“My first three to six months as an agent were interesting. I remember coming to the office and not really knowing what I was going to be doing that day but sort of being forced to figure it out. I personally learn through hands-on experience so I would try and talk to other experienced agents in the office. When I got my first listing I prepped really hard for it and just went and did it. I knew I would get those questions answered and get back to that client if I didn’t know the answers.”

– Megan Mitchum

“When you have no actual agenda, no actual schedule, it makes it tough just to figure out where to even start. Once I figured out what to focus on and what to do on a day-to-day basis, it became a lot easier to function.”

– Ethan Hokel

“I kept feeling like I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t have a ton of clients. So I came to the office about four days a week and I just listened to what other agents were talking about, how they engaged with their clients, how they engaged with other agents, what questions they were asking. I went to every single class available to me because what else was I supposed to do? If I’m not out showing homes, I should probably be at the office with the continued learning I was looking for.”

– Renee Dunkel

“The training that was most helpful to me was meeting with a group of other new agents. We talked about things that were happening. What’s happening in my world may be different than what’s happening in their world, but I may learn from something they’re going through.”

– Renee Dunkel

“Another training that I found very helpful was the Buffini system. Buffini is a course you can take that teaches you how to work by referral. That’s the route I wanted to go, more than cold calling and tactics like that. It’s just one way you can be successful in real estate- asking for business and asking for referrals from people in your sphere. That system was very helpful for me to learn how to communicate and ask for business from the people I know.”

– Ethan Hokel

“The most helpful training honestly was just being present in an environment where real estate is happening. If I wasn’t doing it, at least I was hearing other people talk about it.”

– Mike Crabb

“I think the most challenging thing for me was probably learning how to budget. You may make $0 in a month and you may make a whole lot of money in a month and I think learning how to set up a spending plan for yourself is really important. And saving money back for taxes.” 

– Megan Mitchum

“I think it’s working with other agents outside of the brokerage that is a big challenge. There are a variety of people in this business and not all of them treat you the same and not all of them play by what you think are fair rules. So negotiation standards, how to communicate and making sure everyone is happy are big ones [to learn].”

– Jason Mickelson

“I think the most challenging part as a new agent is finding balance. I felt like at times I couldn’t turn my brain off from real estate.  I felt like I was getting kind of burnt out and never got a break.”

– Jessica Gilligan

“Getting in front of enough business to sustain yourself in the first year is the biggest thing. There is no paycheck if you don’t sell a house. So being able to support yourself through what is usually a thin first year is vital.”

– Mike Crabb

“What was different about the industry than what I thought it was going to be was definitely the time. A lot of people say they get into real estate because they want to make their own schedule. You need to make the time to meet with your clients or go show properties.” 

– Ethan Hokel

“You know when you’re a real estate agent, you assume that you’re just going to be showing beautiful homes all day long. Not every home is beautiful and clean and amazing. I think learning to navigate how to pinpoint potential issues in those homes, both old and new, was something beyond my expectations.”

– Megan Mitchum

“Real estate is different than I imagined. I always thought about what happens from when you meet the client to getting them an offer. I’ve learned the work is actually once the offer is accepted to closing day and even beyond that. There can be a lot of hiccups that the REALTOR® is responsible for getting figured out.”

– Jessica Gilligan

“I think my best advice for new agents in the first 12 months is to spend as much time in the office as possible. I feel like we have a lot of situations and scenarios come up that we talk about and bounce ideas off of each other.”

– Megan Mitchum

“The advice I would offer to new agents in the first 12 months would just be to keep at it and find a good mentor. Find someone you can meet with on a regular basis, who can guide you and coach you and keep you motivated.”

– Ethan Hokel

“You have to track two things: One, where are you going to keep track of your customers? Because if you don’t track the people you meet early on, then you’ll never get them back. Two, track your income. You may have a bad two weeks, but when you have a bad two weeks you can look and see you’re so far ahead of where you were that will keep you mentally on track.”

– Jason Mickelson

“Focus on continuing to learn through case studies and continue to get good systems in place because once you are busy, you’ll be so glad you have those systems in place.” 

– Jessica Gilligan

“Stay engaged with all the clients you have, whether it’s one or two or five. Stay totally engaged with those people because they’re going to be your biggest advocates. It’s not just your past clients. Your friends and family are the people who are going to be helping you in your business.”

– Renee Dunkel