Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I was recently working in my office and got to thinking as I look around at all the other practitioners. All but a few had a relative who was able to mentor them. Then I look at myself… I am flying solo here. I was lucky enough to start out in the closing end of the business but being on the other side was completely different to me.
I still am trying to grow as a practitioner. I try to participate in several groups, read about up and coming agents, marketing trends, networking, you name it. But still, I am not quite the Donald Trump I had hoped to be… at least not yet.
I read my fellow YPN bloggers posts and wonder… how do they do it??? They all seem to be a wiz in this crazy world of real estate. I wonder how they all got their start and how have they become the agents that they are.
I am now on a mission to find a person to help show me the way. If you can’t figure it out yourself, you need to do what you can to find a way to get there.
On my blog www.strugglingrookierealestateagent.blogspot.com, I received a comment from a newly licensed agent. He wanted to know some key questions to ask when shopping for a broker. It was a tough question for me to answer, as I had not asked any questions when I had first received my license and just went to the company that I had closed for and later moved to a company that a friend of mine worked with. After some careful thought, this is what I came up with and what I probably should have asked in the beginning.
- What type of training do you provide for your agents?
- What organizations is the broker involved with?
- Do you help new agents with a business plan?
- Is there any “hands-on” training?
- Who is the top agent in the office and can I meet with them?
- Can I attend a sales meeting prior to signing with you?
There are obviously many things you could ask, but what’s most important is that you feel comfortable in your office. That’s why I think it’s so important to get a sense from everyone in a sales meeting. You can really get a sense of how the office is. Hopefully from there, you will meet an agent who can help you along the way. I think that is very key for newbies. Obviously, in the end, it’s all up to you. You have to have the desire to be successful and do anything in your power to get there.
Brooke Wolford is a real estate practitioner with Edina Realty, Hastings, Minn. Follow her blog at strugglingrookierealestateagent.blogspot.com.
Comments 2
Gutsy post Brooke. What many new practitioners don’t know when they enroll into pre-licensing courses, is that they’re learning how to pass the local Dept. of Commerce test, not learn how to become a Realtor. Learning about the business and relationships you’ll have with your fellow practitioners/broker beforehand, than finding a mentor after licensing is important. It’s the latter that YPN is really spearheading efforts, mentorships – traditional and reverse – will be important to our industry going forward. Take a vet under your wing and teach ’em the ways of our generation, do the same for a newbie and bridge the divide. You’ve learned a lot, share your story!
Thank Nobu! Its great to have agents like you that get involved with helping others in the industry!!! You rock!