So, you finally got your leasing agent or broker license in the state of Illinois. Congratulations! However, this is only a mere start to your career. From now on, you will have to work for yourself.
Maybe you should even start your own business. To launch it successfully, you will have to read some tips on becoming a thriving realtor in Illinois. Thankfully, we are here to prepare a comprehensive plan for you.
1. take time to find the right agency or a mentor
After finally getting your agent license, you should choose the proper agency to work at. To make a perfect resolution, you should decide first what is your favorite field of real estate agent’s work.
The reason is that some companies are oriented toward residential rentals, some have more commercial property specialization, and others work in both of these fields. Also take into account that some companies are individually based, and some use teamwork to choose their goals. Pay attention to these facts to get a job that suits you flawlessly.
Whatever variety of agent work you focus on, make sure that the company has a good reputation. It also absolutely needs to have an outstanding market presence. A decent training program is not obligatory, but it will make a nice add-on for your future career education.
Afterwards of finding the right place to work, try your best to befriend an experienced agent. You will need it to receive their experience. When finding your coach, don’t forget that you will be working in a specific local market. For example, if your specialization is bigger cities in Illinois, you will need to find your mentor among the best realtors in Chicago.
2. a solid business plan makes the best
All of the realtors and other real-estate companies exist as a part of the business. Moreover, they are implemented in other kinds of business, such as banking business, marketing, and at some point, even cleaning business.
So, when thinking of your future company, don’t forget that you will have to work with others to achieve your goals. It is not as if the real estate business existed in a vacuum. Try getting more skilled in such areas as marketing and negotiations.
Consider making up a business plan to succeed. Concentrate on areas such as marketing and professional development.
Set a budget plan to avoid wasting precious resources. You will have to pay special attention to these issues in the first stages of launching a business.
3. Start branding yourself
Marketing yourself well is a must. Your whole success depends on it. It doesn’t matter what field you chose to work in or even if you decided to work in a firm or want to start up your own business. You should brand yourself or your company. Come up with a tagline. Hire a designer to create you a logo or a memorable business card. You will also have to catch up with the trends in the real estate market. That should be an essential part of your marketing plan.
Don’t forget that online presence means all today, and this is perfectly applicable to any kind of business, including real estate business. Don’t exclude managing the online representation of your firm from the marketing agenda. Pay special attention to social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Instagram.
You may need to bring in a special employee to work this out. The outcome is worth spending your time on money on online marketing. This statement has already been proven by many prosperous companies.
4. learn to value your time
Time is money, as they say. And this saying is not unreasonable. Successful businessmen and real estate market workers remark that only those who know the value of their time are able to make a mint.
Being a broker or a real estate agent can bring many distractions to your work. Unreliable clients or even partners, trends that may feel excellent but in fact are untrustworthy, or just good old procrastination… There exist a ton of things that may distract you from working hard for success.
However, don’t let them take that sweet taste of victory from you. Use time management tricks. First of all, write down a plan. You can divide tasks into short-term tasks and make up a week-long plan, and long-term tasks. Those will need a year-long plan. Some may take even more time, for instance, raising a successful business. In that case, don’t hesitate to write up a 5-year long plan.
Learn to delegate non-essential tasks to your colleagues or employees. Sometimes it is better to give up tasks to others.
5. focus on the flow of clients
The main goal of a successful real estate agent, no matter what specialization, is to have as many clients as possible. There’s no such thing as “too many clients” in this business. Even if you think that you are packed up with clients, keep developing a network. Some agents choose to slow down the business after closing a good deal or having close a big number of deals recently.
However, we don’t recommend you do this. Such success is illusionary. The biggest disadvantage of real-estate-related business is that it is unstable. There are months with more deals and transactions, such as June and July, and dull ones, usually January and February. So, don’t rely on this temporary success. Develop a long-term plan that considers seasonal changes in the real estate market.