While you’re getting your real estate license, you’re likely in a pre-licensing course for your state. That course will teach you how to pass the state exam, but it will not teach you what you should be doing when you’re an actual real estate agent. While it’s true that you need your license to get into the game of real estate, preparing yourself will make you truly successful. Here are four things you can do to maximize your time during your pre-licensing course.
Learn The Language of Real Estate
To learn the language of real estate, you need to start consuming more information and content than they’re providing you in the class. But, again, that class information is only preparing you to pass an exam, a lot of that information you’re never going to use at all once you get your license. So what information do you need when you get your license so that you can have a chance at closing transactions at helping buyers and sellers? It’s the language of real estate. It’s being able to talk about what’s going on in your communities and being able to close a sale. So I’m going to direct you to some YouTube channels and some publications that you should be checking out right now.
Tom Ferry. He’s the number one coach in all of America. He coaches all the top teams. Tom Ferry doesn’t pay me to say this. He’s giving out so much free information on his YouTube channel. Meet Kevin is also another great YouTuber to follow. He talks a lot about stocks and politics right now. Go to his playlist on real estate, and you’re going to get a whole bunch of information there as well. Some of the publications you should be reading are realtor magazine and the real deal, especially if you’re in New York City. Those are two free options to learn about the residential real estate industry. A paid publication that is great to follow is inman.com. They report on all the breaking news in the real estate industry and give you all the tips and tricks on marketing.
Apply to Teams Early
Start applying for the places you’re going to work. I’d recommend you start by looking at teams. The top teams will often have a pre-licensing training opportunity that you can plug into every week. We happen to do that with my team in Connecticut. If you look at the top teams in your area, I imagine one of them would have an opportunity like this for you. You can see how their agents follow up with leads and interact with clients. If you secure a spot with a team, you do whatever they ask you to do. Suppose they asked you to come and sweep the floor in the office, that allows you to listen to how other agents are talking about their deals. Do it. Do whatever it takes to learn information from the top producers in your market. You’re going to have to start somewhere, and that’s a great place to start.
Visit Open Houses
Every Saturday and Sunday, you should be visiting open houses. You should know your driving route to see as many as you possibly can. They typically start around noon and end around three or four. If you’re in a warmer climate, they might be a little bit earlier and a little bit later. As a consumer, ask questions as if you were interested in buying the house. Start to learn why these homes are priced a certain way. There will be a line out the door in an open house that is priced very well, especially in today’s market. When you’re able to compare as if you were a buyer, it will naturally give you a little bit more information on the inventory in the market and help you better assist consumers, buyers, and sellers when you get your real estate license.
Bonus Tip
If you can afford it, you should hire a real estate coach. I’d recommend looking into the Tom Ferry coaching program. It’s a significant investment, but the agents I know that did this before they got their license have always been top producers. Every great agent today has a coach I’d encourage if you can afford it before you even get your license. You’re going to be that much ahead of the game and have better chances of putting somebody into contract during your first two weeks instead of your first two months.
If you know somebody taking this journey, or maybe you’ve got some friends in your pre-licensing course, share this video with them. Help them out, and I’m sure they’ll help you out through your journey.