Thinking about a Career in Real Estate?

Glenn Batten | 26th August, 2009
Tagged: real estate, real estate career, real estate salesperson, sales career | Make a Comment »

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So you are thinking about a career in real estate?

Due to changes in legislation getting into real estate is far more difficult than it has ever been in the past but a career in real estate provides flexibility and freedom to set your own pace.

Unfortunately the vast majority of people who enter the industry fail to ever become a real success and either leave the industry totally or settle for mediocrity. The key like any major life decision is to do your homework and understand fully what you are about to get into.

So before you jump in head first take some time and really consider if its what you want to do and I would strongly suggest that you take the Real Estate simulator to see if you are cut out for the industry, but more on that later.

80/20 Rule

It’s vitally important that you understand this simple fact. Commission sales allows you to earn what your performance demands. It’s not unusual in a wage based environment to see the very best employee being paid at the same level as the very worst. Real Estate sales is very very different.

Like many other commission sales orientated roles, 80% of the real estate business is being conducted by 20% of the people. In fact a quick check of our area as I write this article shows shows over 50% of the salespeople have either just one or no properties under contract awaiting settlement. Thats over 50% of the current numbers of real estate salespeople in our area that will probably not be in the industry in another year.

If you are looking at joining the real estate industry you should use the very best salespeople as your benchmark level of success because there is a huge difference between the “average” salesperson and the “leading” salespeople.

Real Estate Sales is Easy?

Most of the contact you have had with a salesperson in the past may have centered around minimal face to face contact as you were looking to buy or sell property. This often leads many to believe that selling real estate is easy but the reality is nothing could be further from the truth. A modern and successful real estate salesperson has very little time to put their feet up on their desk, lie back and read the newspaper during the day.

The very best salespeople have exceptional time management skills and work extremely hard and long hours but are rewarded exceptionally for it. Top performers often have one or sometimes even two PA’s to assist with the administration matters that selling properties can generate.

Choose the Right Agency

Career-in-Real-Estate No decision is more critical when you start in the industry than which agency you start begin your career with. Get it wrong and you may have sunk your career before it started, get it right and you are honestly half way there.

If you look at the top two leading offices in any district in Australia you can just about guarantee that all the established salespeople in those agencies will all be successful.

But the story changes in the remaining offices where it is not unusual for just one salesperson to be making regular sales with the rest of the sales team struggling.

It is far easier to gain momentum in your career and income when your surrounded by other leading salespeople who are creating business. A successful office generates bucket loads of leads for you and when your new to the industry the backing of a highly successful office and sales team will get you those listings when you may not have been able to get them yourself.

How Do You Find the Right Office to Join

To find the right office to join look for the number of properties they are selling. Spend a few days researching the market place as though you are a seller. If an office has just a sale or two up for the month with their existing salespeople how are you going to expect to change the landscape with absolutely no experience. You can pay little to no attention to the number of properties that an agency has for sale as real estate agencies and salespeople only make commission from a successful sale. Think of it this way : The number of listings an agency has equates to the amount or work they are doing and the a number of properties they have under contract equates to the renumeration they will receive for that work. You dont want to be working hard without getting paid do you?

A successful office will not have to discount commission or give away free advertising. In Queensland these are indicators that an agency has to discount themselves to compete with offices who have a better track record.

Beware the Turnstile Effect

Nothing wrecks real estate careers quicker than joining an office with a history of salespeople churning through the doors like a turnstile. At Nerang First National we have recently added 2 new salespeople to the team but our average tenure in the sales department is still over 6 years. Contrast this with an office that has a similar number of salespeople yet only one of them has been with the agency for more than 12 months. Which of the two offices would you like to work for?

Spend time investigating just how long each of the existing salespeople have worked with the office and the success that each are achieving. One salesperson doing well in an office and you have found yourself a good salesperson, all salespeople in an office doing well and you have found yourself a great office!

How Much Can You Earn in Real Estate?

Real-Estate-Sales-Career With Real Estate there really is no limits on what astute, hard-working men and women can earn. A good target for your first year in real estate might vary slightly depending upon market conditions but around $100,000 is a great place to start but the sky is really the limit for future years in the industry.

It’s important to keep everything in perspective though as you have to remember that a real estate salesperson has expenses that come out of this income including mobile phone, personal promotion costs, fuel and other motor vehicle costs.

These days its not unusual for leading salespeople to hire personal assistants to work with the administration workload whilst they focus on the core marketing and sales tasks. This has allowed leading salespeople in the industry to generate staggering commissions with some up to and over $1,000,000 of gross revenue into an office but these are the exception rather than the rule even amongst successful real estate salespeople.

The rewards of a real estate career are a potential for high earnings, status in the community, autonomy, time freedom, helping people, the intellectual challenge and the satisfaction from those accomplishments.

What Sort of Person Makes a Great Real Estate Salesperson

Lets face it, we all know somebody who “was” in real estate but please don’t judge what sort of person it takes to be successful by them. Chances are they never actually found any real success which is why the left the industry. That may not be the case all the time, but unless you have the facts it is safer to assume that anybody who “was” in real estate failed.

In fact from my experience some of the people that fail the hardest are the slick sales types. Forget the stereotypical fast talking real estate salespeople. If they ever really existed they are now well and truly gone out of the industry.

With the internet and technology playing an every increasing role in the real estate industry the a successful salesperson will have superior communication and marketing skills more than anything else. Successful people in real estate are goal-oriented, persevering, self-motivated, ambitious and people-oriented. In any leading office you will find a range of personality types, styles and ages.

Professional Requirements

Entry into the real estate profession takes preparation and as with other professions, licensing is required.

To be employed to sell real estate in Queensland, you must apply to the Office of Fair Trading to obtain a real estate salesperson registration certificate or agents license. The requirements in other states of Australia would be very similar. To be eligible for this registration, you must be at least 18 years of age and be working for a licensed real estate agency. It is unlawful under the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act to work for a real estate agency as a salesperson and not be registered or licensed.

Eligibility for a salespersons certificate is only the first 4 units of competency under the Property Management and Training Package. The REIQ (Real Estate Institute of Queensland) and TAFE offer numerous courses recognised by the Office of Fair Trading including a 4 or 5 day registration courses for salesperson’s registration.

Take a Testdrive of being a Real Estate Salesperson

For years we have used the Matrix Simulator to assess all applicants for sales position in our agency. The Matrix Simulator is an online assessment tool used by real estate principals that uses video simulation technology, intelligence testing and personality profiling to assess the probability of success of new sales recruits.

The good news is that anybody can now request a one off report for under $50 and you get sent the complete results.

The simulator takes about 20 to 40 minutes to complete and provides the best indicator for a prospective employer of a persons potential in the real estate industry. The summary report you are provided at the end gives you an overall ranking on your suitability :

Summary of Matrix Simulator Results for a future career in real estate. We hired this person!

along with a more detailed ranking across key criteria

Further details on specific key area

plus a detailed breakdown of each section including tips on how to improve each skill.

If your serious about real estate as a career I would strongly suggest that you take the Real Estate Simulator and get an independent preview on your suitability to the industry and your strengths and weaknesses using a system that real estate agents right around Australia use on a daily basis.

A Career with Nerang First National

Of course if your considering entering the industry on the Gold Coast and you believe your results are of a high enough standard we would love to hear from you. Email your details and the link to your results to nfn@nfn.com.au.