Great Questions from a New Real Estate Agent

Here is an email I received from my business partner, Jason Korn in Lincoln, NE. They had a new agent joining the office and Jason wanted me to give him my thoughts on his concerns. It is great to see and agent that wants to make sure they start out in RE as quickly as possible, and realizes it is more than just passing the test.

Here is a copy of our email conversation.

I was wanting to find out more about the more experienced agents...., and I came up with a series of a few questions that I was wondering if you could think about and answer....

I understand if you are busy, and cannot get to them all. But even if you could answer one, I feel it would be beneficial for us newer agents to get to know you all better.

1 - What are the least effective things you see new agents do?
-They wait for the phone to ring, and their friends to call them...Even though our friends and family would LOVE to help us grow our real estate business, they do not wake up every day wondering how they are going to help you that day.

2 - What things did you do early in your career that you think made you successful?
-Don't "buy" leads from anyone. Make a list of 150 people you know, and they know who you are, and contact them. Write them a handwritten note immediately following the coversation (no business card inside) and then stay in touch with them regularly. See webinar at www.secretsoftopsellingagents.com and click on "Database is a Goldmine" (Sept 24th)
-Build relationships!!! That will only happen a few people at a time, however you will build a SOLID Real Estate Business. There is NO get rich quick program

3 - What were the big mistakes that you made early in your career?
-Buying "institutional advertising" before I just made contact with my database.

4 - What do you feel are the biggest wastes of time in this business?
-waiting for something to happen.
Doing busy work and checking email, etc...before you spend 1-2 hours on the phone or meeting with people. Do it first thing EVERY day.

5 - If you were starting over in this business tomorrow, what would you do?
-Read 2 books...TWELVE times (not kidding...knowing what I know today, read those no less than 6 times as fast as you can.) the Millionaire Real Estate Agent and SHIFT
6 - What one skill do you think I(we) need to acquire immediately to become successful?
the skill of picking up the phone and calling everyone you know. You don't have to talk about real estate...the drip system will take care of that. Just connect and write a LOT of handwritten notes (not printed cards that look like your handwriting). Get to know people. Know their interest , family, etc...that will help you help them with their RE needs.

I will be asking others these same questions before our meeting, and if he answers any :), I will be sharing them with the group as well.

Thanks Bill!