Thread: advice for a newbie

It really depends on how much money you have to invest in getting your business started. If you are on a tight budget, then start with some nice business cards and join your local Chamber of Commerce. Attend their networking events and meet other business professionals in your area so you can refer business to each other. There are also networking organizations such as www.bni.com where you meet weekly and refer business to each other and can be a really cost effective way to get new leads. Both are relatively inexpensive and easy to do.

I actually am on a budget. Im getting a second job on 3rd shift to supplement my real estate career for right now. thankx for the info

i just passed my Ca DRE Exam last week. Starting Monday im joining Century 21 Arroyo Seco.

1. Hand out your cards to everyone you meet. Meet as many people as possible.
2. Do market research on some neighborhoods you work (or your own) and go door-knocking. This is a great way to meet people and best of all, it's free!
3. Do Open House as often as possible
4. Take extra desk duty if your company will allow you.
5. Work your SOI constantly and have them work for you.


It's all about exposure, exposure, exposure. Business cards are the cheapest form of advertising you're going to get other than word-of-mouth. Hand out two to every GOOD prospect and ask them to hold onto one and give the other to anyone they know that may be interested in the future.

Follow up with people constantly.

Good luck!

Having been a Rookie twice now (2 different markets) - I can tell you that there are 2 different groups of prospects out there for you to consider:

1) Immediate Business (within next 12 months)

2) Long Term Business (longer than 1 year - stats now show 90% of all buyers and sellers start researching from 1-5 years prior to making a move)

To get the Immediate Business - you can concentrate on a couple of areas:

1) FSBO's - the key here is to approach them from a consulting base vs. a salesman base. Less than 1% of the agents contacting FSBO's call more than 4 times - if you are in the 1%, you have a terrific chance of converting those FSBO's to your listings. If nothing else, you can pick up a few buyers if you work them right.

2) Open Houses - sometimes they are boring, sometimes they are gold mines! Again, if you work them right they can turn into a great source for buyers and listings. Make sure that you pick the home correctly and have good information there for people who attend the open house.

3) Floor Duty - if you have an office that has lots of incoming calls, this can lead to some good opportunities. Of course, it's a #'s game - the more time you spend doing floor duty, the more people you will pick up as clients (and sometimes you will be bored!).

For the Long Term Propsects:

1) Have a Contact Management Database that has 1-5 years worth of drip campaigns.

2) Have multiple websites to target specific markets (buyers, sellers, fsbos, reports, etc.) with drip campaigns attached to those.

If I can help further, please don't hesitate to ask or contact me (rob@agentbrokersuccess.com).
Good luck!

My new site: www.RealPinions.com can give you lots of ideas of what's available these days in terms of the types of services and the vendors who provide them. Here is a list of what I cover...

All-In-One Management Tools
Automobile Signs
Classifieds/Listing Sites
Comps (Comparables) Identification
Deals for NAR Members
Email Enhancers/Drip Programs
Flyers
Home Buyer Sites
Home Feedback
Home Warranties
Lead Generation Systems and Contact Management
On-Line Posting Services
Phone Solutions
Real Estate Directories
Recipe Cards/Post Cards
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Single Property Websites
Training/Mentoring
Transaction Management
Virtual Assistants
Virtual Tours/Photography
Web Site Vendors
Yard Signs/Flyer Boxes/Flags/Lock Boxes, etc.

Whatever you do, don't try "swinging for the fences". Sure, everyone wants to be the one to sell that $5 million home. But you need to be realistic. It's usually the real estate veterans that already have abuyer in mind when that home goes on the market that get the sale.

Keep stringing together those base hits, and after a while you will start bringing in more consistent cash flow. Keep the base hits coming, and then try for the occasional double or triple.

The next thing you know, your cash flow will not only cover your living expenses and basic marketing costs, but it will allow you to expand your marketing. In my opinion, that's how you become successful in real estate.

Are you using your Business Cards to generate prospects? Most agents will say, "Yes, I hand them out every day!" Well, that is the first mistake. Let me ask you a question: if you are handing out your business cards everyday - who is controlling the flow of information? You, or the person to whom you gave the business card?

I'm sure that you would agree that the object of a business card is generate leads, right? If you are giving your business cards out - how are you generating a lead? The bottom line is that you are not generating a lead by giving out your business card - you are HOPING that person will call you or contact you when/if they are thinking about real estate.

The object of lead generation to is collect information: names, numbers, addresses and emails. If you are giving business cards - you are giving someone that information - you are NOT collecting that information! Let's change your paradigm is it pertains to business cards: DO NOT carry them and give them out! Instead, when someone asks for your business card, reach into your pocket as if you are looking for a business card - pat your pocket or purse - then say, "I must have given out my last one. Do you have one of yours?"

What did you do? You now collected a business card and YOU now control the flow of information. You can now add that person to your 8 by 8 and Lead Cultivation campaigns and ASK for business. You are no longer HOPING that someone calls you - you are being pro-active.

What if they don't have a business card - pull out your branded notepad and get them to write down their information. Then proceed to tear off the contact information and give them the remainder of the notepad to keep.

Now that you have their information, you also have the opportunity to make another "touch" by mailing them a Thank You card or letter and include 2 of your business cards (1 for them and 1 for someone they know who is thinking about buying or selling a home!).

The other part of the equation is how you designed your business cards. Are they designed with Direct Response Marketing (DRM) techniques or are they "I Love Me" business cards? If they do not entice prospects to call you (to the tune of 5-10 per month!) - then they are probably "I Love Me" cards - just like 95% of real estate agents. Make sure that your business cards utilize DRM and are part of your Lead Generation campaign.

Email me at rob@agentbrokersuccess.com for more info and examples.

Question of the day: What's the worst piece of advice given to real estate agents?

"Hand out as many business cards as you can..."