New Agent Academy: How top agents pull ahead while others stall in year 1

Having recently made the switch into real estate, TAG RE sales executive Anthony Ly has quickly experienced firsthand the importance of education in shaping an agent’s early career, rising from associate to executive in just two years.

Ly said that at the beginning, agents should focus on educating themselves by learning from others rather than focusing on sales.

“Stop focusing so much on key performance indicators (KPIs) and just soak in as much information and learn as possible,” Ly said.

He said that when agents strived to educate themselves, the results would naturally follow.

When he stopped focusing on learning, Ly said his career development began to slow.

“I realised that I stopped asking questions because I thought I knew how to do everything, and I had stopped improving.”

Ly said new agents should seek tips and advice from any sources they could, regardless of the source’s experience level.

“If you are an associate, don’t just ask questions to your executives or principal; ask questions to other associates too.”

“Everyone knows something that you don’t, so just ask.”

Despite needing to learn from other professionals, Ly said there was no single method to guarantee success, urging newcomers to adapt their learning to their personal style.

“In the past, they would say one generic script hoping to achieve a result, but you can’t say the exact same thing every single time.”

“You have to adapt it to each person, and if something isn’t working for you, don’t do it.”

Prospecting is the job – everything else comes later

Alongside learning from others, Ly said new agents also need to build strong prospecting habits to uncover listing opportunities, which was a sole focus in the early stages of his own career.

Ly said that for his first few months, prospecting through phone calls and door-knocking made up the bulk of his workdays.

“Once I started getting my own stocks, market appraisals became listings and listings came onto the market,” he said.

“You have to actually work for it and earn it.”

Ly said the toughest adjustment for most new agents was handling rejection, with many struggling early on to push past their fear, ultimately ending their careers short.

“Every single associate I have seen that has decided not to pursue real estate anymore is purely because they couldn’t get to prospect purely due to rejection, or they were intimidated, or they weren’t willing to do the grunt work.”

“The entire industry is all about rejection, and you just get so used to hearing it all the time that eventually it doesn’t even faze you.”

While lead generation was a tedious, repetitive part of learning the fundamentals of real estate, Ly said it was essential to their long-term success.

“If you can’t do it, then you shouldn’t be in real estate.”

The advantage of being authentic

While new agents should learn all they can from successful professionals, Ly said it was important not to blindly copy, but to find a balance that suits them and their personalities.

“Imitating others doesn’t really come up as natural, and it sounds extremely robotic.”

“From a consumer or client’s perspective, as soon as you start sounding like a robot, they get turned off straight away.”

According to Ly, one of the worst mistakes newcomers could make in the first 12 months was failing to develop emotional endurance.

To build a sustainable career in the industry, Ly said agents needed to understand how to regulate their emotions.

“It’s an industry with a lot of ups and downs, and if you decide to ride that emotional rollercoaster, then it’s going to take a huge emotional toll on you.”

“That’s probably the number one thing that I see a lot of agents struggle with, they just let the emotional toll destroy their work life.”

Ly said property professionals should ensure they don’t allow themselves to be swept up in the role’s emotions, whether positive or negative, and try to start every day anew.

“Come in with a fresh mindset every single day,” Ly concluded.

Interested in becoming a real estate or buyer’s agent? Join REB’s New Agent Academy.

One of the industry’s key education and networking events, it connects early-career agents with some of Australia’s top performers, offering real-world insights to help fast-track your success.

Whether you’re breaking into the industry, building momentum in your first few years, or looking to sharpen your edge in a competitive market, the academy is designed to give you the tools to get ahead.

To secure your free tickets to the REB New Agent Academy, click here.

The REB New Agent Academy will be held in Brisbane on 28 May, Melbourne on 5 June, and Sydney on 12 June.