What advice would you recommend to someone getting a RE license?

[Ethan S.]

I'm currently working on my prelicense right now and was wondering what advice agents would recommend to someone new.

[Brandon Eleazer]

Hey @Ethan S.

This is a really big topic, but here's a few talking points:

Before the License:

Gain the understanding of what an agent does. You can do this by talking to other real estate agents you know, and reading blogs/articles about becoming an agent. Find out what activities are done in a typical day. What "real world" situations they face, and how much time and money is spent on the different aspects of their business (marketing & promotion, prospecting for leads, appointments, paperwork, emails, etc). 

If you can make the time for it I recommend you take real estate classes in a classroom setting. I took classes at a local community college. For me it just makes the information sink in better when someone is teaching it directly in front of me. You also get the benefit of study partners and other students to talk real estate with.  Also the professor is likely an experienced broker so you can ask unlimited questions and learn a lot.

After Getting The License:

Like others have suggested, find a broker with a mentoring program is great advice. However it's not always necessary. My 1st broker didn't have a program when I first started. But it was a small office so I could meet with him any time or call his cell, or email if I needed help. The other agents in a small firm tend to be less competitive and will offer you help when you need it and may even find ways to work together as a team on certain things. So you'll want to assess whether you feel more comfortable at a larger or smaller size RE firm.  But yes absolutely you need to find someone to learn the ropes from. You can offer to sit open houses for other agents or take their phone calls or take their buyers out on showing appointments. All possible ways to learn by getting involved. If real estate teaches you anything it's that you need to take action.

Lastly, create your systems EARLY on. Organization and Response Time are important and without systems potential business will fall through the cracks and balls will drop causing you to lose clients. You can't be everywhere at once. You can't work 24hr days. But clients don't want excuses, so you need a way to manage your time and leverage resources to get it done. Lots of agents use 'Time Blocking' to dedicate certain hours a day to specific activities. If you deal with things as they are happening you'll just be putting out fires constantly and stretching yourself too thin.