The Top 3 Mistakes New Real Estate Agents Are Making

A career in real estate can be incredibly exciting and rewarding, but it's also no secret that the first few years can be challenging. There is a lot to learn when you're getting started and you also have no contacts and no experience.

On top of that, there are a number of common mistakes that new agents are making that are continuing to hold them back.

Not having goals and plans

In just about any area of life or any line of work, if you don't have a goal, you're never going to be able to achieve it.

Studies have shown for generations that if you have a written goal that you review regularly, you are far more likely to achieve it. The process of achieving the goal is also important and this requires planning.

For new agents starting out, they are often trying different things and trying to find their feet. This can be OK, but you need to work out some clear goals and objectives and then work backwards to try and achieve them.

Typically, process goals are more valuable than setting things like monetary targets. While you might want to sell 50 properties per year, when you're in your first few years that's probably going to be unrealistic. It's even tougher in a slow market.

However, by focusing on things in your control, like the amount of people you talk to each week, how many doors you can knock on to introduce yourself or how many people you can help in other ways, including other agents, you're building a base that will help you win your first listing, be successful or grow from where you are at today.

Not prioritising prospecting

In any type of sales-based business, the work you do today does not always pay off immediately. The sales cycle in real estate is often slow as it takes people a long time to choose to sell a property and then ultimately get the property prepared for sale, marketed and sold. Most homeowners are also only selling their property every 7-10 years, so it's a small turnover.

The work you put in today might not always pay off. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be doing it just because you aren't getting any results.

A critical mistake most new agents make is not making lead generation and prospecting a priority. A good way to improve this is by planning your day in advance and scheduling the first few hours a day to prospecting.

These are hours that you only prospect and do nothing else. Everything else must wait until you've made your phone calls, followed up on leads and done what you can to move the needle forward. With consistency and time, your pipeline will grow and you'll find the work you did 3-6 months ago is now starting to pay off.

Poor communication with clients

We all know that real estate is a relationship business and one of the key activities that you should be undertaking is communicating effectively with other people.

Your communication with your clients and vendors is always a priority. They should always be kept up to date with everything that is going on during the sales and marketing process; they should never be able to say that you didn't contact them at any point.

During the early marketing of a property and when a listing goes live and there are home opens, you should be touching base with a client every single day. Just a quick call to keep them up to date or even an SMS will give them a lot of confidence and make them feel that you are working hard for them.

The same goes for buyers. Keep them in the loop and make sure you're on the pulse of what they're thinking. Buyers notice how sales agents operate and they can tell when they see someone who is going over and above to serve them. Even if you are working on behalf of the vendor, a buyer will often refer a quality sales agent to friends and family and when the time comes, use them to resell the home they just bought.

But it all starts with being available and communicating clearly with all parties at all times.

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