New Realtor Tips: The first steps for newly licensed real estate agents to get their businesses up, running and earning commission income quickly.
When it comes to tips for new Realtors, the first (and most important) thing is to get your sphere of influence together. You would be surprised at the number of real estate agents that do not do this. Your SOI is all the people you know and know who you are by name. The steps are simple, and essential.
- Put your SOI into your CRM. Get all the people in your sphere of influence into a database — even a basic spreadsheet will do. Name, email, phone number, and mailing address.
- Email your SOI. Reach out to them by email to let them know you’re a Realtor.
- Connect on social media. Facebook is probably the most essential because it is where most Realtors are. It is also a very active platform when it comes to people in the real estate industry.
- Send out a mailer/letter. This makes you look professional and shows that you are established enough to be sending out mailers. If your SOI gets a postcard with your name on it, they will begin to remember your name and associate it with real estate.
- Call. Reach out to your SOI members by phone. Following a script can be very helpful (and you can do it in a way that doesn’t feel corny or pushy!) Be genuine and use it as a way to check in on your people.
VIDEO: New Realtor Tips
More tips for new Realtors: follow an annual contact plan
After you set up your database in your CRM and initially reach out to your SOI, you’ll want to follow an annual contact plan. Having an annual contact plan in place allows you to market yourself through multiple channels over time. This will keep you first of mind.
Our online course, SOI: Building a Real Estate Agent’s Sphere of Influence, will help you tremendously with creating an annual contact plan. This online course is self-lead and jam-packed with resources. It will take you step-by-step through many great tips on how to set up your business as a new Realtor.
You will want to find ways to grow that database. You’ll see that you know a lot more people that you think! Consider the people you bump into when you go on errands to the grocery store. You might not have thought of that person to put in your database. But, if they know you by name, they belong in your SOI! Or, maybe your spouse has people they know that should be in your database.
Grow your SOI
You will grow your database over time. There is nothing that we do in lieu of working on growing our SOI database. This is the foundation of your business. Every coach and trainer out there should be teaching you to treat this as the foundation of your business. This is called your referral network.
There are other lead generation activities that you can be doing as you grown your business. There’s farming, circle prospecting, purchasing online leads, etc. You will learn that there are so many other activities you can do on top of your SOI contact plan to generate business. All that said, you must start with your SOI contact plan. Your referral based business is your foundation, and you may build from there.
Why is your SOI your foundation?
If you don’t focus on your referral business first and foremost, you are essentially going out and hunting for every meal. It’s not easy and you are missing out on your easy meals that are right there in front of you. Every top producer in the United States agrees that a large percentage of their business is generated directly from their SOI. Don’t believe anything else. This is one of the most important tips you will get as a new Realtor.
The National Association of Realtors comes out with a statistic every year, and it is consistent: 80% of all transactions are done by referral. This means most business comes from someone you know (in your SOI) or is referred to you by someone you know. Why would you be going for the remaining 20% when you can go after your 80%?
Start your real estate business out on the right foot
We are passionate about this at Icenhower Coaching and Consulting. I meet agents all the time that tell me they don’t have their database together. Some go without creating an SOI database at all. They pay for it. They wonder why their numbers are so low. These Realtors don’t have an easy way to reach out to everyone they know. They may find out someone they know used another real estate agent to buy or sell their home. It’s brutal.
Another important tip for new Realtors is to plug yourself in to a network of experienced agents. You will learn from these agents! A great (and free) way to connect is via our Facebook group, Real Estate Agent Round Table. Top notch Realtors from across the country contribute daily. With relevant posts and tips, collaborate with others and establish yourself as a new Realtor. Join us today!
