This Fall is unlike any we have ever experienced. In years past, Realtors would be sending their kids back to school and gearing up for new marketing campaigns or strategies to engage existing clients. Typically, we would be thinking ahead to holiday parties, mega open houses, and ways to volunteer in our communities. Instead, many of us are home with our kids, struggling to keep our businesses afloat while also checking in on our second-grader’s Zoom call.
Is there truly a way to find success as a part-time real estate agent? The answer is an unequivocal yes, and we are here to tell you how.
5 Tips to Help You Find Success as a Part-Time Real Estate Agent
1. Work Smarter, Not Longer
If you take stock of everything you do in your day – from checking your email to making that extra cup of coffee to talking with co-workers – you might find that you’re not spending as much time on professional tasks as you might think.
To that end, you can be a successful part-time real estate agent if you put your head down, avoid distractions, and get the work done. Working smarter is the goal: spending time on the tasks that matter and eliminating the tasks that don’t.
Studies of the most successful people find that they don’t work longer hours. They simply prioritize their time and their tasks, getting more work done in less time. Therefore, if you can carve out just a few hours of each day for distraction-free work, you can get eight hours of real estate activities done in half the time.
2. Set a Strict Schedule…And Stick to It!
Part of working smarter, but not longer is creating a strict schedule, and then sticking to that schedule. While this is particularly difficult at present (how do you create distraction-free time when your “office” is three feet away from your daughter’s desk?), it is essential to part-time success.
If possible, enlist the help of a partner, family member, or friend. Schedule a few hours a day to focus intently on real estate activities: client management, marketing, showings, etc. Then, stick to that schedule no matter what else happens in your day.
If your kids need help with homework, it will have to wait until after your office hours are done. Appointments? Not during your scheduled work time. Keeping that time set aside will help you focus intently on your to-do lists, allowing you to complete more tasks in less time.
Likewise, having scheduled work time allows you to compartmentalize work tasks. Doing this helps you avoid burnout, giving you intentional time for work, play, family, and other priorities in your life.
3. Build Multiple Income Streams
One of the best ways to increase your earnings while working fewer hours is to create passive streams of income. That is, side businesses or other opportunities that allow you to earn income while not actively involved in the process. Not only will this let you be a successful real estate agent part-time, but it will also keep you afloat during economic downturns. If the real estate market slows to a crawl, you’ll have other financial sources to help you pay the bills.
For real estate agents, there are many ways to earn passive income:
- Owning rental properties or invest in fix-and-flips
- Work as a managing broker
- Blogging, podcasting, or using other mediums to teach about real estate
- Set up affiliate links on your website and social media pages
- Negotiate referral fees with local small businesses
- Create eBooks on local real estate, your real estate niche, living or working in your city, or anything else on which you’re considered an expert. Market and sell your eBook for just a few dollars per download. Even “free” eBooks can make passive income if done the right way.
4. Focus on Sellers
As a part-time real estate agent, you have limited time to spend with clients. Therefore, attempt to work primarily with home sellers instead of homebuyers.
As a buyers’ agent, you can plan on long hours touring homes, writing contracts, and frantically calling your clients when something in the deal hits a snag. However, when you work with sellers, there are no Friday night home tours all over the city, no contract write-ups, and no painstakingly long conference sessions trying to decide which house is best.
Instead, as a sellers’ agent, you list the home, upload the photos, field the phone calls from other agents, and help close the deal. That’s it. The listing brings the buyers to you, so you can spend less time working the deal.
5. Market Effectively
Finally, in order to find the sellers you want, without spending hours seeking them out, it’s essential to focus on an effective marketing strategy. The right marketing campaign will save you time and money by targeting your ideal clients and bringing them to you.
Consider email marketing campaigns, social media campaigns, and even mailers. Focus on clients who are most likely to sell their homes. Perhaps that means connecting with previous homebuyers who might be ready to downsize, or clients who are expanding their families.
An effective marketing strategy can help you find clients without spending hours on the phone.
While it may be challenging, it is possible to find success as a part-time real estate agent.
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