Empower Your Outreach: Top Strategies for New Real Estate Professionals

New and millennial real estate professionals (REPs) want and need peer networking opportunities, according to a recent Freddie Mac survey. This has been even more important during the pandemic as these agents face challenges meeting and interacting with industry colleagues, identifying and connecting with new clients and first-time homebuyers, and using educational resources and opportunities to gain a competitive edge and take their career success to the next level.

The 2021 housing market was hot and frenzied, with low mortgage rates and lack of inventory driving up house prices, which resulted in price escalations, multiple offers, and overbidding. As we head into 2022, potential interest rate hikes, inflation and price increases across the board may cool the market and slow it down to a more manageable landscape. How can new agents (including younger ones) navigate these market changes and the lingering effects of COVID-19 while bolstering their network, attracting new clients, expanding their business, and providing the most robust and satisfactory customer experience?

What do you wish you had known when you started as a real estate agent?

If I had to choose one lesson it would be to develop a mastermind circle of industry partners and colleagues. Being part of networking organizations and events over the years has afforded me the opportunity to learn from the best—I just wish I had started this exposure earlier. Also, perseverance is essential to be successful, so set production goals backed up with steps to achieve them. if you want to make $100K, figure out how many sales, prospects, buyers, or sellers it will take to accomplish that. Finally, transactional real estate can be overwhelming, and the REP orchestrates a transaction that means so much for a buyer or seller. Following a checklist or a transaction plan can be helpful when you are new to ensure you are executing all your responsibilities.

What will be the biggest challenge of the 2022 real estate market and how can new and young agents overcome it?

While last year we were overwhelmed with a robust and crazy market, multiple factors in 2022 point to a more moderate one. The biggest challenge will be sustaining and growing your share in this slower market, so lead generation should always be top of mind. Work with a coach who can spark accountability while helping you focus and be intentional about marketing yourself to potential buyers and sellers. Technology must remain an integral part of your business to create efficiencies on transactions from start to finish; your customer relationship management (CRM) is the simplest way of connecting and maintaining your sphere of influence. Technology is truly the name of the game when it comes to millennials, who currently make up the largest demographic of potential homebuyers.

How can agents best use social media and marketing to grow their business?

Create an overall strategy that captures what you want potential clients to know about your business. Determine what products best align with what platform and remember that you don’t need to be on every platform—just make sure you’re consistent, as brands don’t grow overnight. Engage not only with your posts but also with those of your prospects via likes, shares, and comments. Use social media to research prospective clients and referral sources; this gives you a leg up on knowing potential customers before you meet them in person. Since customization these days is expected, not optional, use what you learn online to send personal notes, articles or interest and helpful resources to set you apart from the crowd.

What skills or traits, including overlooked ones, are critical for new agents to succeed?

Organization! Start every day with a written list of tasks to accomplish and end each day by creating a new list to tackle the next day, prioritizing them based on which move you closer to getting paid. Network with like-minded teams or organizations—it’s too difficult and uncertain to try to figure out everything on your own. Be aware that the market is going to change, stay present to get a feeling for when it’s changing and surround yourself with those in the same boat as you. Listen to and meet clients where they are in the homebuying process, answer their concerns, establish trust, and mirror their personalities, demeanor, and communication style, whether that’s on social media or by text, email, on the phone or in person.