Considering a career in real estate? Here's an example of an average day in the life of a real estate agent!
When looking into starting a career as a real estate agent, you may wonder what your day-to-day life will look like. This is an important thing to consider when it comes to considering any career. Even if you have been an agent for years, it can help to rework your schedule to optimize productivity and decrease stress to make your job more enjoyable. With real estate, you need to wear quite a few hats to be successful in the industry. Making sure you are taking care of every important thing and prioritizing correctly is key to running a productive and less stressful operation.
Many people think of real estate as simply selling homes but there is quite a bit more that comes into play. You’ll need to generate consistent high-quality leads while managing your online presence, clerical work, and meetings with brokerages and clients. It’s a lot to juggle but once you get into a good rhythm with it, you’ll be glad you are putting all the work in to secure sales for your clients and grow as a real estate agent. A lot of the day-to-day life of a real estate agent involves prioritizing important tasks and making sure you address each part of your job. Let’s dive into each important part of being a real estate agent that you will have to address every day.
One of the most important parts of being a real estate agent is lead generation. This is down through many different avenues. Whatever methods you choose for lead generation, you will need to consistently foster those avenues to make sure they attract the right people. We go into quite a bit of detail about lead generation but here are some of the main ways to attract leads and move them through the sales funnel:
However you choose to generate leads, you’ll need to follow up on each method every day to make sure you are consistent in your efforts. This means coming up with content for blogs and social media or designing and ordering mailers. Spend some time each day on lead generation to keep the clients consistent so you can be successful and lucrative in your real estate career.
While not the most exciting part of being a real estate agent, clerical and administrative tasks must be done daily to stay on top of things. There’s quite a bit of administrative duties involved in being a successful real estate agent. Here are a few of the most common types of clerical duties:
Each day may bring a different clerical task that needs to be done but typically you will need to fill out appropriate paperwork for sales and connect with your clients. You’ll need to schedule viewings, meetings, and appointments needed to make sales. Data entry and budgeting are other important clerical tasks that are vital to keeping things in order and monitoring how your business is doing financially.
Many real estate agents work with brokerages to complete their sales. You’ll need to schedule and attend meetings with your brokerages fairly regularly. Typical office meetings at a brokerage will cover new listings as well as the needs of buyer clients. This information is vital to the success of real estate agents as it keeps them up to date on what is going on with their clients and the real estate market as a whole. Many prospective clients look for a knowledgeable and experienced agent who is up to date on the latest market news. This makes brokerage meetings extremely important as they are the main avenue through which many successful agents receive information on all things real estate.
Each brokerage will vary based on the frequency of meetings and what is covered. Some tend to be more involved while others offer a less supervised approach. Working with a brokerage is key for those starting out as agents as it provides valuable assistance, education, and resources for those who are just beginning their real estate journey. Brokerages cover a lot of the legal work and paperwork to ensure that all transactions fit the requirements of the area’s laws. Meeting with them regularly will ensure you are doing everything by the book while receiving valuable resources to increase your success as an agent.
Client meetings are typically what people picture when they think of what a real estate agent does on a day-to-day basis. As you can see, client meetings are but one part of the puzzle that real estate agents must juggle to be successful and organized. Client meetings may involve home viewings but also involve meet and greets with leads. You’ll need to impress your leads and show them that you are the best choice for buying or selling a home. This means meeting up face to face and showing your leads exactly what you know and are capable of.
Many real estate agents bring their passion to this area of their daily duties. Client meetings are typically the favorite task that they must complete each day. Other meetings with clients will cover discussing potential homes for them to buy as well as offers and ultimately the finalization of the sale. Meeting with sellers is a fun and challenging way to find them the best price for their property possible. This is where your selling skills shine!
The other side of client meetings is with the buyers. This follows a sales timeline where you get to find the perfect home for them. These meetings will largely consist of showing homes within their preference, style, and budget until you find the perfect home for them. This is often one of the most fun and exciting parts of being an agent. You get to scour available properties for your buyers and help them find their dream home.
Another important aspect of being a real estate agent is staying up to date on all necessary education and certifications. These vary based on state and many real estate agents find themselves continuing their education to keep them sharp and up-to-date on all things real estate. Make sure to stay informed on deadlines, expirations, and requirements for real estate agents in your area. Otherwise you may face lapses in certifications and end up unable to sell for a period of time until you get everything like licenses back in order. It never hurts to learn more about the industry you work in. This is especially true for the real estate market which tends to be prone to frequent changes.
Now that you know what daily tasks are involved with being a real estate agent, let’s look at what a typical day looks like. By no means do you have to follow this regimen to a tee but it is a good general guideline of how daily work life will look for you as a real estate agent. Let’s dive in!
Many people like to wake up and have their morning routine before starting any work-related tasks. Whether this means your morning cup of coffee while watching the news, a workout, or a good healthy breakfast, it’s important to start your day right to make sure you are on top of your game for the workday. Once you’re done with your morning routine, it’s time to dive into the work! Typically, real estate agents spend the mornings working on their marketing and lead generation. This may mean following up with prospective leads, posting on blogs and social media, and crafting email marketing newsletters.
The mornings are also a great time to catch up on clerical work and administrative duties. You can work on your budget as well as schedule meetings and data entry. This will help you make sure you have all your ducks in a row when it comes to the behind-the-scenes aspects of being a successful real estate before diving into the rest of your day.
It’s always a good idea to take a nice lunch break of an hour or so. This gives you an opportunity to have a rejuvenating mental break and recharge for the rest of your day. After a lunch break, many real estate agents will have an afternoon full of meetings. These meetings may be with buyers, sellers, prospective leads, or their brokerage. Each of these meetings is at the forefront of what it means to be a successful real estate agent. Make sure you show up ready to talk and listen to make each meeting as successful as possible.
Once your scheduled meetings are done, you can use the rest of the workday to catch up on any pressing tasks. This is also a good time to work on any continuing education projects you are involved in. If you are working on your presence as an active member of the community, you have events to attend to better acquaint yourself with the area and residents you serve. Getting this all taken care of will continue to make you a local authority on real estate for your area and contribute to your success as an agent.
Whether you are new to the real estate game or a seasoned agent looking to revamp your daily schedule, it helps to prioritize your tasks. Make sure to complete the most time-sensitive or pressing tasks before tackling some of the less immediate duties. Part of what many agents love about real estate is its flexibility so it’s important to keep your schedule flexible. Scheduling a morning meeting with important clients when you normally conduct afternoon meetings is important to your reputation and trust with those you work with. It also lets them know they are important and prioritized. This is where flexibility and prioritization are key. You can always work on less time-sensitive tasks like your social media posts and blog posts at a different time.
As you can see, there are many aspects of being a real estate agent and it is a career that definitely has more tasks than meets the eye. Getting into a good flow is great for your productivity and overall success and can help you truly love what you do.
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