Introduction
Discover the Steps to Real Estate Success with our guide on becoming a million-dollar agent in just 7 essential steps!
A lot of people ask me how I became the number one real estate agent in the world. They want to know how I sell almost $100 million worth of homes every month.
Sorry, I intermittent fast, and I’m hungry—whatever. So, I decided to create a video—the one you’re watching—to show you how to become a real estate agent. I’m going to give you the seven steps you need to take to become a million-dollar broker like me.
- “Hey, can you approve these listings?”
- “Those listings? They look great.”
I’m going to show you how I went from being a broke, lonely real estate agent to being a big one with this huge team and five assistants who help me every single day.
- “Please sign this check.”
- “Sure, what’s it for?”
- “Don’t worry about it.”
- “Okay.”
Step 1: Find the Best Real Estate Agent and Work for Them for Free
You need to find the best real estate agent in your neighborhood, and you need to work for them for free. Yes, you need to be their intern. You’re going to do a lot of things you don’t like—like getting coffee, shredding paper, and getting their dry cleaning. (elated music)
But when you do this, it will give you the opportunity to realize if real estate brokerage is really for you, with really low risk. If you do right by that real estate agent, they’re going to hire you on their team.
- “Hey Brian, you have a phone call.”
- “Thanks, intern.”
- “Hello.”
- (client speaks on the phone)
- “You want to know where to get your real estate license?”
- (client speaks on the phone)
- “I’m glad you asked.”
Step 2: Getting Your Real Estate License
Getting your real estate license is really serious, and the way you do it depends on where you live. So, go to Google or ask your mentor—who you just interned for—where they got their real estate license. It’s easy; I can type it in:
How do you get your real estate license in Texas?
Pretty simple. Scroll down. Bla bla bla. Okay, step one: must be at least 18. Register for and complete 100 hours of required education. Either the team leader who you’re interning for or the internet will tell you where and how to get your real estate license. What’s great is that most times, you can do it from home. You can also do it in person, which is the way I did it, or you can do it at work or at school.
And what could be really cool is if you’re doing it at work because you already have another job, and you’re getting your real estate license online. Sometimes, the person next to you wants to do real estate too, and you can ask them to join up on your team, and you can get going right away. Like Bliss, right here.
- “Dude, I’m getting my real estate license. You wanna get yours too?”
- “Nope.” (elated music)
Step 3: Get Your License Sponsored by a Brokerage and Join a Team
Now you’ve got your license. What’s next? Before you can go out onto the street and hold up your hand and say, “Hi, I’m a real estate agent. Would you like to buy or sell a home with me?” You need to get your license sponsored by a brokerage.
Better yet, you want to join a team. You don’t want to do what I did when I first started—work by yourself and not know what to do—because most real estate agents who start work by themselves or don’t know what to do end up quitting and doing something else.
So, that’s not what you want to do. And if you did step one, that mentor is your easiest way into that team. The team’s going to have all the resources, knowledge, and know-how to be your continuing education into the business after you get your license. And honestly, the best part about a team is that it’s like family. Everybody does everything together, and they all love each other. It’s super, super cool.
What’s up, team? (elated music)
Step 4: Building Your Sphere of Influence
So, you’re on a team. Now, step four: you build your sphere of influence. You do this in two separate ways. One is your warm sphere—your mom, your dad, your foster mom, your baby daddy, everyone you knew in first grade, everyone from Facebook and Instagram.
You reach out to them and say, “Hi, my name is Bill. I’m a real estate agent now. Would you like to buy or sell with me?” I promise you, your first clients are going to come from that warm sphere of influence that you’re going to build.
Your next sphere is your cold sphere. Those are people you meet on the street—people you meet, like I did, in Starbucks. Some of my first clients were pregnant women in Starbucks because they needed more room. It’s easy to do. Here, look, I’ll show you how to do it right now:
Hey man, my name is Ryan. I’m in real estate. Would you like to buy or sell?
Okay, it takes time. (soft music)
Step 5: Set Up Your Day for Success—Finder, Keeper, Doer
Now you’ve got the ball rolling. You’re licensed, you’re on a team, you’ve got support, and people are starting to know who you are, even on the street. What’s next? Step five: set up your day for success, also known as Finder, Keeper, or Doer.
If you’ve read my book or taken my course, you’ll know that I set up my entire day and calendar it so that I can be successful and generate leads. Finder is putting on your CEO hat. Set time in your calendar every day to go out and think about how you’re going to build your new business as an entrepreneur—because that’s what real estate agents are. We are entrepreneurs who go out and try to find people to buy and sell homes.
Next, you’ll set a little time for Keeper. Keeper time is like the CFO. Keeper time is the time you’ll focus on advertising money. How am I going to go out there and spend money to make money? Because scared money don’t make money.
Maybe that’s taking $10 that I have in my pocket and going to Starbucks and getting a couple of lattes for people that could be clients. Maybe that’s doing a mailer and putting stamps on postcards. Whatever it might be, you have something to spend to make money.
Lastly is the doer time. Doer time is the operation. That’s you actually putting the stamps on that postcard. That’s you actually running up and down the street, showing the apartments, painting the walls of the little studio that you just got to rent for $600 a month. Finder, Keeper, Doer—FKD. Structure your day for success that way, and you will grow your business as a successful sales entrepreneur. I guarantee it. (soft music)
Step 6: Follow Up, Follow Through, Follow Back
Okay, so your day is structured. Now you feel like a true salesperson. Now what? Step six, probably my biggest action item, is the three F’s: Follow up, follow through, and follow back.
It’s how I’ve built my entire business. By structuring my day with Finder, Keeper, and Doer, by working with other agents and networking my butt off, and by following up like it’s my job—because it is my job, because I’m a real estate agent, and that’s what real estate agents do. We follow up, we follow through, and we follow back.
- The first F is follow-up. That’s making sure everyone I meet on the street, everyone I talk to, I stay on top of them until they die. And their grandparents. I’m kind of joking, kind of not. That’s my job. I’m going to follow up with everybody because when they think real estate, I want them to think of me, Ryan.
- Then you’ve got Follow through. Following through is the easiest thing to do but the one that people have the hardest time with. It’s just doing what you say you’re going to do. If you meet someone at an event and they say, “Actually, I am looking for a home,” Cool. You say, “I’m going to send you something right now.” But I said when I get home, I will send you a listing. Do it. It blows my mind how many real estate agents out there say they’re going to do something and then don’t do it.
- The most important F is following back. Anyone you’ve ever met, anyone you’ve ever worked with—go back to them. “Hey, happy birthday.” “Hey, congrats on your one-year closing anniversary.” “The house across the street from you just sold for a record price. Aren’t you happy you got the deal you did when you bought?” You’ve got to follow up, follow through, and follow back, and I promise you it will keep you on top of mind with everybody you’re working with. (upbeat music)
Step 7: Play the Long Game
And finally, step seven: Think it through for the long term, and do not rush into anything. This one is quite complicated because many people move to real estate brokerage and sales in the belief that they will be a millionaire in the shortest time. It’s not true.
As with any other job, it will be a process that will take some time. And the clients are going to take time to be got or to be found. This means that it’s going to take some time before the correct sellers are identified and are on board. There will be some areas that you will be expected to study that you have never encountered before.
To an extent, you will need to learn how to self-promote. There are a lot of things that you will have to do new things that you have never done before. Now it is going to take time. But if you invest the time and you follow through the six steps that I just described, then you’ll play the long game, and it will be well worth it.
Just remember: this game is not a one-day affair but a journey. One might not earn a lot of money at that present period in life, but the money will be realized in due future.
I have witnessed the entrance of many real estate brokers into the market; some have quit, and the few who were patient enough to wait are reaping big at the moment. They’re all super successful. It’s the same way that I became successful today. I’m glad that I didn’t heed his advice. And in general, it is just like with everything else: just do not forget that it is the long-term move.
Conclusion
And there you go. The seven steps you’ll need to take to make $1m as a real estate agent. Remember: Of course, it’s not that simple, but it is rather feasible. All I am, or have been, up to this point, you can achieve too.
And if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. I’ll do my best to answer most of them. Remember also to like and subscribe. Have a good one out there.
FAQs
Q: How do I choose the right real estate brokerage to sponsor my license?
A: Search for the related brokerages, find out if they have dedicated training centers, and join the team of the agents who are ready to guide you.
Q: What can one expect to spend in getting a license to practice in the real estate industry?
A: These include the licensing costs, education prices, examination prices, and other prices that differ with the state currently in practice. You may also be required to spend extra money on purchasing a background check, pursuing more education, and belonging to professional organizations.
Q: How long does it take to start earning significant income as a real estate agent?
This may take you about a few months or even some years, depending on your market, your network, and even the efforts you are willing to put in to develop your business. This is a task that requires a lot of time and effort; patience and perseverance are the main factors when it comes to it.
Q: Which skill is crucial as the new real estate agent?
Relationships are key; relationships need to be established and need to be kept. Based on this, there is a need to nurture effective communication skills and effective closing that is characterized by the ability to follow-up, as well as be able to follow through and follow-back with the clients.
Table: Real Estate Licensing Requirements by State
| State | Education Hours | Exam Fee | Licensing Fee | Continuing Education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 135 hours | $60 | $245 | 45 hours every 4 years |
| New York | 75 hours | $15 | $55 | 22.5 hours every 2 years |
| Texas | 180 hours | $54 | $205 | 18 hours every 2 years |
| Florida | 63 hours | $36.75 | $89 | 14 hours every 2 years |
| Illinois | 90 hours | $46 | $125 | 12 hours every 2 years |