New to Real Estate Wanting to Start Out as a Broker in Denver

[Ryan Wilson]

Hello Everyone!

I am in the late stages of my real estate licensing courses.  I have no prior experience in real estate nor do I know anyone that works in the field. (Plus I have only been in Denver for about 6 months)  I was wondering if anyone had any advice to finding a brokerage in this competitive field.  I've done some searches already and from what I've seen it's not the typical corporate style websites that have career pages.

So, how did you find a brokerage to work for?

And, if you have a recommendation for a brokerage for a newbie please let me know.

Thank you!

[James Carlson]

@Ryan Wilson

Congrats on taking the leap into real estate here in Denver!

I think it's important to ask yourself what you hope to get out of an agency. Training? Okay, then I'd go for a big agency, like Keller Williams. But I think what a lot of new agents think they will get from their agency is help finding clients. From what I hear, there's really no agency that will give you meaningful leads, so that's not really a reason to choose a big company.

This may not be a popular idea but I do not think this or that agency make a difference. Creativity, hustle and one good mentor will do the trick, in my opinion.

We went with Brokers Guild. It's just $25/mo and then $200/transaction. Now, you better be ready to train yourself and market the hell out of yourself. We felt confident that we had nailed down a niche that would drive clients to us, so we didn't want to give away our money just to have a big name behind us. (We've created our own brand underneath Brokers Guild anyway.)

This isn't really what you asked about, but I will just reiterate that I think hustle is the key to this. There are something like 21,000 real estate agents in Denver alone. How are you going to stand out? How are you going to get clients? You can do it, for sure, but start planning now. Cold calls are fine. Door knocking is fine. But ask yourself whether you have the stamina to do it over and over and over and over? Because that game is all about volume. If you do have that type of personality, great! You will do well. 

If you don't have that type of personality or stamina -- and I freakin' hate that type of sales -- then find other ways to get in front of people. Host Meetup groups with activities that you enjoy. Run free homebuyers classes. Find a niche, build a website and produce great content to drive eyeballs to your site. And stay active on here.

Anyway, I really wish you well. Good luck.