Starting a real estate agency are not for the weak of heart. Three out of four real estate brokers reportedly fail within the first five years, according to a proverb. But for individuals with the necessary skills, starting your own real estate company can unquestionably lead to the seven-figure career of your dreams.

For newcomers, entering the real estate market might be intimidating. Yet, given the current state of the economy, it would seem that this is not the best time to start. Some interesting data and current housing patterns, however, indicate that is not the case.

Although it’s cliché to claim that now is the perfect moment to invest in real estate, let’s look at some of the benefits of doing so.

The barrier to entry is low

It might be simpler than ever to work as a real estate agent. When compared to the possible rewards, the requirements in terms of education, time, and cost are essentially nonexistent. For instance, obtaining a real estate license just requires a high school certificate and a small amount of education, and it can be done in a few of months.

The entire procedure can also be completed almost entirely online. For aspiring agents trying to pass their state examinations, there are numerous online real estate schools available. You don’t need to bother about a real office space or expensive advertising to be an agent.

Your real estate business may start up and function on a reasonably little budget with the help of well placed online ads and the appropriate tech tools (more on those later). Real estate is becoming more remote, much like many occupations. Similar to how much of the home buying and selling process takes place online. You’re on the right track as long as you have a website where leads and prospects can contact you.

You can scale your business at your own pace

Real estate agents put in a lot of effort. Contrary to popular assumption, it doesn’t have to take up endless, physically taxing hours. Additionally, it isn’t necessary to give up your day job.

The freedom to work as much (or as little) as you want is one of the best things about working in real estate. You have control over your client load and the freedom to scale at your own pace, just like any other type of business owner. Take into account the fact that real estate side businesses are getting more and more common, particularly for those attempting to decide whether they want to become agents permanently or not.

Despite your want to jump into real estate headfirst, a cautious and steady strategy is significantly less stressful and gives you the chance to generate a sizable side income.

Agents are essentially always in-demand

Earlier, we mentioned that more than 5 million residences were sold in the past year. Despite the fact that there is a fluctuating demand for agents, there are chances in the industry. Consider this. prosperous economy? People are purchasing homes. Downturn? Homes are being sold by people.

So let’s examine the present. People are assessing the benefits and drawbacks of selling their homes more than ever before in the wake of COVID-19 and the uncertain economic climate. This indicates that there is demand for real estate agents to guide buyers and sellers through their unique situations.

Agents are essential for helping customers manage their biggest financial investment, to put it briefly.

What do You Need to Start a Real Estate Agency?

Real estate is frequently a new agent’s second, third, or even fourth career. While generating more money than you did at your previous work, you loved the idea of “being your own boss.” Nevertheless, freedom means something quite different to an employer and a business owner.

Read Also: How Much do Real Estate Developers Make a Year?

Which one are you, I ask you?

In order to establish a real estate business, you must first understand that it is, in fact, a business. If you want to earn more than the typical real estate agent pay ($44,507 per year), whether you work alone or as part of a team, you need to start thinking like a business owner, which entails planning.

1. Get a CRM.

A system is ultimately what a business is.

The second-best Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Team in the country is broker-owner Barry Jenkins. Also, he despises inefficiency. I have a tendency to simplify things. My company’s success can be attributed to the fundamental leverage premise upon which it was founded.

Barry uses his CRM as a real lead conversion tool to put that theory into practice. Customer relationship management (CRM) software organizes your relationships and provides you with useful insights. With it, you can automate the full transaction process or guide leads via pertinent nurture programs based on lead source.

Because to the lengthy and complex nature of the home-buying process, which involves a large number of agents, leads, and clients, this is especially helpful in the real estate industry.

In order to achieve boss-level organization, Barry and his group sold 240 properties in 2017. They did this by using a CRM. However, it’s not only the front end that matters. Barry keeps the business administration thoroughly streamlined and sends automated onboarding drips to new team members using his CRM to ensure that nothing crucial ever slips through the cracks.

2. Craft your ideal personal plan.

You need to have definite financial goals for your life before you can set the proper financial goals for your business. Let’s face it, while commissions are nice, we all entered this business hoping to achieve greater success.

Consider what your ideal life might entail, whether it be the 187-foot boat of your dreams or the freedom to leave the office at 2:00 PM to pick up your children from school. Think about the following inquiries:

• What time do you want to start work?
• What time do you want to finish?
• How do you want to feel each day?
• How much money do you want to make?

A 65-year-old retiree? You fully funded your children’s college education. Determine how much you must set away each month in order to achieve it. When you are certain about the direction of your revenues and commissions, it is much simpler to continue answering the phone.

3. Write a real estate business plan.

It’s time to discuss business now that you’ve put pen to paper to outline exactly what your biggest, most anti-paycheck-to-paycheck life looks like.

Write the first draft of your real estate business plan, paying close attention to the features that will make you stand out from the competition in your neighborhood. Give it serious consideration. Your personal and professional selves can really mesh in this situation to create magical, profitable results.

Start with the following inquiries:

• How does selling real estate make a meaningful difference for you, your prospects, and even the world?
• What are the values and principles that drive your real estate business?
• How are those different from the real estate business next door?
• What are the three to five things you are going to own completely in the business?
• Who will take care of the rest?

It’s essential to develop that big-picture vision even if you’re simply looking to hire your first virtual assistant to relieve you of administrative duties in order to keep your team motivated and prevent them from repeating ineffective behaviors.

4. Build a consistent marketing plan.

The initial focus was on passing your licensure exam, choosing the brokerage that was the best fit for you, and developing your database without coming across as pushy to the friends and family in your sphere of influence (SOI).

One of the biggest errors expanding agents make is to relax and coast once the recommendations start coming in. The only thing you really need to know about marketing is that it’s the one area of your business that never sleeps, regardless of whether your ambition is to become the next Facebook ads guru or a master of Zillow conversions.

Let the following inquiries direct your marketing strategy:

• What does your unique approach and personality bring to the table for your prospects?
• What can you offer that no one else can?
• What are the latest buying, selling, and pricing trends in your market?
• What are some creative ways to discuss these trends (including the numbers) with prospects?

Establish your distinctive value proposition first. All of your future marketing will be driven by this.

5. Get a website.

Today, 97% of all buyers conduct some portion of their house search online.

This means that in order to draw in and keep the attention of online leads, you need a web presence regardless of how much local marketing you undertake. A good, SEO-focused website may be expensive up front, but it’s necessary for success.

You should be able to incorporate internet data exchange (IDX) listings on your website and direct those leads directly into your CRM. After this asset is established, you can begin developing a consistent blogging and social media strategy to increase lead generation.

6. Prospect consistently.

In real estate, shiny object syndrome is a major issue. Yet, the agent who is the most reliable always prevails, so pick a system and stick with it.

It’s never a bad idea to optimize your SOI in the early going. In fact, by continually marketing to its prior clients and sphere, the Atlanta-based Graham Seeby Group was able to turn a list of just 279 contacts into $90 million in property sales in just four years.

Justin Seeby, a co-founder, explains it as follows:

“We concentrated on the “mets” in our database, and it was incredible the number of transactions we did right away! One couple, for instance, with whom I hadn’t spoken in 13 years, contributed $2 million in sales to our company. Because I was hesitant to pick up the phone and call them, I sent them a postcard instead. I wasn’t sure if they would recognize me. They called me as soon as they received the postcard. In the end, they sold a $800,000 property and spent $1.2 million on a new home.

A straightforward schedule of mailers, emails, and phone calls served as the foundation of Justin’s prospecting plan. A successful system doesn’t need to be sophisticated, but it must be reliable.

7. Nurture leads.

A lead who contacts you anticipates hearing from you. Mike Pannell, the brains behind Nu Home Source Realty, is an expert at generating leads. A follow-up method, in Mike’s opinion, is essential for long-term lead conversion.

Read Also: Are Realtors Self Employed or Independent Contractor?

“I inform my agents that 70% of potential buyers won’t make a purchase for 180.5 days. You’re only going to close 3% of deals if you wait for those fresh leads to buy, he claims. “It will provide you enough money to get by, but your goal is to last longer than six months.” To reach folks, you need to follow up; to reach those people, you need to create a pipeline.

Mike often blogs and optimizes his website, but he also keeps an eye on the competition to see what’s going on in the field.

“I register with numerous online services. I offer them a legitimate phone number, but I don’t give them a real name,” he claims. And I’ll tell you something, I don’t receive many calls.

Being an agent who is consistently present will help you outperform the crowd.

8. Have good time management.

If you’re anything like the majority of us, one of your dreams likely includes having more time and energy for the things that truly excite you.

But, the majority of agents who set out to create a real estate firm didn’t include it in their plan. They wind up with a rotating team and must work around whatever issue is now facing the company. Nevertheless, things don’t have to be that way.

Saving time is a driving force for automation experts. You may free up time to concentrate on the activities that actually generate income by automating manual tasks.

The capacity to use marketing automation highlights your requirement for a CRM, which ends up serving as the foundation for your business.