Welcome

 If you’ve been wondering if you can start out as a real estate agent part-time until you can get enough business to go full time, the short answer is yes you can.

If you need the safety and security of another job, or need to phase in over time because of other responsibilities in your life (like raising a child), you have every right to try to make it happen and some are widely successful at it. There’s no one way or “right” way to get into the business. 

However, you’ll probably also hear that you can’t (or shouldn’t) be part-time from people within the industry. Real estate brokers, managers, trainers, gurus, and agents alike will invariably tell you that in order to succeed, you really need to do it full-time.

 Below are just a few of the hurdles you will need to overcome as a part time Broker:

1. Not to scare you, but very few Brokers succeed (part and full time).  In fact, most don’t even last a year or two.  With the majority of the Brokers getting into the business failing to succeed year after year, it’s a pretty good sign that it isn’t fail proof.  There’s no one way or “right” way to get into the business. But it takes time — time that many Brokers can’t outlast.
2. How to convince your employing broker that it is worth their time to bring you on board.  Everyone is an individual but new Brokers require more training and oversight than seasoned brokers. With part time Brokers having a high rate of failure from an efficiency standpoint a good employing Broker may not find it worth their while. 
3. Giving your clients your full, undivided time and attention can and should help increase your odds of success. However, with another job giving your clients your full, undivided time and attention will be a challenge as sellers and buyers- may believe your loyalty is to your 8-5  and job not them. 
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Some common behaviors that all brokers engage in:

When just starting out many Brokers  fill their time spend too much  time learning how to write a contract, open lock boxes, search the MLS, etc. rather than being productive. By productive we mean they should be prospecting, marketing, and branding themselves, as these result in long term business growth.   While learning how to write a contract, open lock boxes, search the MLS, etc. is  important, what many brokers don’t realize is that the most important part of being a Broker is finding clients to work with, not being an expert on the paperwork. You can know everything there is to know about how to work with a buyer or seller, but if you don’t have enough of them to work with, you’re not going to make it.

Boker’s are often so hungry to make some money, they fill their days over-working for a client or two, or working with less than ideal prospects. They fill their days with busy-ness that feels productive, but in reality should be marketing to “set the seeds” and “fill the pipeline”.

“Set the seeds” At Atomic we believe that a Broker’s every action should let people know they have the desire to help sellers and buyers in their current and future endeavors and transactions.  If people know you are always willing to help them whether you get paid or not, they will seek you out.  At Atomic Realty we feel with this as a base line attitude a Broker will “fill the pipeline” with  future transactions.

Most new agents don’t have a ton of money to spend on marketing, however, in this day in age a ton of money isnt necessary.   (At Atomic we feel a brokers advertising budget of $5000-$20000 is sufficient.) So some tips on marketing oneself.

1. Make sure friends and family know you are a Broker and would love to help them.  
2. Regardless of whether you’re a full-time or part-time agent, it takes time for friends and family to trust you and feel you are competent with their largest asset. Some people need to feel like you’ve been in the business a while before trusting you with their biggest asset or purchase they’ll make in life.  You should provide your curriculum vitae showing why you are trustworthy and competent.
3. Consider specializing.  When marketing funds are modest, consider marketing to specialized groups or areas becoming an expert in that specialization. 
4. The marketing money you do spend. - make sure you feel it is effective.  Many marketing gurus believe you will need a customer to have seen you 7 times before they remember you.  You need to evaluate your market. Is your market tech savvy or mostly those who read hard print or respond best in person. Make a judgment and be consistent. 

Years ago you had to spend a lot of money on many different forms of marketing in order to build your business. There are still agents who spend big bucks on mailers, print ads, billboards, or radio and TV ads, but the internet and social media has made it easier for you to get in front of a lot of people, often at a lower  cost.  

So let’s take a look at three ways you can market yourself to build your brand and business without spending a lot of money…or time for that matter! 

1) Share market news

Establishing credibility and authority is always important for an agent to gain trust (and business), but it’s even more critical when you’re starting out part-time. People need to see that you’re serious and have your thumb on the pulse of the market, and can give some good advice before they trust you to actually give them advice on the market.

If you have the time and skills, writing your own articles about what’s going on in the market will certainly establish credibility and authority. But that can take time, and not everyone is a writer. So you can just find articles about the real estate market and share those. Just make sure to add your interpretation of the article so people can get a sense of your opinion and intelligence.

2) Share memes

One of the things you want to do is just constantly remind people that you’re in the real estate business — ideally without being boring or annoying. A lot of agents lack subtlety (especially when they’re desperate for business) and almost outright beg for business without any nuance or style. 

Real estate memes are a great way to subtly remind people that you’re in the real estate world, without getting on peoples’ nerves. They’re entertaining and easy for people to consume (or ignore) without feeling like you’re harassing them for business. And they’re a great way to show that you’ve got a sense of humor! People want to work with someone who not only knows their stuff, but also has a good personality.

3) Share fun articles

Let’s be honest, real estate news doesn’t appeal to everyone, so make sure to share some fun real estate articles that’ll give people a laugh, while reminding them you’re in the business, and possibly even teaching them a thing or two. 

A meme of the week

A “weird”, funny, or unusual real estate related article

A real estate trivia question

A real estate fun fact meme

Keep in mind that it takes time and constant exposure to become the agent people think about when it’s time to buy or sell a house, and most agents don’t have the time or patience it takes.

You don’t have the pressure someone who is full-time has to generate enough business as quickly as possible, which is rarely quick enough for many agents. 

So be patient and diligent about posting, even if it feels like nobody cares or is noticing. Before you know it, your friends, family, and followers will know you as the agent in their life, and you’ll start getting some business lined up.

Pro tip: If you do any marketing consistently, you’ll probably be doing more marketing and branding than most agents!