as peer coaching, delve deeper to find out what specific services are provided.
Armed with these 5 questions, you’ll discover whether an office is committed to your success–or merely wants another license on the wall……
Get The Answers to 100s of your Questions
In her new eBook, What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School, Carla lays it all out in a clear, entertaining and no-holds-barred manner.
Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this fast-paced eBook:
- Whether you have the behavioral ‘profile’ of a successful real estate agent—and whether you’re going to love—or hate—selling real estate
- How to get ready to sell lots of real estate while you’re still taking your pre-license course
- How to absolutely match your goals with the right office for you so you don’t make the wrong choice
- The 10 secrets brokers won’t tell you in the interview—and the questions that reveal them
- 5 attributes of the manager you’ll love—and get the most from
- What a successful real estate agent does in a business day (so you can check your ‘gut’ and see if you’ll like this job)
- The most important technology you’ll need on the first day of your new career (and how not to waste money on tech you don’t need now)
- What to do the first and second weeks you’re in real estate to assure you launch a successful career
- What company training programs will—and won’t—do for you
- The start-up business plan that puts you far ahead of the pack
- How to handle those personality clashes as a new agent
- The 4 fatal mistakes new agents make that doom their careers
Get An Advantage Right Now
Why wait until you’re licensed to really get ready to sell real estate? I’ve made a checklist to help you save time so you’ll make money fast once you’re licensed. Click here to get my 30-point checklist, 30 Things to Do in Pre-LIcense to Hit the Ground Running.
Give yourself the advantage of preparation and knowledge so you’ll truly hit the ground running to a very successful real estate career. Click here to find out more.
