Why You Shouldn’t be a Real Estate Agent

We don’t think you should be just another real estate agent…

Now, you might be thinking, “Isn’t it YOUR JOB to help me become a real estate agent?”

Well, yes and no… So let us explain what we actually mean here.

Each year, thousands of hopeful people get their real estate agent license. But in just 1 short year, many of those new agents are not even in the business anymore.

Why is that?

Because they don’t treat real estate as a business, they treat it like a hobby.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median agent income is only around $50,000. We know you are capable of so much more! Don’t fall prey to the world that tells you to be average.

A common bit of advice in real estate is: “if you treat it like a hobby, it’ll pay you like a hobby. If you treat it like a business, it’ll pay you like a business.”

If you want to have true freedom in real estate and earn an amazing living, then you need to shift your thinking from being a real estate agent to becoming a business owner.

 The Shift from Real Estate Agent…

There’s a mindset shift that happens when you stop thinking of yourself as just an employee or real estate agent. Instead, you view yourself as being in business for yourself.

For one, you realize that ultimately your destiny within this industry is completely up to you. At Keller Williams, we do have world-class training and all the tools you need to be successful, but it’s totally up to you to decide what to do with these tools.

In this article, we want to help you to think of yourself as a business owner (which you are) and that your success or failure in real estate ultimately comes down to you.

The above statement should give you great hope because you are not depending on anything else for your success. Not the market, not a boss, not the service you provide. It’s 100% about what you choose to do in the 24 hours you are given!

Don’t fall prey to the lies that you should shoot for being average. Whether it’s earning the average real estate agent’s income or only staying in business as long as the average agent. If you’re reading this right now, then we know you can do much better than that, if you want to. If you decide to. 

That’s the great thing about being in real estate – you get to decide!

And if you do decide that you want to have a successful long-term career in real estate and have it pay you like a business, then there are a few things you must know.

Following is a list of the top 6 things that real estate Business Owners do. And what YOU should also do if you desire to be like them:

A daily schedule

Not only do business owners have a daily schedule, they actually stick to it. Every single day.

They typically spend 3 to 4 hours in the morning generating for new business. You should spend the rest of the day on lead follow up, going on listing or buyer appointments, showing houses, attending KW trainings or anything else that must get done.

This is a shift from being an employee/real estate agent to being a business owner. Many employees usually wait for their boss to give them an assignment or tell them what to do every day.

As a business owner, you need to figure out what your most important activities are. Then create a schedule to get those things done and stick to it.

Coaching and Accountability

All great athletes have coaches and so should great business owners. The life of an entrepreneur can be lonely at times. It’s easy to slip into old habits or get sidetracked into doing something that’s easy but not important.

Coaches are there to inspire you, help you reach new heights, and make sure that you stick to doing the things you said you were going to do even when you don’t feel like it.

At Keller Williams, we have plenty of coaching options for you which we definitely recommend you take advantage of.

Goal setting

Business owners set goals BEFORE January. They follow the S.M.A.R.T. Goals formula…

S-Specific

M-Measurable

A-Achievable

R-Realistic

T-Timely

Setting goals will help keep you on track for the whole year. It’s actually how you create your daily schedule. When you begin with the end in mind and have a clear roadmap of how to get there, you’ll never wonder what you should be doing next.

At Keller Williams, we start talking about goal setting in October (we have an entire class dedicated to helping you create your business goals for the next year) so that you can hit the ground running by January. The average agent sets their goals in January (new year’s resolutions, anyone?) and quit them by March. 

Use a Profit and Loss Statement

Business owners keep a record of their gross commission income generated, the expenses it costs to run their business, the taxes they need to pay and what their net profit is.

This allows them to make sure that all the money they invest in their business is actually generating a return and not being wasted. It also allows them to plan for the future by seeing how much money they have to expand their business.

As a business owner, you must understand that it’s not about how much you MAKE, it’s about how much you KEEP.

Again, this is where Keller Williams coaching comes in. We are great at helping real estate agents become business owners!

Leverage

Business owners are willing to let their business be as big as IT can be, not just as big as THEY can be.

This means you are willing to hire and train great people that will allow you to grow your business larger than you could on your own.

Sometimes it’s hard to give up some of the control when you’ve been the only person running the show for so long. But it’s important to realize that no matter how good you are if you find the right person, they can perform a specific role in your business as well – or even better – than you can! 

At the start of your career, your biggest issue is money, however as you grow your biggest challenge will become your time. Hiring support is what allows you to buy back your time so you can spend it on more dollar productive activities or gain quality of life. We care about real estate agents actually having a quality of life and family time. Our company priorities are God, Family and then Business and we mean it.  

Listing focus

Great agents are great listing agents. If you are working with buyers then you can probably only handle 5 to 7 buyers at one time.

On the other hand, if you’re working with sellers, you can handle upwards of 15-20 listings at one time. Top real estate agents focus on generating seller leads. Sellers bring buyer leads AND give you more leverage over your time.

Hopefully, now you realize the importance of being a business owner instead of just having a job as a real estate agent. Use this list as a guide to help you make that shift and watch as your business grows.

Remember, business owners, don’t wait for someone else to tell them what to do. They find the answers, and get out there and make it happen. So go make it happen!

And remember, at Keller Williams, we are set up to support you in reaching your full potential. We can’t wait to watch you make it happen.