Recently I had a wonderful opportunity to visit with Michael Hellickson. Michael is the CEO of Club Wealth, a real estate coaching and consulting firm. He heard about my recent success in closing 138 units with a 5-member team while simultaneously serving as a broker managing 142 agents.

Michael spoke with me about the secret to that success. I was proud and excited to share my 10 Keys to Success with him so that other realtors can realize and surpass their own selling goals in real estate.

Real estate is a fast-paced business, and often as realtors we tend to overthink it, but I find that if we follow some simple rules and master them, it can make the world of real estate easier every single day.

These “Must Do’s” are what I refer to as my 10 Keys to Success.

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Key #1: Conversations

For a new agent, typically 50 conversations equal one closing.

It’s imperative that agents talk to potential buyers and sellers everywhere and anywhere they find someone who will listen. These can be in person conversations, text messages, phone calls, email, or social media. Truly it really doesn’t matter where as long as the conversations are reciprocal and focused on real estate.

It’s important to remember that if you don’t have enough real estate business, you aren’t having enough conversations. There are so many ways to seek out opportunities for conversations about real estate. Seek out people at open houses, continuously add to and connect with your list of internet leads, and reach out to leads coming from “for sale by owner.”

Focus on getting out there and talking about real estate.

Think about how many closings you expect to reach per month and multiply those conversations. Personally, I urge my newer realtors to have 50 conversations a week.

The bottom line is it’s important to find comfort in talking with others because that is what leads to success.

Key #2: Lead Generating

Agents must become lead generating machines. Get creative about where you might find new leads. Remember conversations can yield multiple leads.

Establish good habits from day one of your career in real estate by diversifying your lead sources. In the beginning of your career, start with one way to generate leads and master it such as creating and adding to a database of names. Talk to those already listed in your database by checking in with them periodically to see where they are in the home buying or home selling process.

Once you are comfortable with one pillar of business, then begin to add to your bank of possibilities. Seek out prospective buyers at open houses where you can gather names and contact information. Practice circle prospecting around your company’s listings.

There are any number of possibilities for creating leads, but “don’t chase the shiny penny.” You don’t want to try too many at once and not get skilled at any of them. Really practice 4 or 5 sources, dive in deep, fine tune them, and master them before adding another pillar.

Key #3: Make Financial Responsibility A Habit

Watch your pennies. Often realtors don’t have a full understanding of the balance of income and costs they generate in a given year.

Advertising costs, items for open houses, etc. can add up quickly. Keep track of those expenses and make every penny count. You don’t want to come up on April 15th and find that you owe taxes that you aren’t prepared to pay.

Being successful in real estate is not just about doing more business but keeping more of what you make. Set the habit of responsible financial opportunities and account for every penny you earn.

Key #4: Surround Yourself With The Best Agents In Real Estate

Learn from realtors who produce at a higher level than yourself. As a new agent, it may be common to spend time with other new agents because it feels familial. In reality, it’s more important to spend time with successful, experienced agents, as you can learn so much from them.

You can’t grow as a realtor without challenging yourself to do better, so learning from those who possess a proven successful track record can really lead you in the right direction.

Key #5: Embrace Fear

This key to success is my personal favorite. You WILL feel nervous as you jump into the world of the unknown. Every day is different.

Even after 20 years, I still learn something new every day. Accept that you don’t know it all. It’s ok. If you constantly “wait until” you know everything to make your next move, you’ll never get there.

The more experience you gain, the less nerve-racking it will feel stepping out of your comfort zone.

Key #6: Social Is King

Your database is only going to get you so far in real estate success. If you don’t embrace social media, you’ll miss out on many future leads, and you’ll be out of real estate within about five years.

As more people turn to their phones for instant information, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, are all excellent outlets for getting your message out there and obtaining new leads.

Consider your demographic and determine which outlet is best. Remember to record everything and post videos that can be found easily on a basic internet search.

Key #7: You Need to be a Sales Star

The job requires sales skills. You’ve got to learn the scripts and how to overcome rejections. You need to learn the basics such as what a contract says or what a listing agreement says. It’s our job to learn our market, and that market changes daily.

However, I caution new agents that it’s a balancing act of learning skills and making time to get out and produce. To compete with big companies like Zillow, we need to stay relevant as real estate agents.

Key #8: Be the Boss of Your Time

It’s key to be proactive with your schedule rather than reactive to your day. Many agents wake up and check social media or check their email and react to what comes their way.

Just as we need to tell our money where to go, we need to tell our minutes where to go.

Personally, I live and die by a calendar and set alarms throughout the day. Michael shared that part of developing the habits that lead to success is being in control of your time. “If you have the right habits and you follow them each day, success is a natural conclusion.”

Key #9: Educate Yourself

Just as we learn sales skills, we need to educate ourselves on the market and sources of business or new leads. We need to learn new skills to be successful in real estate.

I like to tell my agents, “Educate, don’t inundate,” because while it’s important to stay up-to-date, if we spend too much time learning and not getting out and talking and making connections to sell homes, we won’t find success.

Real estate is all about balance. Michael summed up with a saying. “Knowledge without implementation is like rowing with one oar in the water; you’ll just go in circles.”

Key #10: Gather and Grow Your Database

Gather leads for your database with a focus on growing it. Ways to gather and grow are to generate leads while continuing communication with current contacts in your database. Those contacts can help as well by referring you to others.

Establish yourself as a go-to person who is ready to help. People will come to you naturally if they believe you care and can help them.

As we wrapped up our conversation, Michael had a couple of questions for me.

He asked why I work with Club Wealth, and the answer was easy. I’ve been coached for 10 years in my career. I’ve been coached by so many, and I live and die by my belief in the importance of coaching.

Club Wealth coaches are producers that are at higher levels than ourselves with a vast knowledge base. It saves us time and money. Club Wealth is a phenomenal resource for coaching from people with immense knowledge who actually produce in real estate.

When asked why I continue to attend Club Wealth events, I can honestly tell you that I love going to Club Wealth events! There is always something new to learn and someone new to meet. The market is always changing. The opportunity for extended knowledge is amazing and the time to network with other agents is priceless. I’d go to one of Club Wealth’s events every month if I could.

Real estate is an amazing career where the sky’s the limit for income. When you become really skilled at it, you’ll get more time back in your day, so jump in and go big.