Real estate agents tips for beginners in Kenya are 9 tips discussion showing how a new real estate agent can start and make money in real estate.
Real estate is a rewarding career but many new agents don’t
survive the first year. There are many reasons for this failure rate but number
1 is lack of patience.
And the attitude to make money quickly. This article teaches
you how to enter, stay and become successful in real estate. It is hard but
there is plenty of money to be made.
It is one of the best careers to become filthy rich.
What is a real estate agent? Or, who is a real estate
agent?
A real estate agent is a salesperson in the land and
property economy. Real estate agents represent their employer in real estate
transactions.
There are three parties in a real estate deal; a seller,
buyer, and commercial real estate broker.
In real estate transactions, a real estate agent represents
his or her employer, the commercial real estate broker. Thus, a real estate
agent works under a registered broker, as a salesperson.
What is the work of a real estate agent? What do real
estate agents do?
- Sales
Person
The work of a real estate agent is to manage the processes
of renting, buying, and selling real estate (land and properties.) They work
with renters, landlords, sellers, and buyers to help them complete real estate
deals.
- Client
acquisition
A real estate agent is an employee of a Commercial Real
Estate Brokerage firm. The broker expects the agent to find and recruit new
business (or clients.)
- Customer
service
The agent is responsible for the clients they have
recruited. Any client who joins the brokerage under your persuasion is directly
under your care. You are expected to serve their needs as long as they remain
clients of the broker.
What is the salary of a real estate agent?
It depends on the agreement between the agent and the
employer. Some are paid on commission. The agent sells a property and he
or she earns a commission.
The commission percentage ranges from 5 to 20%. This is
determined by the nature of the transaction.
Example:
A piece of land is sold for 10 million. As the agent, your
commission is 10%. How much is your pay in that transaction? 10% of 10 million
is equal to 1 million.
The other option which most agents don’t like is a fixed
salary. In the USA, the average salary for a real estate agent in 2018 was
$5200 per month.
Real Estate Tips for Beginners
- Take
real estate agent courses to improve your skillset
You need skills to excel in whatever you choose to do in
life. Therefore before you begin your real estate marketing journey get
trained.
And after the initial training doesn’t stop learning.
Continue taking courses to improve your knowledge and skill set. At the onset,
you need at least a certificate to prove your seriousness to brokers and
clients. Let people know you are trained.
What do you need to study to become a real estate agent?
- Marketing
- Customer
service
- Sales
- Finance
- Business
- Accounting
- Psychology
Some of the best real estate courses to take are;
- Real
Estate Express
- Kaplan
- 360
Training
- Center
for realtor development
2. Join a leading Brokerage company
While you can become a real estate agent by starting out on
your own, it’s good to join an established broker. This will;
- Act
as your mentorship program
- Help
gain experience in a professional environment
- Help
establish you in the industry
- Help
create your own network of friends and clients
- It
will help you save enough capital for when you decide to work for yourself
Then after several years working as a real estate agent with
a broker you could go it alone. Because you are known in the industry. And you
have saved up some working capital.
Some of the leading real estate brokerage companies you
could choose to work for are;
- Knight
Frank
- Aziz
Realtors
- Lloyd
Masika
- Villa
Care Ltd
- Suraya
Property Group
- Hass
Consult Ltd
- Optiven
Enterprises Ltd
- Dinara
Developers
- My
Space Properties
- Hayer
One Ltd
3. Define your goals
Success loves those who know what they want and how they
will get it. Don’t rush into making money. Sit and draw a road map. What do you
want to achieve? How are you going to reach your target?
This means you have to write a business plan. Short term and
long term. I want to work with a broker for 5 years to gain experience, save
some capital and start my own agency.
Find out how to draw a business plan. Once you have your
plan work hard. Execute it. And you will get far in the real estate industry.
Remember a brokerage company is bigger than a real estate
agency.
You may use free business plans generation software. It is
very important to create a plan where you define your goals. Find the software
at;
- How
to write real estate business
plan
4. Image in a real estate agent is everything
Your appearance, your marketing materials, and your office
have to look the part. In real estate, you deal with people with money.
To look respectable and influential you need to have a
professional look. Everything in and on you ought to portray confidence,
calmness, and knowledge of your work.
Be in a tie and a business briefcase
5. Create your business website
In today’s business world you need an online presence. That
means having a real estate website of your own. That is important as a
marketing tool and an online office.
Life is digital. Your clients are online. Therefore, you
need to be where your clients are. Buy a domain from Name cheap.
Then go buy website hosting services from Site Ground.
From there head over to WordPress to create your website. In fact, with the
Site Ground account, you create a website with a single click from the Cpanel.
You click the WordPress logo inside your Site Ground
account. And follow the instructions. It is so easy. Make sure to use a real
estate agent website theme. You can use a free theme or buy one.
6. Niche down – You cannot be a Jack of all trades
in real estate
There are many niches in real estate. This means that you
have to choose a niche. Once you have chosen your niche work to become an
expert in it.
Become so good that clients will start talking about you for
a particular service. There are 4 broad real estate niches;
- Location
niches
- Seller
niches
- Consumer
niches
- Property
niches
Under these four are many smaller niches. So you need to
choose a niche and become an expert. Let us some examples in each broad niche.
a) Location niches:
- Region
of your country, e.g., a County
- Town
or city
- Neighbourhood
- b) Seller
Niches:
- Short
sales
- Foreclosure
auctions
- Bank
owned
- Bankruptcy
- Tired
landlords (or burned out lord lands)
- Probate
(owner dies) inheritors don’t want to keep the property
- Fire
or water damaged property – instead of rebuilding the owner wants to sell
- Code
Violations
- Divorce
- Tax
forced auctions
- c)
Consumer Niches:
- Long
term rentals
- Short
term rentals
- Vacation
rentals
- Student
rentals
- Special
needs
- Rent
to own
- d)
Property Niches:
- Homes
- Duplexes
- Apartments
- Condos
- Mobile
homes
- Commercial
- Office
- Industrial
- Land
- Real
estate investment trusts
Niche down to one niche. Focus on it. Improve your skillset
and be the top expert in that niche. That is how to make money. This is because
you are the guy to go to for e.g., duplexes.
7. Hunt for new clients relentlessly
Every day make sure to add a new prospect into your
business. Clients are everything to a real estate agent. The more you prospect
the better you become in finding new customers.
Here are some tools that could help you acquire prospects
regularly;
- Digital
marketing through your website
- Business
cards
- Fliers
- Cold
calling
- Community
events
- Brochures
- Social
media accounts
- Blogging
- Email
marketing
- Advertising
- Facebook
business page
- Facebook
groups related to real estate
8. Join relevant business networks
When you network, you get a chance to introduce your
business to your peers, new prospects, and maintain relationships.
It is a good idea to join as many relevant networks as you
can. This way you are able to generate a steady flow of potential clients.
9. Customer service is crucial because the client is the
King
Keep all communication channels open to your current and
potential clients. High degrees of communication make customer retention at
above-average levels.
New clients are attracted to good customer service. Make
sure your clients can reach you both on and offline. Respond to customer
queries promptly and with the right answers.
Some customer service tool you could use is;
- SMS
text support
- Live
chat
- Automatic
callback
- Online
communities
- Discussion
forums
- Social
media
- Mobile
apps
- Customer
portal within your website
Remember – communication is key to business success.
Conclusion:
Real estate agent's tips for beginners in Kenya conclude
here. To sum up, real estate agents who succeed are patient, consistent,
focused, and take time to improve their skills.
The tips discussed above are useful. But very view agents
follow the advice. Why? Because they want to make money quickly. The problem
is, in real estate you don’t rush it.
You take your time to learn from mentors, the industry, and
peers. Those who took the time to learn, gain experience are millionaires
today.
You too could become a millionaire if only you bide your
time.
Thanks for reading real estate agents’ tips for beginners in
Kenya.