When to leave....??

[aikenrea]

I am new in the Real Estate Business. I previously worked as a System Developer Analyst for Well know hospital and physical software company for 9 years. I decided to get in Real Estate I could 'be my own boss'. Unfortunately knowing nothing and taking a giant step I believe that I chose the wrong Company but I do not want to make another hasty mistake. How long should I stick it out with that company before I begin to look around? I have only been there 2 months. And to be fair to that company I do not want to belittle them. But to be able to get accurate feed back my concerns are listed below. Also some of the items that are listed below I knew before hand but did not know there importance.

1) No training.
2) No Mentor Programs
3) No outside advertising from the Company
4) No Way to get questions immediately answered.

[TJ2007]

Doesn't sound like the right place to START your career...

You need all the training and structure you can get until you have a few deals under your belt and the money to go out and do your own advertising & marketing...

I probably posted this half a dozen times here, so forgive me for repeating myself but I think the likes of coldwell banker and C21 have the best training programs...

Regadless of where you go you should look for:

A solid structured training program that teaches all the technical side and some sales techniques
A mentor program or at least a broker who is there to hold your hand through the 1st couple deals
Better if you can go somewhere where they are advertising and have incoming business - get as much floor time/ desk duty as you can. (they say realtors don't make money sitting in the office, but at the begining you will learn so much more being around others)Also ask all the agents in the office if you can sit an open house for them - it's a great way to get some free leads and get your feet wet...

[aikenrea]

Your are right about needing a place with good training. I have learned this the hard way but how will I be perceived if I try to change companies right away?

[TJ2007]

FAR better to do it now than later...

Doesn't sound like this company is doing much for you? they certainly aren't going to pay your mortgage if you aren't closing deals!

Besides it becomes much more difficult once you have deals in process...then it's always an issue of trying to get paid on the deals if you leave...

[Codythebest]

Number 1 and 4 are important.
You just MUST have training. Period.
Shop around for a new company NOW. But do interview first and ask their training program.
I wouldn't focus on deals and money at first, but training...
Good luck

[Patrick Mc]

Get out now and make a fresh start with a company with good training and support.

I changed companies after a year and I had to "re-educate" my clients, leads and sphere of influence and make sure that they all new where to reach me at my new brokers location.

I'm glad that at that time I used (and still used) an email address tied to my web address and not to the brokers web address. Being able to keep that continuity and not having to change email addresses when I moved was a major time and money saver.

[FlaGal]

I agree with TJ, switch BEFORE you are in the middle of transactions.
:D Coldwell Banker offers a great 4 week training program called FastStart. I haven't done it myself, starting in 3 weeks. Geez, I simply didn't have the time yet.
However, i'm hearing a lot of good things about it. it's internet based but interactive. You can talk to the instructor etc.

[gjtrafl]

Doesn't sound like you will be walking away from anything that was worth keeping. That being said, take a little time to ensure the next one is the right one. Just make sure its a little time so that you can get busy.

[gjtrafl]

I can't help but assume that the company was a local office locally owned... Most of the larger offices know that the training must be in place. If for no other reason than for liability purposes.

The trade off to the bigger companies will be less leads and lower splits.

A more generous split is usually the biggest carrot that a local company will offer. This is fine if you don't need the training and support!

[RobGerhart.com]

Look for a company with a solid training program.

KW offers 5 week newbie "Camp 4-4-3 (4 listings, 4 sales, 3 months)"
Mentor program with experienced agents in office.
Ongoing free in-office training all year long by experienced top producers
Online "KWU" with hours and hours and hours of videos on every subject you can think of.
Quarterly regonial training sessions with national top producers
Free training downloads from the web
AND most importantly a team work mentality in the office: agents share in the profits of the company. it is in everyone best interest to help everyone else. There is no cut-throat competative vibe that some other brokerages may have.

Please check out WhyGoKw dot com for more information.

Good luck.

[chrishummel]

I would recommend leaving now. If you aren't getting what you want from a brokerage move on to the next one. Sticking around is only hurting yourself.