Real Estate Sales Associates are a very diverse group. They come from a wide variety of personal and professional backgrounds. For many, real estate is a second, third, or even a fourth career, while others start right out of school. Nonetheless, most sales associates ultimately enter the business for at least one of the following reasons:
Being an associate, however, isn’t for everyone. In most situations, real estate agents are much more like small business owners than employees, and must be prepared to take on that level of responsibility for their success. They should have strong interpersonal skills and a customer service mindset. They should have an ability to multi-task, prioritize, and take initiative and be a moderately tech-savvy person who wants to use technology to engage customers. Successful associates have a strong work ethic and great accountability, as well as the ability to interact positively with a wide range of other personalities.
In order to represent a customer in a real estate transaction, you must have an active real estate license. Future associates need to take the following steps to become a licensed real estate sales associate:
After you pass the state exam, you can hang your license with a real estate firm and begin working as a sales associate. Some people opt to begin the interview process before they finish their coursework, in order to get started as soon as possible after passing the exam, while others prefer to focus on the exam before worrying about where they’ll work.
Once you’re on board with an office, the majority of your time will be spent setting up your business systems and marketing, along with completing certain new associate training programs. The rest of your time will be devoted to the hardest part of being an associate: finding customers. When you do get a listing or a buyer, you’ll work to meet their needs and successfully close the transaction, then repeat for your next customer.
Though there isn’t anything to prevent someone from practicing real estate in their spare time or as a supplemental source of income, the best way to build a successful career in the profession is to devote a full-time effort to it from day one.
There is a lot of work that goes into setting up a real estate business, and for most people, the sooner that work gets completed, the sooner they start earning commissions. Many people who enter real estate part-time never get over the “hump” of fully setting up a sustainable business model, and are either unproductive for a long time and never able transition to full-time, or quickly drop out of the business entirely.
That said, the costs of getting started in real estate can be daunting, as can the risk of receiving entirely commission-based compensation. We understand that maintaining a cash flow is necessary for many associates to get off the ground, though we encourage them to have a strong plan to transition to being full-time real estate professionals as soon as they are able.
Once you receive your real estate license, please call 904-945-5610 to set up an interview. River Birch Realty is a small company and we wish to remain that way. But we are always interested in interviewing sales associates to join our team. It keeps our company fresh and dynamic.
If you’re not quite ready to join a brokerage, but you’d like to earn money from your newly acquired real estate license, you can become a Referral Agent. Please visit: RiverRef.com for more information.
