The 3 things every new agent needs to master

If you’re a new real estate agent, you’re probably still looking for ways to make your new business venture successful. I’ve been in real estate for some time, and I firmly believe there are three things every new agent needs to master. They’re things you need to focus on to help grow your client list and solidify your reputation as a knowledgeable agent who knows the local market and can help lead clients confidentially and effectively through the home buying and selling process. 

#1 Mastering Contracts

The first one is extremely important. It has to do with mastering contracts. This means having a firm handle and understanding of a purchase agreement and all contracts related to it, as well as the listing agreement and all contracts associated with it. 

In terms of the purchase agreement, I’m talking about many different documents, advisories, disclosure documents, and more. Remember you are locking in yourself and your clients to binding contracts. To effectively negotiate, you need to effectively understand things such as timelines, notices to perform, and contingency removals that may be mentioned in a contract. If you don’t, you’ll be at a disadvantage when negotiating with the agent representing the other side.

There are many things you can do. You can check with your local multiple listing service or realtor association to see if they provide webinars, classes, or training on contracts. Your brokerage may offer some training, too. You can even go on-line and search through videos about contracts, scenarios, and potential pitfalls to avoid. You want to know as much as possible to be effective for your clients. 

#2 Market Research

The second thing you need to master is market research. Essentially, you need to become a master of your local market. If you’re going to focus on a specific city or certain neighborhoods, go to open houses there, and go on broker tour days. You need to preview homes in the area.

You’ll want to go through the MLS, or even go on sites like Redfin and Zillow and review sold data for the neighborhood. Look at comparable sales data. You need to see homes that have sold, homes currently on the market, and then figure out why some homes are selling quickly, and others aren’t. Look at some of the pending sales, call up other agents, and find out what their homes sold for. It’s important for you to do detailed research and analysis to truly understand the local market. 

Oftentimes, the local MLS or realtors’ association can provide hyper local data about what’s happening in the market. This means new listings, how many homes have sold, the median and average sales price, the average number of days on the market, the average percentage of list price homes are selling for, and the inventory left at the end of the month. Use this data, preview homes, and compare the stats. This way, when someone brings up real estate in a social situation, you don’t sound scripted. You have solid data to show what you know about the local market. In turn, you’ll provide value and usable information to potential future clients. 

#3 Lead Generation

Last, but not least, you need to master lead generation. This covers a lot of things, from cold calling and door knocking, to following up with people and building relationships. This could mean friends and family, people in your network, or past clients.

Don’t make the mistake of just doing one thing. Do open houses and do some door knocking around your open houses. You can also buy on-line leads. To find more people to help and provide value to, you need to talk to people.