Being a real estate agent is an incredible career choice, there’s no denying that! But before you start applying for jobs as a real estate agent, you need to make sure your skills are up to scratch and that you know what the job entails.
Running your own business comes with its share of responsibilities, which can get easily overlooked when you’re in pursuit of your dream career. It’s important to be aware of these before you begin.
In this article we’ll go through some essential things you should know about becoming a real estate agent before jumping into the deep end. We’ll also talk you through the steps to gain real estate salesperson licensure in Queensland, so that if you’re already working in the industry or would like to, you will at least have your license level needed.
Check their website to see if you like what you see
It is your responsibility as an aspiring real estate agent to check out whether or not this career path is right for you before jumping in. Make sure that the agency you choose has clear policies and procedures, and look into how experienced they are.
It’s also important to make sure that individual agents at the firm are trustworthy and can be counted on when things get tough. Take a trip down to the office and meet with some of the people there.
Interview each member of the team to determine if they seem honest and hardworking, and if they appear to enjoy what they do.
Call and talk to the company about becoming a agent
Even if you have no experience as an real estate agent, all companies that offer education loans require you to be licensed as one before they will give you your loan. But what kind of license? There are two main types of licenses for real estate agents in Australia- professional licensure or broker’s licence.
Most people begin their career as an agent by obtaining either one of these. While both sound similar, only one gives you full access to become an investment property owner or developer.
The other requires you to work under someone who is already a member of The Australian Securities Commission (ASC). This includes having a business license, being registered with ASIC and working under them as an agent.
Prepare your marketing materials
After you have determined that real estate selling is what you want to do, then it’s time to start preparing for your career by creating and editing your business documents and media.
You will need to create an agent ID, professional profile photos, agency logos, brochures, flyers, advertisements, social media profiles and pages, lead generation tools such as testimonials and portfolio displays, office decorations, and more!
All of these can be done in-house or via third party apps and platforms which are designed to help you run your business better.
Create a good marketing schedule
As with any career, being a real estate agent is not going to take off unless you are willing to put in some effort into promoting yourself.
Running your own business means that you will be responsible for generating traffic to your website and getting new clients.
You can’t expect people to come to you, so it makes sense to go after what you want and then re-evaluate whether or not you achieved your goal.
By creating an organized marketing plan, you’ll find that you don’t have to spend as much time looking for ways to draw attention to yourself.
Start by making sure your phone is always accessible and test out various advertising strategies such as posting on social media, putting up signs, and doing interviews on radio and TV.
Buy some good quality attire
As mentioned earlier, being a real estate agent is not cheap! Even though it may seem like a solid income source at first glance, it can cost you quite a bit of money to be successful as an agent.
Running your own business means that there’s no one else backing you up, so you will usually have to do the work yourself. This can include going out to look for homes, showing them, negotiating with other agents on their behalf, and even taking care of the closing!
While most people are now able to become real estate agents due to the online tools available, this does not mean that you should give up just yet! In fact, it is more important than ever to get into the real estate market before it takes off.
With all of these costs involved, it is very difficult to make a living as a realtor without investing in expensive marketing equipment or valuable training courses. Luckily, we have gathered several helpful tips here for you to learn how to become a real estate agent easily.
Start by buying some good quality apparel. A white shirt with black pants or dress shoes is always appropriate when representing a seller or buyer. Many people also suggest having car keys and cell phone access stamped on your suit jacket as extra pieces of identification.
Practice selling properties
A real estate agent with no sales is like someone who cannot swim, they will surely drown. As such, it is important to learn how to sell a property. This means holding a house or apartment open houses, putting up signs, taking pictures and showing potential buyers as well as doing all of this yourself.
Many people start working in real estate after studying business, but few study how to actually sell a property. Being able to do so is very significant as a career in real estate!
There are many ways to approach marketing a home for sale including: posting online advertisements, going door-to-door, using direct mail, creating a website, writing a book about tips on buying and selling homes, etc. Different areas value different approaches so you should determine what works best for you and develop that style.
Another way to become a real estate agent is by owning a real estate agency. This can be done through either becoming an associate broker, being endorsed as a principal broker, or starting your own firm. Each of these require you to meet certain qualifications and have enough money set aside to run a business.
Know your market
As a real estate agent, your success will depend on two things; how well you know your area and what kind of property you are going to represent yourself as an agent.
As a beginner real estate agent, it is important to understand the basics of the industry before getting into the more advanced stages.
For example, you should learn about the types of houses and properties there are, what qualities buyers look for in a house, and what price ranges they have limiters for.
By knowing these basic fundamentals, you can start representing certain homes or areas as your own!
There’s no need to be limited to only one street or town, you can expand your portfolio by learning about different neighbourhoods within your local area.
This way you can make more money off selling one home and buying another!
Another important thing to know is whether or not the housing market has its up-swings and down-sprees.
Find your clients
As a real estate agent, your success will depend on two things: finding a house you want to buy and getting enough people to pay you to sell that house.
To be successful as an agent, you should be willing to look outside of your comfort zone and meet lots of different people.
This could mean talking to potential home buyers about their dreams and goals or meeting with sellers who might just need to find a new listing agent.
Running out of ideas for houses to show off can easily turn into creating a job for someone else!
As long as you’re putting in the effort to learn more about selling homes, then there is no reason you cannot become an experienced real estate agent.
