How to Become a Million Dollar Real Estate Agent in Your First Year: What Smart Agents Need to Know Explained Simply
By Susan Alvis
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About this ebook
Packed with new material and updated for the 2016 (and beyond) market, this guide will show you how to find properties, how to list them, how to sell them, and how to get your commission. Learn to attract new prospects, get the highest possible commissions, and get return business and referrals, while still having a life outside of work. You will also learn how not to make the big mistakes most new agents make, licensing and exam fess, Multiple Listing Service (MLS), expenses of doing business, and more.
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How to Become a Million Dollar Real Estate Agent in Your First Year - Susan Alvis
How to Become a Million Dollar Real Estate Agent in Your First Year: What Smart Agents Need to Know Explained Simply REVISED 2ND EDITION
Copyright © 2016 by Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1405 SW 6th Ave. • Ocala, Florida 34471 • 800-814-1132 • 352-622-1875–Fax
Web site: www.atlantic-pub.com • E-mail: sales@atlantic-pub.com
SAN Number: 268-1250
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1405 SW 6th Ave., Ocala, Florida 34471.
BUS054000 BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Real Estate
BUS059000 BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Skills
BUS055000 BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Reference
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Alvis, Susan Smith, 1969- author. | Cavallaro, Michael J., author.
Title: How to become a million dollar real estate agent in your first year :
what smart agents need to know explained simply / by Susan Alvis ; revised
by Michael Cavallaro.
Description: Revised 2nd edition. | Ocala, Florida : Atlantic Publishing
Group, Inc., [2015] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015028746| ISBN 9781620230602 (alk. paper) | ISBN
1620230607 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Real estate agents. | Real estate agents--United States. |
Real estate business--United States.
Classification: LCC HD1382 .A55 2015 | DDC 333.33023/73--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015028746
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
Printed in the United States
BOOK PRODUCTION DESIGN: T.L. Price • design@tlpricefreelance.com
JACKET DESIGN: Steven W. Booth • steven@geniusbookcompany.com
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Chapter One. So You Want to Be a Real Estate Agent
The Real Estate Myth
What Is a Real Estate Agent?
Who Are These People Called Real Estate Agents?
What Do Real Estate Agents Earn?
A Day in the Life of a Real Estate Agent
Hours and Income — You Get to Decide
Case Study: Keys to Success
Chapter Two. Ethical Agent Practices
What Kind of Agent Do You Want to Be?
Case Study: How to Treat Your Clients
Ethical Issues
Case Study: Things to Remember Ethically and Morally
Other Tips to Remember
Chapter Three. Company Matters
Choosing a Real Estate Office
Which Office Will Be Right for You?
How to Find an Office: Matching Your Needs and Goals
Why You Do Not Want to Specialize in This Business as a New Agent
Make a Decision
Chapter Four. Setting Up Your World-Class Real Estate Business
Other Business Matters
Case Study: Setting up your advertising and marketing budget
Planning Your Continuing Education
Introducing Yourself to the Business Community
The Coming Out Party
Chapter Five. Step-By-Step Business Plan for Success
The Pre-Planning Stages
Developing Your Plan of Action
Step-By-Step
Chapter Six. Marketing Your Real Estate Business
Deciding How You Want to Market Yourself
Finding a Way to Be Remembered and Recognized
In Front of Everyone All of the Time
Marketing Your Business and Yourself
Chapter Seven. Becoming the Go-To Agent
Establishing Yourself as the Go-To Agent
Keeping Your Clients Close
Chapter Eight. Selling Is Your Business — But Can You Sell?
How to Sell Real Estate
Realize You Are Selling a Dream and an Investment
Tips for Success in Selling Real Estate
Why the Real Estate Sales Agent Must Sell Differently than Anyone Else
Case Study: Customizing a Relationship with Your Client
How to Sell Different Properties
Sales Techniques
Chapter Nine. Making Plans for Success in Real Estate
Setting Up an Economic Model
The Competition Is Fierce
How to Overcome Competition as an Obstacle
Planning for Success
How to Be a Successful Closer
Case Study: From the Client’s Perspective
Chapter Ten. Referrals, Advertising, and Nonsense
Gaining Clients
The Issue of Referrals
Advertising and Paying for Clients or Self Promotion
Nonsense
TV Infomercials
Let Us Talk About the Virtual World
Chapter Eleven. Becoming the Number One Agent in Your Area
Becoming a Top Agent
Top Agents Know How to List Real Estate
Top Agents Know How to Close the Deal With a Buyer
Top Agents Work for a Living
Top Agents Take Advantage of Every Opportunity
Become the Rookie of the Year
Chapter Twelve. The Internet Agent
Getting Started With the Whole Web Thing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Page Rank
Online Tools and Ideas to Use
Real Estate Marketing Software Programs You Will Want to Know About
Case Study: The Tech-Savvy Agent
Chapter Thirteen. Career and Family: the Real Estate Balance
Family First
Career After Everything Else — Really!
The Balance of the Successful Agent
More Advice
Chapter Fourteen. The Million Dollar Agent
Listing Property and How to Do it
Listing Residential Properties
Working With Buyers
Case Study: Bringing Buyers and Sellers Together
Working in the Luxury Housing Market
Commercial Property
It Is Your Turn
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix A. Suggested Reading for Successful People
Appendix B. Websites Worth Viewing
State Associations for Realtors
Other Real Estate-Related Websites of Interest
Other Websites of Interest to Real Estate Agents
Appendix C. Phone Scripts
Calling For Sale By Owners
Cold Calling
Calling Referrals (Buyers)
Calling Referrals (Sellers)
Appendix D. Worksheet
What YOU Want in a Property
Appendix E. Final Tips, Hints and Reminders for the Million Dollar Agent
How to Find Properties to List:
How to Find Buyers:
What Not to Do Your First Year (Or Ever) in Real Estate
Appendix F. Sales Quotes for Success
Appendix G. SEO Ranking Components
Appendix H. Canvassing Letters for the Million Dollar Agent
Final Canvassing Letter Out of Rotation
Canvassing Phone Call Script
Letter for Auto-Responder
About The Author
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all of the real estate agents who contributed to this book either directly or indirectly. Without you, this book would hold little meaning. Thank you for taking the time to contribute your knowledge and expertise on a field you know so well.
Thank you to everyone at Atlantic Publishing for making book number two a reality and for your support throughout the writing process of this book. To Angela Adams, a very special thank you for being a supportive editor and one I so much counted on for expertise and advice.
I also want to send a big thank you to my extraordinary children, Matthew and Amber, for always tolerating me when I am in front of the computer and to my husband, Brent, for being an excellent cook. Thank you for taking my place in the kitchen so I could write once more.
Preface
I used to think almost everyone in my mother’s family was destined to become a real estate agent. After all, with somewhere around 10 real estate agents in our family, what else was I to think? My mother, one brother, two great aunts, a great uncle, and numerous cousins chose careers as real estate professionals. In fact, I too, spent some time in the trenches. After all, it was our family’s legacy. What else was I to do?
Growing up in a family full of real estate agents, I knew it was a profitable business. I also knew it was a volatile business and one with a great number of advantages which in turn carried even more disadvantages when the market conditions were less than perfect. The agents I grew up watching as a child made a very good living out of being real estate agents. In fact, from a child’s view, they made it look easy and even fun.
For anyone entering into the real estate profession, the long hours and feast or famine lifestyle can be a bit overwhelming - but not in our family. They all seem to thrive best when there is some uncertainty in their income as well as their daily lives, and they are naturals in the real estate business. As cliché as it sounds, my family members who are best in the real estate business were truly put on this earth to sell real estate. In fact, I cannot imagine my mother or brother doing anything else. They are nothing short of real estate professionals who know how to put a deal together and once they put one together, it usually sticks. In fact, in our area, several of our family members are top producing agents. In this book I am going to let you in on all of their secrets - or most of them anyway. Then I am going to tell you a few secrets of my own. After I share those insights with you, we are going to look at everything I ever learned from top-producing real estate agents, and I will show you their secrets to success as well.
This book is for the aspiring real estate agent who wants to be a million dollar producer. It is for the agent who will not be content with mediocre sales while being considered or discounted as a new agent rather than a strong contender among the real estate community. It is also a book which can be used by a seasoned real estate agent who is ready to rejuvenate his or her career and restructure their business into a successful, fast-moving, world-class real estate business.
If you want to make the big bucks in real estate, How to Become a Million Dollar Real Estate Agent in Your First Year is for you. I will give you some tips I used to become a top agent during my first year and then I will show you how you can become one of the top agents in your area, too. I will show you why my brother was able to rise to the top in his real estate career after only two short years and why our mother is consistently among the top producers in our area. We will look at some of the reasons national franchise award winners are consistently recognized for high achievements and why some agents will never cinch the first certificate. We are going to look at some of the most effective ways to promote your real estate business and you will learn what to do and what not to do in a step-by-step guide written with the new agent in mind.
This book will not sugar-coat your participation in this career. If in doubt, look around at some of the largest real estate investors in the world. Do they look like they know how to play hard ball or do they look like they prefer to push pencils and leave the tough negotiations to someone else? Real estate agents who deal with these investors can be as shrewd in their business dealings as their clients, and you will need to learn how to handle these agents and their contracts. You will want to learn the art of tough negotiations while being able to seal a deal in a professional manner.
Real estate is hard work and the business will not fall in your lap. You must get out and dig for it, but it will be a career well worth the trouble if you do. You will learn a lot about people along the way and it will change you. It is a business where you can become someone you will not even recognize if you let the world of real estate consume you. It is brutal, it is tough, and only the strong survive. However, if you approach the business as a new exciting career and make a decision to keep your business professional, you will become one of a very select few who prove real estate is a very desirable career. It is more than a job and does more than pay the bills. It is a lifestyle and if you live the lifestyle well, it is one of the most rewarding ways to earn an income, and you will learn to indulge in the real estate agent’s way of life.
Real estate agents can set their own schedules and work whenever they want, a pitfall for many new agents, but if you set up office hours and follow the guidelines in this book, you will be able to work hard, play hard, and retire earlier than most of your friends. You will inevitably gain some real estate acquisitions of your own while helping clients purchase their own slice of the American Dream.
Since you bought this book, I am going to give you your money’s worth. Let me guide you into a rewarding, challenging, and successful real estate career. I am going to show you how YOU can become a top agent in your area and better yet, teach you how to become a million dollar real estate agent within your first year in your new profession.
When people think of selling or buying a home, I want them to think of you. You and I are going to work together to ensure that you become the go-to
agent in your local area while paving the way to create other streams of income from all of your real estate endeavors. After all, being a real estate agent places you in a unique position. You will be able to cash in on deals you would never have known about had you not been an agent at the right place and at the right time. Investment properties will be easy for you to accumulate, and there are ways you can cash in using your career to open doors to a brighter and more secure future for yourself and your family.
You will learn what a day in the life of the active and successful real estate agent is like and discover how you can become one of the best real estate agents in your company while keeping your ethical values in check. You will gain some insight as to why it is important to keep your options open versus specializing in a field. New agents are finding more and more opportunities by familiarizing themselves with all aspects of the business. Commercial or residential, you are going to be able to do it all: you will learn why it is important to keep your options open.
My goal is to help you use your God-given talents to become the kind of sales person who succeeds, making your time count whether you are in the office or working from home.
Being a real estate agent is not as easy as it looks and becoming a million dollar producer can be grueling, but if you are ambitious, this book will provide you with plan of action. You will learn how to become a top real estate agent and with the tools we give you to succeed; you will make it look easy. So, sit back, kick up your feet, and grab a pen and notebook. You are embarking on a new career which will inevitably change your life. A world of real estate is out there just waiting for you.
Chapter One
So You Want to Be a Real Estate Agent
The Real Estate Myth
When you decided to become a real estate agent, you likely had a mental picture of what a real estate agent does, but you may have envisioned an agent who is just an agent and not necessarily a true professional in the business. Many people obtain their real estate license, hang it on the wall of a broker’s office and then just sit back and wait for clients. I call it the used-car-salesman-syndrome. They take their floor duty on occasion and they go on property tours to view the new office listings. Outside of these two great tasks, they do very little more. They seem to be perfectly content to hang out in the office of their broker while waiting for the phone to ring.
To complicate matters, the real estate crash of the late 2000s ended the careers of many agents who took this kind of approach. These agents may have put in a great number of hours sitting around their broker’s office daydreaming of the sales they were going to make, but they suffered greatly for not venturing outside in the realm of actual sales work.
The good news is that the real estate business has been making a comeback. A 2012 survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that, after many years of decline, median income among its 2 million member licensees rose for the first time since 2002 — which dates back even further back than the real estate crash of the late 2000s. Statistically, only forty-eight percent of NAR agents have a college degree, and agents with at least a bachelor’s degree earn higher gross personal income than those without formal college education. However, NAR reported that realtors working 60 hours a week or more earned $80,900, and 17 percent of all members earned a six-figure income, indicating that hours worked matters more than level