Starting in real estate: tips?

[notfarnow]

*flame suit on*

I've wanted to try real estate for years, but knew I'd need enough capital to float me for a while in order to not starve while I got established. Well, I got laid off 2 weeks ago with a decent severance package. With a completely stripped-down home budget, that could float me for quite a while. I've also managed to eke out some other (small) income streams that would cushion us a bit too.

There's a 2 week course (mandatory) at the beginning of March and then a licensing test a week later. So if I decide to try this, and I haven't decided yet, I would be starting from scratch in April.

I'd really like to skip the conversations about your opinion of real estate agents, or whether or not you think they provide any value. That's been discussed at length (read: ad nauseum) and any of those threads can be bumped if that's what you want to talk about. Same with the larger discussion about RE values and the subprime crisis. This is not intended to be a "should I / shouldn't I" thread... that's a decision my wife and I will make based on our comfort level, discussions with other agents and our assessment of the local market.

What I'm looking for is advice from RE agents on what steps I could be taking NOW, and in my first 6 months, to ramp up as quickly as possible. What did YOU do right? What did you do wrong? Did you use your network of family and friends to get clients? Did you advertise? Did you cold call? What did you do to get listings?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[berettafan]

i'm not a realtor (wouldn't admit if i i were) but one thing that i THINK can make a difference is finding a small scale broker who will give you a bigger cut if you do more administrative type work.

also suggest you develop a nose for who has cash in your area and email them selected properties on a semi-regular basis. not every week or you'll get annoying. and be selective MLS systems really put all realtors on even footing so you have to find the deals then take them to the folks who have the means to take advantage of them.

and if you get such a client base just do what they tell you.

and don't send your referal sources $20 gift cards. send them 20%.

and don't drink your own kool-aid.

[911Rob]

What I'm looking for is advice from RE agents on what steps I could be taking NOW, and in my first 6 months, to ramp up as quickly as possible. What did YOU do right? What did you do wrong? Did you use your network of family and friends to get clients? Did you advertise? Did you cold call? What did you do to get listings?

Hey Jake,

I’m surprised that you can get an RE license so quickly? Not here in BC? There’s a lot to learn in such a little time, can’t imagine being able to do so? My RE license required reading at least 20” stack of text book type materials, it wasn’t hard, but thorough. So let’s assume that you can and you’re able to get your RE license. I know that you’re planning to hook up with one of the majors there, and they’ll provide the training and mentoring program.

I can help you, in fact a ton, but my methods are based on the fact that when I began, I didn’t like ‘Realtors’; and ha, ha, still don’t for the most part. What I mean by this is think about everything you do from the clients viewpoint and it will serve you well. Lynn and I moved here from the big City of Calgary, where we dealt with the two TOP Realtors in the entire City. These were suit and tie guys with teams and very professional, on the ball. Competition was brutal for Realtors in Calgary, a real shark pit. We moved here and found the mentality very much different. I can assume where you live will be similar?, this can be an advantage for you.

I can’t put 30 years of marketing experience in a single thread, so it’ll be the readers digest version; but I can tell you that I’m a very qualified expert in my industry, ranking No.1 for the past 3 years and earning over a Million Dollars in commissions in a single year. The results speak for themselves, no other Realtor has done that in my region, or likely ever will. So if I were you buddy, I’d pay attention? First challenge is that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink; I’ve already trained other Realtors who work on my team and my partner is the ONLY one who “gets it”; most Realtors are on a program to stay broke imo.

So, as we’ve discussed, I’m happy to share, even here on an open forum….. this stuff is extremely valuable to the student who will incorporate it and it will END your financial challenges, forever.

End/ Part I: Introduction

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

This is not intended to be a "should I / shouldn't I" thread... that's a decision my wife and I will make based on our comfort level, discussions with other agents and our assessment of the local market.

What I'm looking for is advice from RE agents on what steps I could be taking NOW, and in my first 6 months, to ramp up as quickly as possible.

Do you have any friends who can get you in touch with some of their friends who are RE agents within a 25-50 mile radius of you?

I would think they'd be the best source for advice on what to do now, in your first 6 months, etc.

Be sure to tell them you're interested in talking to agents who aren't "full of themselves." There are agents out there who aren't obnoxious egomaniacs who have been in the business for awhile who'd love to help you out.

The real jerks might want to sabotage you with bad advice, thinking "why should I help Jake out... he would be competing with me."

[911Rob]

Part 2: Getting Started //A:

Probably the MOST important step at all….. you’ve already began, so you may have to step backwards, but do not underestimate the power of the first step! First impressions are lasting impressions. Before I actually began, I had an entire plan, a direction I was going to take my RE career….. it paid off, big time!

Philosophy Number One: Figure out what the majority of Realtors are doing; and do the opposite.

I can see a challenge with your program here; you’re getting your training from a corporate and it’s going to be sparingly, so you’ll be depending on the broker for expertise; therefore they’ll instill their methods into your plan. This is not good, especially if you don’t want the results they have? I had the same challenge, but there was no way I was going to succumb to the obstacle.

Fact: you’re going to have a challenge doing this on your own. Go interview a half dozen “just started” Realtors and see if any of them have remotely any results that you’re looking for? Ain’t gonna happen, RE careers typically take years to build. Friends and Family; HA! Throw that out right now…….. FOREVER! If your business plan relies on making money off friends and family, it sucks imo. You will love being so successful that you don’t have to charge friends or family; how’s that for a plan.
Solution: Find a partner or join a team.
Easier said than done, you’ll have to do your homework; learn a thing or two, but its not hard, just takes some time. Research the TOP Realtors, find out who the Top EARNING Realtors are in the area; maybe the top 5. Then set up meetings with them, when you’re ready. You’re going to need to sell yourself to these people, but first you’ll have to decide which one you want to work with; with what I had to offer my top 5, I had “my choice” of who I was going to work with. Your goal is to get a commitment that the Superstar will work with you; you will join their team or them. Trust me, they wont like it, but they wont be able to refuse you either.

Here’s where working in a slower paced environment will help; most “seasoned” Realtors are way behind in technology; most think RE involves getting listings, taking a few pics and hammering in a for sale sign. Now 4 years ago was a little different from today; but there are still huge amounts of successful, established Realtors who are archaic in their methods. In my case, it was all of the top 5 Realtors; only 1 even had a website. This is where you may have to learn a few tricks, but they’re not hard and the learning tools are all on the web. You will need to be able to:
1. Set up a domain name and email addresses
2. Build websites and marketing promotional materials
3. Take professional photographs and digitally utilize them in your programs
4. Become a master in communications, emails, phones, faxes, PCs, etc.
5. Become a master in broadcast email marketing, capturing and generating leads
6. Learn the software that Realtors use…. Take all the training programs offered and think beyond the training
7. Market research… know your product AND know your competitors
8. Research your advertising options for RE, know how to build/submit ads

You will need the following tools;
1. A good camera and lenses. I use a Canon Rebel with 18mm lens for interior shots (closest to fisheye), good memory cards, a PC memory card reader, external hard drive for storage of photos, spare battery, carry case.
2. PhotoshopCS or better. You’ll need a good photoshop program and you’ll need to learn how to use it; not hard, just takes some time. If you buy PS-CS they offer tons of on line training. Do the training, you’ll love it. (LINK)
3. Website publishing tools. Find a geek to teach you how to build a simple website; html version. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just simple. I use Dreamweaver and FTP Voyager software for publishing. This is now a high school level of qualifications, but a skill that is valuable in marketing. Learn it and develop the skill. (www.portsidecourt.ca /Sample; past project)
4. A good quality PC, enough said; get some serious junk with some power. I use a double monitor system too, very good tool.
5. MS Outlook upgraded (Office) email software; compatible with email broadcasters, blackberrys. You will build all your contacts here and develop sophisticated lists of contacts used in marketing. Set this up right from the beginning and it will save you thousands of hours later.
6. Email broadcast software; I use “Swiftpage” (www.swiftpage.com ), this software sends out marketing info to your clients; you can send 1000+ emails in one click and it will send them one at a time, has stuff to avoid filters, etc. The software tracks the email, who looks at it, who opens what links, etc. It’s a very powerful tool and when you set up your contacts properly, this tool can be used very efficiently. You can start with their free version, it will serve you well enough to begin. Learn how to build a marketing campaign by taking their on line training offered.
7. Download the software program that Realtors use and start learning it; it’s a valuable tool that give you a leading edge if you know how to use it properly. Let me know what the software is called? Out here we use a program by Kinnexus and Interface; they are a bit like using PCs back in the DOS days, but learn them. Take all the RE training offered in your area. Get a good relationship with the trainer so you can get your questions answered later. I get Realtors asking me all the time, “how did you get that?” Ha, the edge. This software can print you reports that will make you an expert. Recent solds, property histories, added info like plot plans, photos, measurements, etc. You can set up all kinds of features, customize it to your look, etc.
8. Google Earth or Mapping software; learn how to download maps and customize them for your marketing campaigns. Clients want to know where the property IS!
9. RE Website Host: There are a ton of hosts out there that make it so easy to have a custom website; the data loads direct from MLS and can be enhanced easily thereafter. You can build excellent marketing presentations with your own custom website. I use Real Page (www.myrealpage.com ); for about $35/month you cannot beat it; I’ve tried. Learn the program. You’ll find our presentations at www.MrShuswap.com another version is my partners brother at www.daleredekop.com ; same software, different looks; all simple and easy to use…. Makes you an expert.

[911Rob]

Part 2: Getting Started //B:

Go to MLS and study all the properties on the market AND go to the individual Realtor websites and study their sites; learn what others are doing…. You will do it better. There are tons of little tricks that most Realtors don’t know about; ways of programming direct links from MLS to where YOU want them to go; like your site or feature presentations.

With these skills tucked under your belt and some confidence that you can make this work; you go into your meetings with these top Realtors and you make your pitch. You inform them that you are going to become a Realtor and that you’re selecting an appropriate Realtor to work with; you establish that if you could help them earn MORE money, would they be willing to share some of the extra income with you? Inform them of what you can do for them; that you are a marketing expert; you learned a ton of skills from an old developer buddy out in BC, Ha! Now once I’d chosen WHO I was going to work with, I offered to work for them for FREE for 3 months while I proved what I could do for them; then once I established that I could increase their income and decrease their personal work load, we could talk remuneration for my efforts. HOWEVER, while you are working in the next 3 months, you will also give them 50% of your RE commissions from work that you bring to the team! Got it? This is exactly what I did.

After 3 months we converted all our business together and I took 15% of all sales. After 6 months it went to 25% and 1 year later it went to a full 50%-50% partnership. We’ve been No.1 the entire time.

My concern might be that you just got laid off from a big Co with a severance package to boot, so you might be stuck in the ‘employee’ mentality mode? You’re going to be an entrepreneur as a Realtor and its going to be a whole lot different. Go to work Mon to Fri, sit at your desk for 8 hours a day and guess what? You’ll be broke and fast. I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life and I NEVER expected anything from anyone for nothing, I’ve always more than earned my keep in every opportunity I’ve been involved with; so I had total faith that if I did the work; I’d make the dough. In the past I’ve set up huge developments with investors and teams of construction dudes, involving millions and millions. My wife and I would personally guarantee all the investors money returned; then we would do profit sharing; I’d make squat if the project wasn’t successful; but guess what….. they always were!

Keep in mind, this whole RE thing started when I saw one of my Realtors pay stubs…… it was December at the time and it said his year to date income was $400,000; I thought to myself right there; What the heck? I’ve done a lot of work to make less in my 25 years of development.

[911Rob]

Part 3: The Work //A:

Once you find a suitable Realtor to work with, then you are going to start the work.

You should establish a brand and branding method. Advertising typically gets about 1 second to be absorbed, so what do you want your ads to instill; this will be your brand. Everything we do is about the brand. Our current brand is “MrShuswap” and we have a logo of my partner that is easily remembered. Everything is about the logo and the website domain www.MrShuswap.com . Develop your brand. Forget Re/Max, C21, Royal LePage, etc. You want people to see your sign and remember YOU. Clients think we all work together for the better good of them? Not. Our signs have the minimum requirements for corporate logo, etc and we got the OK in writing from head office before joining the company. Get your image and set up a domain, email addresses, etc. If the existing Realtor has pre-established stuff, no trouble, just link the new to the old. You’ll see my domain actually goes to my partners old domain, his name. I own the domain, I set it up and I control where it links to. Our emails are also ******@MrShuswap.com constantly burning the name into the minds of everyone.


Set up a brand new phone number; try to get an easy one to remember; but get a phone number that you’ll use on everything. This is the main number that you want people to call; it goes on your site, emails and signs. You control where the phone rings to by call forwarding it. One of your goals is to teach the existing Realtor how to have some time off; this is one of the tricks. Your spending a lot of time and money to get the phone to ring….. so for Gods sake, have somebody answering it! Let your Realtor take all the calls and just forward when he takes time off; once he gets used to you taking the calls, it will happen more often; but your true goal is to have sale people making the sales and you providing the professional marketing experience in the background; it’s a win/win for all.
NOTE: you may not be able to change the existing, already well used phone number; that's OK, you can use it, just convert to the call forward number and issue another number to the Realtor; this is very important in the functionality of the RE program and the Realtors time off/away.

Then, take all the existing listings and improve them. Go to the properties and redo the photography; the weather must be good and it will have to be redone if there’s snow on the ground. Take 100’s of photos of the property. Stage as much as you can. ALWAYS move vehicles, never photo people, hide garbage, tidy, clean, etc. The little bit of difference, makes the difference. Improve the marketing package as best you can. Obtain all the property and home info. Get lot plans and maps. Put all this info onto your new site.

I use to use the built in slide show feature the web host software offers, but it took too long to load and weighed down the site too much; so I’ve switched to Flickr and use their slide shows. Here’s a simple sample of a nice website presentation (LINK), has photos, lot plan and maps and it links right from MLS to these features with programmed icons of Add’t Photos, Brochure & Media (LINK). Put in all the extra effort you can. You don’t have to do it all at once, you can do a standard minimum and then enhance it when there’s time; oh yeah; I work from home, period.

Get your site and presentations working good for you. It’s your secret weapon.

When people decide to choose a Realtor, the first thing they do is go to MLS and see what “their” neighbours/competition is doing? They’ll be looking on MLS and guess what, they’ll see which Realtors are doing the best job…… right there! Keep your site professional, simple and easy to use. Forget the crap, give the people what they want, the info. It will bring you listings; the more listings, the more business. Also, you should co-list all your listings on MLS, it gives a far better presentation than just one Realtor as it makes the space of the property presentation twice as big and it give you exposure to the clients. Working your game.

[911Rob]

Part 3; B//:

With your website underway and your branding style you will want to get the phone ringing. Look for your “LOSS LEADERS” and milk them for the calls, contacts. If your hungry (we haven’t been since about month #2), you can do all kinds of things to get the phone to ring.

You should choose a level of expertise? We chose ‘waterfront’; paid the best too. Become the expert in the chosen field, but really, you will become an expert in all your field; period. Your loss leaders will likely sell fast, so you have to act quickly.

Buyers are very good at keeping a distance, so you have to build loyalty. Also listers love our “Zero Day Unconditional Cancellation” in writing; we list all our properties for an entire year (less work renewing), but offer the zero day cancellation for any reason at anytime. (Remember to think like the client). RE is a referral sport, so PR is very important; keep the people happy.

Here’s an over the top tip: Now you’ve built expert marketing packages for all your listings and you’ve become an expert on the market; so you also know which homes compete with yours. Go out and build marketing packages for all the other homes too. Make viewing appointments, tell them your previewing for an out of town buyer. Go to the property and take your own photos, get a lot plan, make a map of where it is and put it in a file with a marketing package prepared and ready to go. Do this for your loss leaders first, then expand to others, starting with your chosen expertise areas.

There is NO REALTOR in my area who can tell you more about any property that YOU are interested in buying. Period. Often buyers tell us that you provide more info than the listing Realtor did. Gotcha! $$$$ Ca-ching. When someone inquires about your loss leader, and/or others you reply back with an email campaign that will knock their socks off. Here’s a tip too; if people say you provided too much info, guess what? They’re not buying. Buyers always want info, the more the better.

Your goal is to get them into your car; then sell them your listing; but if it doesn’t work out, the downside is you sell them somebody elses listing. We sell as much as we list; no other Realtor does this either. The competition is either good at listing or at selling, but nobody else does both in our Region, fyi.

The RE software will allow you to check the performance of all other Realtors in your Region; “the Truth”; find out who’s the best at what and set your goals. Our worst year we lapped the No.2 guy 4 times! We lap the average guy 10 times.

I’ll send you one of my email marketing campaigns; you’ll see what they look like; fyi.

During this time, you’ll be taking a load of work off your Realtor partner; they will start having more free time, enjoying their work more and be freer to sell; you’ll have to blow your own horn and keep the reigns in tight at first, but the success will spread to your business. Your partner isn’t going to do anything different from what they’ve been doing the last 20 years; mine still doesn’t, but he does make a lot more money than he’s EVER made before.

It’s really all about “Marketing”. I always say, “Show me a developer who doesn’t know how to market their development and I’ll show you a developer in the process of going broke.” It’s true. RE people aren’t marketers. In development we have to do studies to figure out where to buy a property, then we have to study the zoning and trends of previous development, then do rezoning, sub-divide, etc. We have to constantly build proformas that build confidence with banks and investors, etc. The list goes on and on. No Realtor thinks like a developer; which by the way, a developer hates to pay a RE commission; ha, ha; unless of course it’s earned. Think like a developer and give the client what they want; share the market and all its details with your client and they will be as loyal as your dog when it comes to choosing a Realtor.

During this process of getting your RE career going, you’ll be paying your partner some big cuts; but you’ll keep track of the work that you bring in and he/she will notice their work load cut down. Work the spouse too; they will love their partners newly found free time. (top realtors are always busy). You will gain their knowledge. There’s likely not a day that goes by where I don’t utilize my RE partners expertise; he’s been doing it for 23 years. He knows the clauses, contracts, etc like the back of his hand. You will need this expertise, very much!

That’s a start Jake….. let me know if you want more and I’ll chime in again.
I wish you all the very best my friend, I expect to see all your signs all over the place the next time I’m over there!
Cheers,

[gassy]

Maybe just apply at McDonald's

[notfarnow]

wow, tons of great info here. I'm going through it for a couple hours and have some questions.

thanks!

[Rot 911]

Rob, that is some really useful info, not just for real estate, but will even help me in getting my private law practice up and running!

[Porsche_monkey]

I will (with difficulty) respect your request and just say 'good luck', I hope it works for you...

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Porsche_monkey

I will (with difficulty) respect your request and just say 'good luck', I hope it works for you...

ha ha thanks, I appreciate the restraint!

Keep in mind I have an opportunity to completely flop at this and still come out OK. That's not my goal, obviously, and if I thought I couldn't pull it off I wouldn't be considering it. But if it doesn't work out, I will be no further behind than I was before I got laid off.

Rob, that is a ton of great info. I have lots of questions coming at you, and to other folks who have posted thoughts. Thanks

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by berettafan

also suggest you develop a nose for who has cash in your area and email them selected properties on a semi-regular basis. not every week or you'll get annoying. and be selective MLS systems really put all realtors on even footing so you have to find the deals then take them to the folks who have the means to take advantage of them.

That will be a challenge, for sure. City of ~120k, and the folks I know in that bracket get pestered a fair bit by agents. There's an upside to that, though

Originally Posted by berettafan

and don't send your referal sources $20 gift cards. send them 20%.

Intuitively, that makes a LOT of sense. I was wondering about that.

Originally Posted by berettafan

and don't drink your own kool-aid.

I will do my best. Mrs Notfarnow sure as hell won't drink it. She is 100% realist and very cautious. That will help balance out what we do.

[rammstein]

You can make money early on by opening lockboxes on houses that are on market and stealing coins. I made close to $300 last week doing that.

[Superman]

Buy low, sell high.

The key is to sell lots of properties, which increases your commissions.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by 911Rob

Hey Jake,

I’m surprised that you can get an RE license so quickly?

yep. for a "salesperson" it's a 2 week course and then a licensing exam. That's my first step.

Originally Posted by 911Rob

Competition was brutal for Realtors in Calgary, a real shark pit. We moved here and found the mentality very much different. I can assume where you live will be similar?, this can be an advantage for you.

Kinda/sorta. Local market is a funny one, was undervalued for decades and then in the past 5 years or so it really ramped up. Not crazy high or anything, but up to values in other cities. Values seem to be leveling off but not dropping. Still a strong local market, and that has attracted lots of people into the business, some are REALLY good. Lots aren't

Originally Posted by 911Rob

First challenge is that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink; I’ve already trained other Realtors who work on my team and my partner is the ONLY one who “gets it”; most Realtors are on a program to stay broke imo.

So, as we’ve discussed, I’m happy to share, even here on an open forum….. this stuff is extremely valuable to the student who will incorporate it and it will END your financial challenges, forever.

I appreciate that and I don't take it lightly. My approach may end up being different than yours in some ways, but I consider all your advice really valuable. Thanks Rob!

[crustychief]

don't get caught with the quarters

[Porsche_monkey]

Originally Posted by crustychief

don't get caught with the quarters

Don't post your bail in quarters. Too obvious.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

Do you have any friends who can get you in touch with some of their friends who are RE agents within a 25-50 mile radius of you?

I would think they'd be the best source for advice on what to do now, in your first 6 months, etc.

Yes, I have already met with a couple who are well trusted "steady eddy" types. One's been at it for 20+ years and does well, the other 5+ years and does really well. Both have been very helpful, and I'm meeting with them again next week.

I already have a sense of who the snakes are... word spreads pretty quick around here