Every real estate agent has problems they need to overcome. If you’re thinking about getting into real estate or are just pretty new to it, you’ll probably find all kinds of problems in real estate to worry about. That’s okay—every agent has problems!
The truth is, though, that no matter how long you’ve been in real estate or how much you know, you’re only going to face 5 main problems in real estate. If you want to know what these are and how to overcome them, keep reading!
1. Finding Leads
You’re certainly familiar with this one, no matter how long you’ve been an agent. What most agents forget is that leads are just conversations—your job is to get in front of as many people as possible and get them to initiate a conversation with you by visiting your ad, page, social, etc.
Remember that people are not big fans of research. One study found that people wanting to sell their homes conduct fewer than 3 hours of research before deciding to list. About 70% of all people work with the first real estate agent they meet with. In many cases, you just have to be that first agent and show up!
So, how do you get leads and become that first person? It’s pretty simple. Get out there and market! Use the most popular marketing methods:
- Meta Marketplace
- Instagram Reels
- YouTube Videos
- Etc.
Once you get your name out there, it’s that much easier to be the first agent that leads come to and thus to win their business.
2. Converting Leads
Once you find the leads, of course, it can be a challenge to convert them and get them to that first meeting. You may have no idea what to say and how to connect with them when you get to an appointment.
If that’s you, you’re not alone! Most agents struggle with this. It’s best to know what you want to say before you set an appointment—to have a goal in mind of where you want the conversation to go.
If you’re not sure where to start, it’s a great idea to find scripts and start practicing them! You can pick these up from your brokerage or connect with another well-known agent who can help you create the best scripts for appointments.
Once you have them, practice those scripts over and over until you’ve mastered them. Don’t let it become robotic, of course, but know the pattern well enough that no matter what objections you hear, you can always provide the right answer and keep the conversion conversation on track.
3. Earning Repeat Business
The cost to acquire new business is quite high—it can be around 4 to 10 times MORE expensive to acquire new business as opposed to retaining past clients for their business. Both new and experienced agents often struggle to maintain a relationship with a buyer or seller after a close and so lose this all-important business.
So, make sure you keep in touch by maintaining a relationship with your past clients. Reach out to them regularly through emails and texts that provide valuable information. Make it personal to them if you can, but even if you don’t always have time to invest in a full video or letter for them, you can at least remain top of mind with a simple check-in text or email.
Send regular market updates, impart information that they may use in the next step of their journey (how to maintain their home, how to list when they’re ready to sell again in a few years, etc.), and just ask how they’re doing.
By maintaining that relationship, you can earn repeat business and potentially get more referrals from those clients as well.
4. Beating Rising Competition
The truth for every agent is that it’s a crowded market right now. There are over 2 million licensed real estate agents out there competing for the same clients, not to mention new inventions such as ebuyers. Plus, commission compression is a big problem in real estate, meaning if you’re not doing as well as you could be, you’re going to make a lot less money.
If you really want to beat the competition, you’re going to have to work really hard at creating a niche for yourself. Become an expert in your specific area or niche and become known as the specialist in that area. Don’t try to know and speak on EVERY real estate topic—get really good at one area and people will come to you for that specific need every time.
5. Working with Your Inventory
There could be two problems with inventory: you could have too much or too little. With too much inventory, you’re going to become an increasingly frustrated listing agent, but with too little inventory…well, you’re likely to end up as an alcoholic buyer’s agent if you’re not careful!
You can’t really rely on the market to have the perfect amount of inventory at any given time. However, you still have to work, so learn how to adapt to the market. People still need homes, no matter the inventory available, and you need to help them.
Get to know the local market and the pain points that buyers and sellers are feeling. Speak to those pain points to truly help clients whether that’s in your online content or in personal conversations with people.
If you can speak to and solve the pain points your clients are feeling, you’ll find enough of the right kind of business to keep going no matter the inventory.
Overcoming Real Estate Problems
You can absolutely overcome these big real estate problems, no matter how long you’ve been in the business. Keep your eyes on the prize and follow these tips to dealing with the problems you run into.
No job is perfect, but if you work hard at your real estate career, it’s going to give you a fantastic return on your investment! So, invest your time, money, and energy. You’ll see the results if you persevere!