I Got My License, Now What?

Today I want to talk about a topic that was relevant we first got licensed and it’s relevant now and it’s relevant every once in awhile in our career and I like to call as topic I got my license now what and that’s because we first got license and we went through the the rush and all the different obstacles that we had to get through to get a license then we finally got it and then everything stopped and we asked ourselves okay now what what’s the next step and that is actually analogous to other parts of our career or even now when the economy has kind of taken that a swift downturn due to the pandemic and everyone looking ahead on how we’re going to emerge from the stay orders and and rebuild our our pipelines and build more mental momentum and important topic to discuss because it’s not just relevant for new agents that are just beginning it’s relevant for any of us I mean they’re there are times when I’ll have a chance to really busy a bunch of escrows and then gets so busy managing the escrows that they completely Force forsake the the new business side of marketing and bring our new client to starting a new deals and they’re only focused on carrying out and completing the transactions they have an escrow and so you might be running around working very long days working very hard on your phone non-stop email excetera managing a bunch of escrows Thanos asked his clothes and then what so real estate agencies different in that regard because if you look at an insurance agent insurance agent we’ll have a client no write a policy for that client and then the insurance agent will get a commission on the premium and ideally that clients will renew their insurance policy in a year and the insurance agent will then get another commission when the premiums paid that second time and of course in the ideal scenario that would happen on an ongoing basis and that’s what they call residuals in the insurance industry industry real estate agents we we look for a larger payday, so obviously we’re getting a commission it’s much larger than if we’re just writing up a policy for auto insurance or life insurance or whatever but we also go back to square one when I lease transactions closed because once they close it’s up to us to keep marketing ask you no ask for referrals everything that goes into finding more clients because I’m buying and selling a home is is much less frequent experience for someone than auto insurance Life Insurance homeowner’s insurance you know whatever policy people are are getting you know now and then and of course buying a home can be a much larger paid a substantially larger tremendously larger of the properties expense so in that regard it’s up to us to to build and maintain momentum so what kind of go back and talk about how how all this began because there’s a really important concept that I want to be the subject of this podcast episode so what you think about agency from a historical perspective once upon a time there was no license required to sell real estate and there actually was no formal designation if you wanted to Brooke real estate you could just broke a real estate so let’s say you’d moved to some town but let’s just let’s go back in time let’s pretend like we’re in Los Angeles near 1900 or something like that I mean you have you have all these people moving out west and all sorts of a growth and development and you just like anyone can broker anything you meet someone that wants to sell a house or property land by lots of land and lots of stuff too and then they might tell you that they’ll pay you if you can find someone that will buy it or conversely you might meet someone that says hey I’m looking for land or a property in a certain area and you might think okay if I find the property for you will you pay me a commission or you might hear about some that’s interested then go look for that property and go up to a bunch of homeowners or land owners in a certain area and say look I I know someone that will buy this land at this price and if you’re willing to sell it to that purse I’d like to finders fee or commission and so the idea of broken real estate from just kind of a basic organic perspective I mean this is happened a long time and I know there are other places in the world where it’s still like this where there’s not a formal designation or license it’s just someone that knows people that own property finds people that are looking for property brings those two people together facilitates a transaction and is paid up finder’s fee or commission and that’s really it it’s that simple you’ve brokered real property you don’t own it you’re not buying it you’re acting as a middleman you’re bringing two parties together an owner and a buyer and you’re helping them complete the transaction and being paid a fee to to brokerage and you can apply at Sam analogy of brokerage to broke ring paintings and some Gallery I mean they don’t own those paintings their brokering it on behalf of the artists and they can find buyers for it and they’re paid a commission to facilitate the sale there are people that will concierge services for automobiles that broker vehicles from whoever owns the a car to a prospective buyer and they’re paid a fee to put that together that’s real estate and what an agent doing it gets more complicated after that when you’re talk about the best way to build a business and and created a database of people that are going to use you too broke for the transaction but I want to just point out that looking at real estates origin it’s that simple it’s it’s you as a person that is able to bring to parties together for the exchange of real property well of course things evolve as Society gets more complex and a more developed and from what I understand that this is a very accurate historical analysis of how real estate evolved but this is just stuff I know that I’ve seen or heard about over the years but but apparently after the the complete Wild West approach where there was no oversight or regulation of of real estate brokers and I don’t mean when I say broke I just mean a person as like an agent is synonymous with agent a person that’s brokering real estate let’s leave it the agent and broker title the formal title until later because that’s kind of just a made-up designation now but if you are a person it’s broker in real estate your real estate broker in this old fashion sense and I’m using it now now eventually a broker was told look if you want a broker real estate between two parties you need to register in this book will what does that mean I think you went down to the county ice I saw a record book of this once where you just go down and you do you sign your name that this is what you do so your phone record probably because if someone brought up your your character for some reason or who knows maybe for legal purposes or whatever maybe somehow your name is registered with a government agency that you broke a real estate now as you can imagine it evolve to be on there until we arrive at this way more complex arrangement we have now where are you a people I can broker real estate that have to have experience but those in those are called Brokers and then those people can hire less experienced people that act as an agent and agent you know can come on behalf of the broker just like old times you have an estate would have the agent of the estate that handled the Affairs but also an agent is someone that acts on behalf of of the of a party for a specific purpose and when a buyer or seller has an agent well their agent is again acting as a representative on their behalf so what once began as as a person out there that just knows enough people and is clever enough to broker the sale of real property between two parties now has become what we’re doing now where this state of California has a department that oversees real estate licensees you’re required out-of-state license you’re required to go through a certain amount of Education First and then even then when your license see you’re an agent of a broker at the more experienced licensee and sew in in all that there’s a lot to do to become a see your it’s not the old days we can just say hey I need to find people that will buy and sell real estate how can I do that and now is your primary focus if you couldn’t find people you can find on real property in people that want to buy it then you just gave up because there was no point there was nothing else but now we have so much to do that to become a licensee that if you decide hey I’m I’m interested I think I might be able to find someone that has property and the would sell it through me I think I feel find someone that would trust me to help them find a property to buy you know which is of course Brooklyn real estate before you even can really explore whether or not that’s a feasible plan you go online and you realize that you have all these steps all this stuff to do to get your real estate license Utah I mean if Simon just about the education you could choose which classes and then you’re scratching your head sinking okay I don’t like math so maybe I can do this class until that class cuz I can do for the six courses and which of these six or which two of these six courses do I dislike the most because those the ones all avoid and your kind of gaming that out then you have to go through the education don’t want to do it online but want to go into this classroom which school how much does it cost when can I do it I mean these are all new problems that you’re figuring out in your head your budgeting your time your budgeting your money to your license your focus is entirely on your education and what you’re doing then you go through the class your focus their your focus on the class you want to pass a test to pass the school test to get a certificate to apply for state test so you’re going through all this all this education hours and hours of Education finally you take the state test after all your quizzes and everything you have the school death certificate when you apply for the state test okay now where are you going to take your test if you’re in Orange County to go to Anaheim from San Diego to go downtown from LA to go. May you have all these different places you’re trying to figure that out you have to study for a test studying studying and getting up early so there’s at this point weeks if not months of just planning and preparing and focusing entirely on jumping through all these hoops with the school that’s giving the certificate and then the the state they’re Tina state test. And many more than once a business that tell me they go up there like drive that same course up to the exam 2 days prior to the test to see how much traffic there and get in over their door expect and what parking is going to be like because often these testing centers are like I’m fixing to buy test in downtown San Diego I mean if you’re going downtown do you need to plan ahead for parking because in most downtown areas like I don’t have type test up in Downtown LA as well and I mean you’re looking for The Peddler I mean it’s it’s a hassle right I think you get the point there’s a lot of Hoops to jump through and where’s your focus navigating those Hoops but navigate me to ask you what is a have to do with the old school old west old fashioned broke ring of real estate that I described you because that test that test that you take with the state the license to go to state in terms of whether or not you can broker real estate it’s meaningless I mean sure there’s the legal application of it where there’s law that you must have a license if you want to broker real estate Define that’s a formality you need to get the license but in terms of actually broken real estate in terms of doing something and getting paid for it the license has no value in that regard it does not in any way help you along and broken real estate it’s simply a formality it’s something that should occupy 1% of your focus and your pursuit of your Endeavor to broker real estate but because there’s there’s so much that goes into getting your license and it’s so easy to fall into the the system of choosing education in the school and taking it the state the school test in the state test and I mean everything that goes into that that easily can absorb 100% of of your attention and herein lies the problem so you you go through all those hoops and all those obstacles Nephi and in all that chaos all that planning and preparing it just comes to a screeching halt you have your license now what I mean it’s like you’ve just been running a Sprint and you come to a complete stop there’s just something that just feels weird about it and you the sad part is is when people get license and that’s all I can think about is getting her license they’re at they’re at this point where they they’ve they’ve taken all these steps to get to where they are but they’ve completely neglected all the steps needed to do what they want to do and that is broker real estate because again it’s license it should be something it should be saying that in the side of your mind that you need to do for a Regulatory Compliance but it you know but it’s it’s it’s an afterthought it’s something like Sky getting your your City License are getting some other license to do business ordering your business cards it send it needs to be done because it’s important to compliant but it’s it should not occupy the majority of your attention and one of the reasons that that happens I should mention is that it’s easy to hide behind the education part of it it’s easy to hide behind going in filling out applications and jumping through the Hoops to get your license it’s hard to hit the pavement it’s hard to begin your journey of brokering real estate and asking for business and really getting out there and going to the steps to build business building a business is not easy it’s very challenging and so people hide behind them the minutiae this is why I I how do I say I’m against but I’m not a fan of those structured boot camp classes in classroom stuff and end up in the traditional real estate brokerage model because I think that that what it does it just prolongs this this summer this education distraction it’s like those people that have like multiple degrees or they just keep going back to school again and again and again and I mean yeah they end up with a handful of degrees loads of debt and they never actually did anything and you know it’s hard to just get a degree it’s hard enough to go out in elbow your way into the crowd to get a job and then to you know try to get a good compensation and and you know climb a ladder or fight your way through and that’s not easy but it is easy to just sign up for more classes or go back to school because all these institutions are happy to take your money and lecture to you and give you a little certificate at the end so it’s kind of same effect with with real estate and these these classroom sessions that some Barber just have I mean I get it I mean it’s a great recruiting tool because they can just tell people that kind of are scratching their head at the at that moment if I just got my license what do I do next they feel like there’s some there’s something out there with open arms aching they can run into because you have somewhere that’s saying hey we have a two week or four week course with education and and you can just start doing that and then people feel like okay well look all I get to do a a course for 6 hours a day or whatever for two weeks or a month and I’ll have a mentor and they feel like I’m so busy here I am busy again I just got my license now I’m busy again with my with my learning you might you know in your mic my course my XYZ brokerage new agent training course the course is just another distraction because you don’t need any of that I mean you really don’t and and I mean it’s it’s easy and in your control to sign up for courses in definitely I mean can read books about stuff in definitely but you can’t just live in the world of theory must live location application is get out there and broker real estate that’s hard that’s not easy and an education you don’t you can just hiding in a classroom are safe environment so so you know in when you go to those courses again just one final note on those when you come at the end of them how much better off do you think you are because I know I know because I work with agents all the time that I’ve gone through that and if you sit down the classroom and you go through a bunch of car forms the real estate forms and you go through a presentation on how to write an offer and all that stuff I mean it’s like it’s like if you were in a classroom for 2 weeks reading about how to take apart an engine and stuff I mean sure you’re not you’re in a few pointers but is it worth it to spend hours and hours every day in reading a book I was like to say that the term you don’t learn to ride a bike in a in a classroom you learn to ride a bike by just getting on it and feeling it and write on a pedal and if you get stuck then you can ask you can you can make a specific query hey how do I do this or that but you do it through hands-on experience and I think ultimately no matter how many of these education gimmicks people go throughout their license they come back to the point of realizing that they need to just write an offer right now for someone who gets stuck right at first you know firsthand sit down with someone like myself I can guide you I’d always tell agents write up an offer use a template that I use at Temple if you want use the YouTube video created you know ask me questions on the phone or through email whatever you want right up right up as ugly as you want and then send it to me I mean I’ve been licenses 2002 18 years I’ve seen plenty of offers in a matter of seconds I can go through your offer and tell you how to correct it very easily and do stuff all day everyday so go ahead and write up an offer for your client let it be ugly I’m here to clean up for you that’s it just don’t set it off without me looking at it that’s how agents learn best and the Agents that are destined to broker real estate they’ve come to me right after being licensed that they say a hundred just give me some direction and I give them Direction and they run with it and they learn and they get really good 21:50 The focus has not education you want to learn of course but the focus is on eating as many people as you can keeping momentum in real estate because I heart box all the time and every year that I think about this two or more elements I’m doubling down on it and I can be through whatever means you want a postcard or offering free garage sale signs or being part of a group or talking to tons of people cuz you’re always out and around or going online and do a web-based marketing or coaching something or getting involved in some degree or an HOA or offering smoke information or going to there are so many ways that you can meet people it just the key is that we know you have to get out and you have to make sure that another you have to make sure another person out there knows who you are how you do that find find a means to me people that isn’t miserable and is Affordable doesn’t have to be paid to do it make sure those people that hot that know who you are that I met you make sure those people know that you sell real estate it’s not good enough that they’ve met you and I know I know her she’s nice there’s a third party list and all three of these parts have to be there or else the whole thing doesn’t work to recipe anymore the people know not just who you are not just that you sell realistic but that you want them as a client that you expect them as a client expect that when they need to sell or buy a home or even ask a question about real estate that they come to you and that expectation should be so prominent that they bring something up to you about interest they have in doing some surrealist activity counseling to IKEA for all of us think that that needed sometimes I talk to you I think it’s just literally Greek yeah it goes something goes wrong and he talked to someone else in the business so you know cuz they know where you’re going through but common if I hear about I should say, it doesn’t happen often but it does in one of the few things that goes wrong and in and lost opportunities this is a fairly consistent theme that is especially with her family and bases has to contact you about it but not through you it stinks but the interesting thing is it’s not necessary that these people didn’t choose you because they were actively trying to avoid you it’s that first Branch they could they didn’t know that you wanted them as a client permission giving them permission to work with you I know that sounds a permission to take your time and excuses on why not contact or relative didn’t use his agent and I’ll say something like and that there wasn’t that permission it wasn’t that invitation given that’s why the three ingredient if it’s the third that you know that the third rule of the three rules important today I feel like the guy locksman open and and that’s agent so now that you know about those three important rules to follow that moment when you’ve been licensed and you’re scratching your head and you’re saying now what mentors offered as people that tell you to go do some unpalatable marketing thing to knock on doors and that’s not very helpful broker should be a mentor I’d say not kiss you you’re looking for more of a partner than a mentor you need some of that will help you sift through mechanics and the Destroyer and that’s what any good broker really should be doing for the team of agents that Brokers should be making sure that your proper way to fast way helping you guiding you answering questions showing you the most efficient route helping and into a broker really can stand in as really take the role of a mentor to a degree now if you happy and that agent has a lot of business but need someone to work with their Byerly’s that would be an ideal scenario for a new licensee to work directly under that agent that is more of a true kind of apprentice arrangement in those are very rare and unique if you can find someone to go for it the problem is it doesn’t happen on a large scale licensing your thing released to the Wild and that’s when you’re scratching your head and you’re going to go and classroom telling you that learning about contracts for weeks is the best way to start so I would say no my thought is this going back to the original concept brokering real estate right so there are countless countless ways what is palpable to you what do you want to do what can you what have you budgeted cuz there’s no magic point I mean popular podcasts on on the habits of the the most successful agents because I see agents that do very well consistently and very knowledgeable when it comes to forms and fashion coordinator other person a team and assistant someone else to show up for all the other tasks find sell homes or land is just fine as people and I like to use MailChimp Contacts into MailChimp think of ways you can get more context to put in the middle G I mean take a step by step to big those are people that have built for a long time she sent out well over 10,000 postcards a month and of course I cost a lot of money make that needs tens of thousands and this was before the internet 2002 for the internet had really taken off where people to go online at me now it’s like I think so what baby boomer knows more than most send out postcard offering a free home value analysis to tens of thousands of people every month and she has thrown away well after your homie Quan number of dollars and Y minus X Williams have a nice profit so it’s worth it to send 30000 plus cards inexpensive Lee and the beautiful thing about the new web-based world we’re doing go on in and they know their home’s value in a second from five different Titanic companies Holmes worth instantaneously online you can add contacts you can send them content they would find valuable useful you could send someone HOA contact information model match with that sold for info like that neighbors always curious and don’t value that information or whatever it might be I mean there is completely unrelated equestrian activities maybe not because it doesn’t matter a group of people look like to do something and whatever you’re interested in as a member that you will like that they were getting to know her and the relationship of talking and they might bring up the real estate needs her and then it goes from there so show me inexpensive or free tools are easier Martinsville now than ever and stuff get directions to go with your marketing to I mean solution marketing depends so much on agents personality and their location and what they’re targeting and what their budget is for marketing cetera I had the conversation so many times fundamentals that are common with every agent and then agents can customize or tailor their marketing according to their own Target demographics and what they want to do just about marketing more specifically about marketing it’s about focusing on broken real estate to focusing on together and not focusing all this nonsense of picking the coolest logo or designing your business card above all infinite real estate education courses with Association or for the state or the license or any of that that’s that’s the magic ingredient that makes all that happened that’s that’s what’s important marketing I would say without without changing the conversation if you type in real estate Marketing in YouTube and search engine wherever there are there’s so much content there’s so much content all over the country you can find what campaigns are working in different places wealth of information people doing some trial-and-error Mount of information available right there online about what agents are doing because even if I was next for 3 years ago with that I mean I have websites with multiple websites and I think options for jelly speaking that is not a good marketing approach in my opinion because everything is about as credibility online am I better off just local HOA or School District information on doors because the person doesn’t find you even though relevant information to their specific niche no one human to answer as well as just browsing four hours on the internet about what’s working was not hearing you see what works and what doesn’t but that’s what you have to do to go and and find people to broker real estate to get that’s all that matters and that’s probably why there’s such a high because people aren’t even able to figure out if they can if they’re truly cut out for brokering Real Estate before they spend all this time and money just to get just just to get permission from the from the state to sell it so it’s kind of backwards That’s that’s why you want to just keep him here in a marketing campaign Marketing campaign so you don’t work then a different one and not everyone’s cut out to just keep getting thrown off the horse and coming back on so you don’t know if you’re cut out for me maybe you it wasn’t easy you don’t like it actually maybe whatever reason but you go through this course Magic Sing that massive amounts of marketing repeat the cycle again and again and building a list building a big network marketing to that list list that’s it everything else is secondary everything else is just a side note everything else is getting boarding your business cards or next that stuff you shouldn’t think about because that’s that’s just some small little red the podcast episode there if you’ve made it this far I want to thank you for listening on a thank you for your time starts with u give me questions please contact me Hunter@balboateam.com (100% Commission Real Estate Broker) or visit www.Balboateam.com.