You want to know the hardcore truth about being a real estate agent? What they didn't tell you when you got into real estate? So maybe you got into real estate cuz you like Bravo or the million dollar listing agent or like flipping shows on HGTV. It looks super, super glamorous. It looks so easy. And so, so fun. Right?
Then you're hoping to get those glamorous pay days. Maybe wake up in the morning… tour a couple houses… go take a few listings and WAMO. You've got a big, huge commission check! Here's the hardcore truth about being a real estate agent. Do you know the average real estate agent only makes $46,000 a year! Who can live on $46,000 a year? I'll tell you what I sure as heck can't live on $46,000 a year. So what's the truth about being a real estate agent ?
Why Do Most Real Estate Agents Fail?
Well, first of all, you get your license and they don't tell you anything. You take this test and the test has absolutely nothing to do with being in real estate. It doesn't teach you anything about marketing, about lead generation, about lead conversion, about fulfillment and delivery. Doesn't talk to you about marketing or digital marketing or having an online presence or social media.
You have no clue what it is that you're supposed to do. So what do you do? You go into the office usually around, 11 o'clock and then you sit there and you're thinking, what do I do now?! So you start talking to other people in the office and they say, let's go to lunch. Okay, great. Let's go to lunch!
So you go to lunch. Maybe you have a cocktail or two, next thing you know, it's like 2PM. So you say to yourself, “oh, well days over might as well go home.” That's why most agents fail and that's the truth about being a real estate agent !
But let's talk about what it's really like. You, you get into real estate and realize that every single person you know, is in real estate because it's the easiest job to get into, which is crazy to me! You can take 25 hours worth of classes and next thing you know, BAM you're in real estate. Now you're dealing with one of the most expensive things anybody will ever buy and it's one of the most valued assets they'll ever buy or sell. They can make the most amount of money or lose the most amount of money compared to anything else in their life.
And it only takes like 25 hours to get your license. That is ridiculous!!
Realtors Make More Money
Do you know that most real estate agents, the ones that are good will make way more money than any doctor or any attorney or anything else. But why is it so hard for most agents? Because they don't understand. It's almost impossible for you to stand out. How do you stand out, make yourself different and become visible? How do you stop being a minion and looking like everyone else? That's the hard part.
So let me ask you a question. What's the one single thing that's the most important thing that you need to be doing as a real estate agent? You need to ask yourself are you a real estate agent or are you a marketer? Your job as a real estate agent is to be an expert marketer.
What Else Don't They Tell You?
Once you get your license you've got to pay for your MLS. That typically can cost you around $2,000 to $3,000 a year on the higher end. They also don't tell you that in order you to get leads, you actually have to pay money to get those leads. Unless you're gonna do things like open houses, but here's the deal, everybody right now with Corona, you can't even really do an open house. People are afraid to do open houses.
If you're talking to me and I'm your agent, I'll tell you that open houses are dangerous because people steal stuff. I've had people steal like literally I've had people steal jewelry. I've had people steal prescriptions. It's dangerous and I tell my sellers that. I also tell them that less than 4% of homes nationwide are sold at an open house. So it's not the right thing to do.
Door Knocking?
Or you're told to go door knocking, right? Oh, let's go door knocking. Yeah, if you want to get eaten by a dog! Honestly no one wants to answer the door anymore anyway. You don't wanna be bothered. It's not like it was when we were kids and someone answered the door excitedly because someone is bringing by a cake. It's not like that anymore. They did not tell you that when you get into real estate, you're gonna be competing with thousands and thousands of other people in your area to try to get business.
They didn't tell you that most people continue to have no value add, no unique selling proposition whatsoever. They're doing everything that everyone else is. So the only thing they can do is to continue to drop their commission and drop their commission and drop their commission and not a good idea. Okay? Do not do that. Learn to be different. Learn to have value, learn to have your unique selling proposition, where you are doing things completely different than everyone else. That way you are not a commodity, instead you are known as the brain surgeon of real estate.
People Can Be Mean and Rude
They didn't tell you that people are rude and they're mean… but why are they that way? Because most agents do not have the ability to show what makes them different and what makes them unique. So what happens, people pretty much are very abusive.
They don't respect your time or your energy and they call you all hours of the night. They call you on your birthday or during your parents' funeral and literally have zero respect for your time. Why? Because you haven't been taught how to make them respect your time or how unique and different you are. You're working nights and every weekend, you're missing your kids sporting sporting events. You became a realtor because you wanted more time, freedom and energy. And you have no time, no freedom, no energy and you are chasing your tail. And the very second that you stop doing the work BAM, everything stops.
So it's a roller coaster of ups and downs. Do you know that 87% of agents will not be in business after the first five years because it's too darn easy to get into real estate. No one told you that, did they? In most cases, if you work with a broker, they are taking a significant amount of your business.
My Story : The Truth About Being A Real Estate Agent
In fact, when I first got into real estate, I was one of the very few people that did really, really well in business. The reason I did so well in business was because I was actually a teacher prior to getting into real estate. I taught third grade for six years. One day my daughter got very, very sick and she almost died. She contracted spinal meningitis and had kidney failure and she had multiple strokes. So we spent about three weeks in Oakland Children's Hospital. It was a long time. This, I don't get emotional about it anymore, but it was hard at the time.
Then I left my full-time teaching job to get into real estate because I thought I would stay home with Kaylee, be her mom take care of her, and help her with all of her milestones. Because they told me that she was probably going to have some severe learning disabilities, if not severe being severely disabled, blind, deaf, all of those things that were happening. So I thought, okay, I'm going to leave my teaching job and get into real estate. I'll just “play” real estate, sell three to four houses a year and make the same amount of money I did when I was a teacher. But I had no idea what was about to happen. My husband at the time ended up having an affair and draining our bank accounts.
Within two weeks of me finding this out I had the new girlfriend coming to my house to pick up my children for Thanksgiving and taking them away. She was actually driving my car at the time, believe it or not. And I realized like, oh my gosh, life could not get any worse. I just left my full-time teaching job. Now some woman is taking my children away and she is going to spend Thanksgiving with them while I'm here alone.
But Then This Happened…
So I sat in the kitchen drinking a bottle of wine at 10 in the morning, crying and looking out in our backyard because we had just bought a brand new house and it was nothing back there, but dirt. I remember thinking, “oh my gosh, I have got to do this”. So that year I sold 69 houses, which is unheard of.
It doesn't usually ever happen in the real estate business when you've been in real estate for, you know, 20 years. So I sold 69 homes that year because I was absolutely forced to. But my reasoning in telling you this story is that my first year in real estate, do you know that I gave my broker $70,000. They got $70,000 of my hard earned commission!
Do you know, that's more money than I made all all year from being a teacher! After teaching for six years, full time in one year I made $60,000, while working 50 to 60 hours a week. Even with all the education, six years experience, I was still making $60,000 a year. My first year in real estate, my broker took $70,000 out of my commission.
They don't tell you they're gonna be paying extreme amounts of money to your broker. And if your broker gives you leads and generates leads, you're gonna be working even more than that, right. You're gonna be giving up even more than that commission because they're providing the lead for you. There are things you need to think about though… You need to think about, do you have a CRM? Do you have a website? Do you have a transaction management software? How are you going to actually generate leads?
Choose Your Content Carefully
What kind of content are you going to produce? I can just go on and on about all the things they did not tell you about real estate, right? It looks so glamorous. It looks so fun. You know, driving the fancy cars and seeing the pretty houses and all that stuff. But how are you gonna get the clients to get into the houses? How are you gonna get the clients to list the properties? And when you do get that property, that listing, how are you gonna be able to compete with the top producer? That's been doing it for 20, 30 years. Well guess what? I've got some good news for you. We've actually taught people that our brand new agents to learn how to beat top producers. And here's how teach them not to do the things that you're traditionally taught to do not to do open houses, not to door, knock, not to cold call.
We teach them how to utilize video and social media to become the digital mayor of their town. I call it the community market leader. So I know real estate seem to be so, so easy and I know it can be so, so intimidating, but it doesn't always need to be that way. In fact, we have a three day bootcamp that we do. We actually teach agents how like what real estate's really like how to be that go-to trusted authority, whether they're a brand new agent or a middle agent or they're already kicking up, we teach them how to utilize social media and video and digital marketing to reach the masses. Not just the few. So I know real estate seemed like it was so great to get into. I hope I didn't completely freak you out. And I kinda went on a bit of a tangent here and yes, this is a tangent because I've been doing this for 20 years.
It's so sad you're told to go to a seminar, read this book or do this thing. Just, they tell you to do it. We can never tell you how to put it all together. Other to absolutely have what I call digital location domination, how to be that go-to trusted community market leader. So if you're interested down below the links, you can find more out about the bootcamp. Otherwise hope this is helpful. And I'll see you next time. Remember when you do what you love, people love what you do.
