Whether you are a seasoned realtor or just starting your career, there are a few great tips that you may want to follow.

Taking The Leap 

Investing money and time into becoming a real estate agent by passing exams, getting your license, and preparing to start your business is a huge undertaking. It is a lot of time and money wasted if you are not prepared to work hard to establish yourself in the business.

Choosing The Right Broker

Choosing the right broker when you are first starting out can make a huge difference in becoming successful or not. Find out all the expenses involved with the brokerage before you make your final decision.  Always make sure the broker you choose to work with can provide you with all your income and training needs. There’s no point in getting leads if you are not trained on how to organize and handle them.

The First Two Years

Many new real estate agents have difficulty making it through the first two years. This may be due to lack of diligence in putting away money for income tax purposes, overestimating income and underestimating expenses. Choosing real estate as a career is a lot of work and requires self-motivation and self-discipline. Real estate requires many hours of hard work, it’s not strictly a Monday to Friday, nine to five job.

Don’t Push The Hard Sell

A realtor will get a lot further ahead with soft sales tactics rather than the hard-sell approach. It is very important for a realtor to be a people person and exercise excellent interpersonal skills. The key for a realtor is for your clients to feel comfortable with you and to trust you. After all, you are managing the buying or selling of the largest investment in their lives. Other very important soft skills include problem-solving and self-motivation.

Learn All facets of The Trade

There is a lot of paperwork involved when buying and selling properties. This is why it is essential early in your real estate career to learn how to comprehend and complete all paperwork associated with making a deal. The ability to write compelling descriptions regarding listings can directly affect the promotion of the property. If you choose to take your own photos of properties, improve your skills, or hire a professional photographer. Although, when you are first starting out, you will want to save where you can until you get established in the industry.

Develop Marketing Strategies 

Research your geographical market and clientele base. Try to set yourself apart from other real estate agents by developing the right strategies and standing out. Develop a plan on how to grow your business. Even though you may work for a real estate agency, think of your position as investing in your own small business. In real estate, the sky’s the limit and you only get out of it what you put into it. Never make any assumptions about how your business will grow, this is a common mistake with new real estate agents. Deals don’t just happen, it takes a lot of hard work and persistence. Use the internet to your advantage. We are now in a digital age and almost everybody uses the internet daily. There are so many platforms that can be used for marketing. Building an effective internet presence is a great marketing strategy.

Be Organized

Great organizational skills make your business dealings run so much smoother. It is important to be organized and diligent with budgeting for both personal and business expenses. There are many applications on the internet that are very useful when keeping track of accounts and budgets. Always plan ahead and keep a reserve for unforeseen circumstances so you are always prepared for things that may come up. Be diligent on setting aside money from your commission cheques for income tax purposes and always keep your receipts for everything.

Listing Agents Versus Buying Agents

You don’t always have to be a listing agent to make money. Many new realtors start off as buying agents. Buying agents can make as much money as listing agents. During your career as a realtor, you can do both ends and represent buyers and sellers. Having both of these skill sets will greatly diversify your ability for a great business income.

Take The Initiative

New realtors should never assume that because they are now a real estate agent that family and friends will be sending them numerous referrals or that the brokerage firm will be handing you leads left, right and centre. It is the responsibility of the realtor to have a plan in place for finding leads. That’s not to say you will never get a lead from your brokerage or family and friends, but don’t just rely on those strategies. It is important to make a good name for yourself in the industry. If you work hard enough it won’t take long to be noticed.

Commercial, Residential or Both?

Residential real estate differs from commercial real estate, they are two different entities. There are also huge differences between residential financing and commercial mortgages when it comes to financing. Technically the difference in real estate pertaining to residential properties versus commercial properties is:

Residential

Residential properties are all single-family homes and residences with 1 to 4 rental units.

Commercial

Commercial properties consist of a property with five or more units.

The ability of a realtor to deal in both residential and commercial properties creates diversity to increase your small business and income.

Leasing

Realtors also may have clients that are looking to lease their residential or commercial properties. This is another avenue that realtors can increase their income. A large part of realtors’ duties is researching and analyzing information. This is a skill set on its own.

Code of Ethics

A realtor in Canada must be a member of their Association. They can also be members of CREA and their local Real Estate Board and must follow a code of ethics which are set out in the Realtor Code.