What should an agent’s first week in the business look like?
The next few blogs are excerpted from my ebook, What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School (the facts about real estate as a career!).
I’m including these blogs for managers because I believe that the agent’s first month in the business pretty well determines his/her success–and retention–or not. (These are facts borne out by statistics in other businesses, too). So, it’s in our best interest as managers to create an exceptional first-month experience for each agent. It will greatly increase your profits and your retention. So, as you read these blogs, ask yourself, “How am I assisting this agent’s launch–or not”?
Here’s Your Desk, Here’s Your Phone, Got Any Questions…..
That’s what my first boss told me as I was hired. So, I went to the desk I was assigned and…..waited for something to happen. I was so naïve I didn’t even know the questions to ask! You may be laughing now, but, that still occurs in real estate offices today. What would you do if that happened to you? Probably sit and wait for someone to
Invite you to have a cup of coffee or lunch
Invite you to go see homes for sale
And, those were both things that happened to me. You may even conclude that’s how real estate was sold. Wrong. Unfortunately, neither of these activities makes you any money. So, I quickly figured out I couldn’t do things like the agents in the office did them, or I would produce the same amount they produced—3-4 sales a year. (There were two others in the office, but I never saw them, because they were out selling….).
What Your First Week Should Look Like
Managers: Compare my list with yours. Is your operation covering all these bases?
Orientation: Get everything done on the orientation checklist your manager provided. Work with the secretary or assistant to complete all the tasks, so you’re ready to sell real estate.
Schedule an appointment with your manager to get your business start-up plan and a coaching schedule with him/her or someone designated as your accountability coach.
Start-up checklist: Your manager may provide a start-up checklist, which has things on it such as ‘create a database’; call potential clients’; ‘meet with a mortgage rep’. These lists can include business developing and business-supporting activities. Just be sure they are targeted to start your business successfully—not just give you busywork.
Schedule your initial training: Your company should have an initial training program that occurs at least every two months. Schedule attendance at it. Chapter 9 has a comprehensive new agent training calendar you can use to compare to what you’ve requested in the interview.
Property inspection: Every new agent wants to feel comfortable with inventory. So, schedule inspection of listings for 3-5 hours this week, and during your first month. As you become comfortable with inventory, don’t ‘preview’ any more than you need to feel comfortable working with buyers and sellers.
Top-producing agents preview with a reason: To do research on a potential listing, or to preview with a specific buyer in mind. They don’t have time just to preview pretty properties because they are on the market—but non-producing agents have plenty of time to become ‘property experts’.
See my business start-up plan, for a good prototype schedule for yourself, so you’ll get great time management habits from day 1.
Want proven guidance to start your career? Check out
What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School – everything each prospective agent should know about careers in real estate
Up and Running in 30 Days — the new agent’s business start-up plan, with dozens of training tips, checklists, and sales guidance to start your career right
UP and Running in Real Estate — the comprehensive online version; a detailed start-up plan, with 25 training videos, dozens of documents to save you thousands of hours, and coaching plus motivation to keep your momentum to success
Carla’s advice: No matter how you start, start with a proven plan!
