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One of the things I’m often asked by agents who are new to the industry or looking to take their career up a notch is where should I begin?
Looking back, it’s easy to view a career in the rearview mirror, but not so simple to envisage the journey it will take as you settle in behind the wheel and first strap yourself in.
With that in mind, here are some of the key lessons I’ve learned on a long and winding road that has had its occasional twists and turns but ultimately delivered a destination far more exciting than I would ever have expected.
So here is what I would do if I were to start in real estate all over again.
Seek great mentors
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to improve, mentors are the navigators you want next to you throughout the real estate journey.
These are the people who have stood where you are now, whose values align with yours and whose approach has helped get them where you want to go.
The real estate industry is blessed with a great mindset of mentoring, with top performers and generous people more than willing to help others succeed.
To my younger self, I would say seek out great mentors – whether they are people in your office, people you aspire to be like, or even people beyond the industry who can assist you keep both your career and your life in general in perspective.
Go all-in
Real estate is not the type of career where you can have one foot in the door and the other on the outside. There should be no plan B.
I entered real estate with a wealth of apprehension, following in the footsteps of my wife and somewhat reluctantly going along for the ride.
It wasn’t until we had our own business and it was all on the line that I was “all-in”. But you’d be surprised what you can achieve when there is no fallback plan as a refuge.
Had I been all-in sooner – improving my craft, developing my skills and embracing an all-or-nothing attitude – I have no doubt success would have come sooner.
Work in reverse
I’ve come to realise over the years, real estate is simple but not easy. And it’s made all the more predictable when you reverse-engineer the results you want to achieve.
When you start each year, set out the number of listings you want, consider your conversion rate from leads to listings, know how many calls and contacts you need to make to achieve good leads, and work from the desired number of listings backwards to know exactly what you need to do each day, each week and each month.
To my younger self, I say to start with the outcome in mind and reverse-engineer scalable, repeatable success each and every year.
Keep on learning
The truly exciting thing about real estate is just when you feel you have seen it all, a new tool emerges, an unfamiliar situation arises, or the market shifts.
That’s why ongoing learning and education are the hallmarks of all the great agents. If I were starting out all over again, I would embrace that education mindset sooner.
I would be focused on becoming the local area expert, I would be tapping into the tools and traits of top performers, and I would be seeking insight into new and different ways to consistently hone my craft.
Invest in your brand
Granted, this has changed over my years in the industry, but if I were starting in real estate now, a key piece of advice to myself would be to consistently invest in your brand.
We all know real estate is a people business, and the age of social media means the agent is often far more recognisable than the organisation they work for.
These days, I often tell agents to invest approximately 5 percent of their annual gross commission income (GCI) on personal promotion, including Facebook, direct mail, SMS and their website.
Go after the life you want
I’ve found real estate to be an incredibly fulfilling career, but that’s in no small part due to the life it has allowed me to lead, the people it has enabled me to meet, and the way it has provided for my family.
It has been a pivotal element of a rewarding life so far, but the work has not been the be-all and end-all.
To my younger self and all aspiring agents, I would urge them to keep this in mind.
Surround yourself with good people, take the time to enjoy the rewards, but never forget, above all, it is a career that should be designed to serve the life you want.
Manos Findikakis is the chief executive of Agents’Agency
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