As a real estate agent, your success in the industry depends largely on how well you market yourself and your services. While hard work is definitely needed to succeed in real estate, there are ways to make extra money beyond just selling houses.
Running an online real estate business or investing in property can be lucrative for agents that are savvy about marketing. There are many different strategies that successful agents use to earn additional income.
Many of these strategies don’t require too much investment nor do they cost a lot to implement, making them accessible to everyone. Some of the most popular ways to make extra cash as a realtor include:
Writing a monthly article or book review
Creating a free website or app to promote products and services
Starting a podcast
Adding social media influencer status
Blogging
Offline advertising such as flyer design and direct mail
Some agencies offer special rewards or incentives for doing certain things like hosting a party for others or creating a YouTube channel. Others will pay you per referral which could result in significant earnings if you’re very productive at it.
Set up your contract
The next step in how to get paid as an agent is to actually offer your services to agents and brokers for compensation. This can be done through direct negotiations with each agent, or by offering your service at a discounted price via what’s called agency representation.
Agencies represent one or more sellers while their seller clients retain the services of the individual real estate agents they choose to work with. Both systems have worked effectively since agencies were first used back in the early 20th century!
There are many benefits to working with an agency, not the least of which is lower cost overall because you’re sharing fees between several people. That being said, it’s important to do some research and find out if this system works well for you and your career before jumping into that.
As with any other profession, there are always going to be big earners and small earners who succeed in business. You will need to learn how to cater to both types of agents if you want to make large amounts of money as an agent.
Know your market
As an agent, you need to know your market! What services do the other agents in your area offer? What types of homes are moving or being sold in your area?
What features does your home have that others don’t? If yours is a newer house, what improvements have you made to make it more appealing?
By knowing your competition, you can create strategies to get their business while staying within budget.
Some ways to gain knowledge about your market include talking to people around town who may be interested in buying or selling a property, visiting open houses, reading real estate magazines and doing research on-line.
There are many free resources available through groups and organizations like The National Association Of Realtors (NAR).
Find your clients’ motivations
As discussed before, being paid as a real estate agent is not only about showing homes to people and talking them into buying or renting, it’s also about getting them to pay you for a service they want.
Your client wants to buy a house, so why should she hire you? What does she need help with? What services do you offer that can help her achieve her goal?
These are all important questions to ask yourself when looking to be paid as a realtor. More importantly, what you provide and how well you provide it will determine how much money you make as an agent!
So what types of services do most agents offer their clients?
Most Realtors have done at least some of the following things for customers: given them a tour of the home, answered any questions they may have had, negotiated on price, completed paperwork, etc.
Serve your clients well
As mentioned before, as an agent, you should be willing to go above and beyond for your client. If you see someone that could use your services, offer it to them!
Agents are paid to help people find their dream home or get professional advice about the market, so why not pay forward and do some good?
By being proactive with your community, you’ll increase your exposure and gain new followers. You can even start your own group to connect with other agents in your area or nearby areas.
This will create more business opportunities for you. Your followers can also benefit from your insights and knowledge.
Running your own show via social media is another way to generate income. Many real estate agencies now have representatives who manage their accounts, so you may already have access to this tool.
Making yourself available to talk to others about homes and real estate helps you grow your portfolio. Plus, you’d make money while helping others achieve the same.
Keep your clients
As mentioned before, being paid as a real estate agent depends heavily on your relationships with people. If you are in business for yourself, this is easy; you just need to be proactive about finding customers!
As a professional seller’s agent, I know that my success comes down to me doing the best job possible to help my sellers find their dream home and then getting great results in the sale of theirs.
My agents work hard helping buyers find the house they want and negotiating on their behalf. Once they have found it and we have negotiated an agreement, I get them into the house so they can check it out and see if it fits for them.
I keep hearing stories from agents who struggle to make ends meet due to poor sales practices or lack of clientele. Some even go so far as to offer discounts to potential homes to try and draw in business.
Ask for referrals
Asking your colleagues, friends or people you know for work is one of the best ways to get paid as an agent. Not only does it boost your referral pool, but it also provides you with more contacts for business.
As agents, we’re in our own little bubbles where we think that everyone else is too busy to provide us with their contact information.
But they are not!
Most people have a friend who wants to buy or sell a house, so ask around to find out if there are any opportunities being pitched to them. It could be through direct conversations, social gatherings, etc.
It doesn’t matter whether you can’t commit yet or if you want to take advantage of this opportunity now, just because someone else wants to don’t hesitate to offer yours.
Have a business bank account
Having a business banking relationship is important for real estate agents to thrive. This includes having a personal checking account, an online billing or payment system, and a business credit card.
Having a business banking relationship is important for real estate agents to thrive. This includes having a personal checking account, an online billing or payment system, and a business credit card.
It’s helpful to have these things because you will likely be paid via check at some point. Checks are less efficient than other ways of paying such as using PayPal or giving someone your debit card so they can make purchases on your behalf.
By having all three, you’ll be prepared in case that happens. You can also use the credit card for everyday expenses if you’re being paid through it.
This way, you won’t need to carry around extra money to pay for things like lunch or taxis back home.
Track your sales
As mentioned earlier, being paid as a real estate agent depends heavily on how successful you are at finding and closing deals. This includes keeping up with all of your past clients, knowing what types of properties they purchased and from whom, and making sure these same people are looking out for your business now.
It also means staying in touch regularly with previous colleagues so that you know what services they offer and who might need your help or theirs. By doing this, you’ll be able to pick up some work where they left off and improve your own personal success by adding their contacts to yours.
And lastly, real estate agents must stay informed about changes happening in the industry and in house policies. This way you are not wasting your time talking to someone else about something that has been made irrelevant.
Running an agency can feel like a lot of hands-off work at times, which is why there are sometimes struggles to get paid properly.
