Well this is my first post here at agentsonline, so I guess I will start off with a little background on my current situation. I’m 22 years old and I’m looking to make a change in career path. I currently work full time, as well as operate a small buying/selling motorcycle business with a friend of mine. Over the past few months I’ve been researching the prospect of rehabbing houses since I have many of the skills that can make one successful in that market. Through this I have came around to the idea of getting my real estate license to make investing even more profitable, since I could avoid commission by doing the work myself.

I’ve looked into becoming a real estate agent a few times in the past and I’ve always gotten discouraged early on in my research. I know I would be a great agent due to my personality and skill set, but that only gets you so far. Getting clients is what makes you or breaks you in this business and it seems like a super competitive market out there. I think being a real estate agent could be a super rewarding career, but I also have a mortgage to pay so I need to know its possible to make decent money both in the short term and the long.

Due to my continuing dissatisfaction with my current employment, I’ve decided to really dive into the possibility of becoming a real estate agent. My main question is what does it take to get started in this industry? With the housing market the way it is, I can imagine now is not the best time to be getting into the field.
As for a monetary goal, I would like to see what it takes to earn $30k (pre-tax) in ones first year in real estate. Should I expect to be doing nothing but cold-calling my [censored] off for the first year? I would like to look at this without factoring in people I already know. It seems most unsuccessful agents I’ve heard of or known rely too much on their personal networking as apposed to marketing.

One thing I do have going for me is that I have a background in marketing and graphic design. I am also a semi-professional photographer, so when it comes to listing houses, I would consider myself to have a bit of an edge. If houses are at all like cars, great photos in an ad go a long way. As for my own personal print marketing, doing all of my own design work will save me a ton of money.

With all of that said, would you guys have any insight for me?

Hi,
Look at my reply under: Whats your highest commission ever made$$$ by Cirino 21 for some idea on costs.
As far as your other questions: Yes the market is slow, but picking up. If you have some money put aside now is actually not a bad time to start because you can gain all your experience now and then be ready for when things pick up.
None of the brokers I interviewed with talk about cold calling. Most of your prospecting will involve talking to For Sale Buy Owners (FSBY). Don't immediately ask them if they want to list with you, every other agent is already doing that. Just find out if you had an interested buyer would they negotiate a small commission for that if they say yes which they most likely do, ask to see the house and keep in touch with them thru email and remember little facts like if their kids were trying out for something. In other words be a friend instead of a salesman and when their home doesn't sell FSBY then you'll get the listing. Another important thing to do is work expired listings. The average listing is taking 8-12 months to sell and the average listing agreement is for 6 months you will have a lot of expired listings to go after and of course the home owner in not happy with the current Realtor if the house didn't sell even if it was the markets fault. Now of course you are wondering won't that also happen to my listing. Maybe, but a few things you have going for you is the house was out there already 6 months and also then most likely they will be willing to come down in price since it didn't sell the first time. You make the most commission from selling your own listings, then any other listing to a buyer, then selling FSBY that didn't list with you and that should be your priority. Even if your listing doesn't sell you will still get a lot of leads off the listing sign, listing are super important to get. You will also have to constantly start conversations with new people and then let them know you're a Realtor and give them some cards. Wear a name badge even when off duty and have mag. signs on your car. Remember you're working for yourself and have to market yourself 24/7 the cheapest way possible. Make sure you sign up with a broker that has things set up that the phone numbers on the yard signs go directly to your #'s and not the office number so you don't loose leads. I am completely new to this and am just talking based on research. you need to get with a good broker that will teach you this from experience while not taking a huge chunk of your commission. I hope this helps and if I'm way off base here, please correct me, like I said I'm new at this.

Thanks for the reply, there is some really good information in there.

With all the research on the little marketing tricks of the industry, I should be able to hit the ground running if I do get my license. Its really just the question of will people react to it? I think this stems from my doubt of the industry which really isn't entirely warranted since I haven't worked in it to see the market first-hand.

Prospecting seems to be the key to success in this industry. Does anyone have some experience on what to expect from brokers? I've heard a number of different things, from they don't help with any leads, to brokers that have things in place to generate leads for their agents. In the end, this is a business, not a job so I guess an agent really isn't entitled to handouts per-se. Then again, that commission split has to be going towards something.

What it takes is consistency.
But first, you need to know what's working for you best.
For that, you need to test your work.
Once you have managed your best tools/approach, stick to it.
It's a number game. So the more you do, the better.

And yes, it is the best time to get in. Lots of agents are falling like flies these days. If you can make it now, you'll be fine...

Well, assuming you get your license -- which is another topic in itself -- then I'd say the best way to get started is by hooking up with a good brokerage.

My goal at first was to have a ton of agents at my company but they were just a headache and cut down on my time working on my own deals. I only charged a small 300 trans fee per closing.

I have now shifted focus to have a group of maybe 10 to 20 superstars where I show them my system and I give the leads and for that I take 30 to 40 percent of the commission while I also work my own deals. This way I have a highly trained group that do things my way. They will make a ton of money and the leads will come to them. I won't allow part-time they will have to be ALL IN.

I would say the NUMBER ONE mistake is to not STICK to a plan.If the plan is good and you work it consistently you will succeed.

We mail out to expired's and keep doing it like clockwork regardless of excuses. It has brought us countless closings.

Same with blogging,e-mails,etc. Pretty soon you have a system on autopilot.

Illusion, the most important attributes (in my humble opinion) that make for a successful real estate agent are: a strong work ethic, ability to think outside the box in solving problems, excellent communication skills, and being persistent (I'm sure there are other skills or traits, but this is the most succinct way I can think of putting it for now). Best of luck in your real estate career.

All of these are great suggestions but I must add: The ability to stick with it. This is an easy business to break into, and a costly one to stay in, both financially and emotionally. Hopefully the financial and emotional parts will resolve over time. But sticking with it in the beginning, and staying motivated can be the biggest challenges for most. I am forever amazed at the level of negativity in this business, especially when being positive and upbeat are such critical elements of sales!

It's good that you have web and graphic design experience. This will help you should the need arise. But those skills will only translate so far when it comes to actual income generation. My advice would be to learn as much as you can about online marketing, particularly SEO.