I am in debt up to my eyeballs. I have a ton of contacts. The company I work for is on this big roll of "team players" yet the only team I see is the bill at the end of the month. I also have to business plan and all that happy crap and I just feel I made a huge mistake in even attempting it. Did any of you ever have this sinking feeling? I started in November and NOTHING = Like I tell people - I volunteer at a real estate company.

Mortgage business is much more lucrative. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I wish you luck on your future endeavors.

It typically takes 3-4 years to build RE into something decent. You're on 3-4 months. You're 10% there!

The RE schools say you should have 6 months of income saved. I've always said one year minimum, and I KNOW I'm right.

You really won't make steady money in this game for years, not months.

I know, I know, we've all heard about a few luckboxes who walk into all kinds of action their first few months. But that's random lucky variance, not reality.

The reality is you opened a business with no capital. Pretty much guaranteeing failure.

Your best bet is to get a real job for now, get the bills paid, keep your license, save a year of living expenses, and re-open your business in a few years when you're really ready.

Not pleasant, but RE is a hard way to make an easy living...

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/23/news/economy/homesales/index.htm

"Home sales post biggest jump in 2 years
Pace of existing sales picked up last month versus forecasts for a modest decline.
March 23, 2006: 11:55 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Home sales posted their biggest jump in two years in February, a trade group said Thursday in a report that showed surprising strength in the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors reported existing homes sold at an annual rate of 6.91 million in February, up from a revised 6.57 million pace in January."

Looks like things are happening in Michigan as well.

http://realtytimes.com/rtmcrstate/Michigan

You should write Hallmark cards.


Dawn-

Without going into a huge analysis, you probably just need to hone your skills. Have you ever taken any formalized sales (non-RE) training? Check out some books from a local library.

Focus on your selling skills. Have someone who is successful score your presentation. Keep a diary of your failures and successes. Critique yourself. Try to learn something from every failure and success.

This business is more about relationship building than anything else. Talk to your friends/family and have them give you pointers to enhance your communication skills.

Navarac- many folks don't adhere to your timeline. I am about to open up an office competing against NRT and the two biggest Remax offices in the world. Should I just give up before I start?

This business is a great opportunity. It ain't exactly rocket science. So, many people can learn it. Some learning curves are just steeper than others.

No. These are the FACTS of life in real estate. The 70%+ of new agents who failed last year all agree with me...

I did have money saved up. AND my husband has a decent job. AND I have every friggin book that B & N sells. AND I work my rear off. Things just seem to fall apart at the last minute or I just miss them. I was a flight attendant (a good one) for 15 years. I know how to talk to people, take crap from people, have patience with people but I can't seem to figure out why I am now the only person in my office out of the new hires that hasn't closed a deal. Please don't respond if all your going to do is kick my while I am down . .

Gotta figure out your niche. It took me about 2 years to find mine. I went through FSBOs, expireds, sat some new construction, door knocking, and cold calling, not to mention handing my card out everyplace, this I still do, though. Most of those things, it's not that I wasn't good at it, I just wasn't comfortable doing them, as I am a completely and totally shy person. After over a year of doing BPOs & REOs, not exactly rolling in it, but I'm starting to actually pay the bills again, lol.

Dawn,
I know where you are coming from! I have been an agent for 2 1/2 years. First year I only sold 2 houses. Second year things really paid off.. I worked hard and did well.

This year has started off slow for me. Lots of setbacks. I know it is hard to keep a positive attitude. If you stay with it you will get clients! Go the extra step... provide service and followup that some of the more "jaded" and seasoned agents don't seem to find necessary. In my area, I find that holding open houses at good locations helps me find clients. I follow up with contacts I make there (they were looking at a house for sale... perhaps they will actually want me to find one for them if they did not like the open house listing.) If you happen to find a FSBO holding an open house go to it.. talk to them about listing their house or see if you can provide comps for them and maybe they will give you some leads from people who have contacted them and did not want their house but might let you help them find one.

Good luck! Chin up! Let us know how you are doing!

Good luck! Chin up!

LISTEN UP! I told you that it's going to take YEARS not MONTHS to be a success in this business. YEARS. That is the norm.

You've been at this for 4 putrid months and you're wondering where the success is? I don't care what you've read, after 4 months you're a newbie who doesn't know jack about real estate. Why should anyone hire you? Because you're nice? or patient? That's total bull.

People are making the largest financial commitment of their life and they should come running to you for help and advice because you're a sweetie pie? C'mon get real. When you can do the job BETTER than other Realtors and have proven it over and over, THEN you will close deals. Right now you should smile sweetly at all the good agents open houses and learn the ropes and be grateful that this industry lets anyone with SAT scores above 150 in the door.

And stop looking at the other rookies. They probably sold something to friends or family like all the other newbie losers. They're just as worthless as you after 4 months and have just as good a chance to end up in the 70% out-the-door category.

Learn the game slowly and patiently and plan for 3-4 years without a steady income. That's real estate reality.

Is there another profession in the world where people think they should be a success after 4 months? It took me longer than that to become a good paperboy for crissakes...

If your business is failing, it's time to really assess yourself and why people don't want to work with you. It may be good for other people, you, and your broker to be very critical. If your broker isn't there for you, then that could be the issue.

I read good books like the "Millionaire Real Estate Agent" and "21 Things My Broker Should Have Told Me", but it takes more than that to succeed. You should have received great training on generating leads, marketing and working by referral. KW and other brokerages have a quickstart program that teaches you how to quickly get listings and sales within 3-4 months.

The first step is to have a serious talk with your broker so they can help you discover how you can succeed. At my company, we get free DISC personality training, which helps us understand how we communicate and tailor our communication to various clients. Even though you may know "how to talk to people", the DISC profile will give you more tools. You may even find that perhaps you'd be better suited at this point to working as an assistant or joining a team.

Brian Buffini's coaching program is recommended. I used iSucceed's teachings when I first started and recently signed up for Howard Brinton's club, which is even better. http://gostarpower.com/

Jeez.. how rude!

Don't listen to navaracs raving! You are NOT worthless!!! Keep at it and try to find a unique approach to your business. Offering something different that is beneficial will help you. Also, make sure that you are contacting friends, relatives & business associates for business and or referrals! I strongly disagree with navaracs statement: "They probably sold something to friends or family like all the other newbie losers." Last time I checked, a paycheck is good, no matter the source! If friends and family referrals are for losers, then I am losing all the way to the bank!

Surround yourself with successful agents and learn from them. You may want to work with a top agent as a licensed assistant for a while. This will give you experience and a steady income.

Don't give up! Learning to sort through BS is going to be a benefit. What better place to exercise that skill than right here in this thread!

Best of luck to you!

Scott

I couldn't have said it better...

There is no "one size fits all" in terms of ways to achieve success in this business. SOI and Open Houses have worked best for me, but I got my license close to two years ago and things didn't start to take off until the end of last year. I refuse to door knock or cold call, and tried marketing to Expired and FSBOs without much luck. I had some luck with internet leads but wouldn't recommend that because it takes so many leads to close one deal. Now I try to focus on doing a few things well and being consistant. Yes, I've heard about rookies who do extremely well their first year, but frankly haven't ever met any even though I do believe they exist. I still believe it takes time to get established, and more time if you don't have a large SOI or are new to the area. Whenever I see a successful agent I look at how long they've been in the business, and it's almost always a very long time.

Get in good with a bunch of Mortgage Brokers. We always get clients looking to purchase who are not yet set up with a realtor. Especially on deals received by Major Internet lead providers. I'd say I average 1-2 a month without realtors.