New Real Estate Agent Checklist: How to Attract and Retain New Listings

So, you just became a real estate agent. Congratulations!

Now what?

The real estate industry is fun, challenging, and fulfilling. It requires hard work, patience, and a drive to succeed. And done right, it can be a rewarding career both personally and financially. Getting started sounds simple: just attract and keep new house listings. But first, you need to have a solid foundation.

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Homeowner Development Coordinator Adade Amenounve suggests consulting this new real estate agent checklist to help you get started and give you an advantage over your competition.

• Be Realistic: There aren’t any shortcuts in this industry. Understand that you will have to earn what you get, and it will take time to establish yourself.
• Be Willing to Learn: Good advice can come from anywhere. Be humble and listen to industry veterans.
• Offer to hold open houses for most of your company listings: this is a good way to practice talking to clients and meet prospective buyers. This will also show other agents you’re a team player.
• Join an Established Real Estate Company: It’s especially helpful to be part of a real estate company with a mentorship program. Those organizations value helping new agents learn.
• Job Shadow: Take advantage of real estate agents that will let you shadow them to see how others serve their clients.
• Attend Trainings: Any time you can learn information that can help make you better at your job, don’t pass up the opportunity. Join our Realtor Network and attend our monthly sessions to help you grow your business.
• Find a Niche: Whether it’s a specific town, neighborhood, price range, or some other subcategory of the real estate industry, try to become a specialist in something. Then home shoppers within that category will seek you out.
• Have a Strategic Plan: Have an idea of where you want to be in one year, two years, five years, and 10 years – then make plans to get there. But as the industry and market changes, prepare to be flexible to make your goals attainable.
• Don’t Focus on the Money: Yes, making money is important. But a job well done should be your top priority. Because if you do a good job, the clients—and the money—will come.  

With this foundation to help you succeed, you can make the most of these additional tips to attract and retain new listings:

• Let your friends and family know that you’re a real estate agent. It’s important to tell people what you do so they might come to you for their own real estate needs, or recommend you to their acquaintances buying or selling homes.
• Be engaging when speaking to clients and potential clients. Listen well and ask questions to show you have a clear understanding of their wants and needs. This will give people comfort and confidence in you.
• Be thorough to make sure you take care of every client need. When you have the opportunity to talk to a seller about listing their property, have someone from your office look over the listing presentation first to ensure you’ve covered every detail.
• Once you have a listing, deliver exactly what you said you would in order to get the house sold.
• Manage client expectations: In a seller's market, a property priced right will go fast. In a buyer’s market, it could take longer even at an appropriate price.
• Guide the seller through the entire process. Explain details like closing date accommodations and any necessary home repairs.

In the end, remember that there are no silver bullets. Like most professions, it takes hard work and flexibility to succeed. Focus on learning your craft and doing a good job for your clients and a career in real estate can be as fun and fulfilling as you expected.