16. Becoming the Real Estate Agent You Aspire to Be

Looking to crack the real estate industry?  We talked about everything from passing the real estate exam (even if it takes a few tries), choosing the right brokerage to fit your personality, to the importance of being authentic and relatable to your clients. Matasha doesn't just share the technical aspects of the business; she also divulges the significance of building your own brand, tuning in to your unique selling proposition, and specializing in a niche that sets you apart from the competition.

Have you ever considered the benefits of smaller, independent firms over larger brokerages? We dug deep into that too, exploring the comfort of hands-on support, the value of accountability, and the powerful impact of having a close-knit relationship with your broker., these are the things that can supercharge your real estate career. Join us for this enlightening conversation to discover more about navigating the exciting world of real estate. Tune in. 

Stay connected with me for even more valuable content and stay in the loop with the latest trends in the world of real estate. Your journey to becoming a real estate pro starts here.

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Transcript

Passing Real Estate Exam Tips

Speaker 1 0:00

Some people say well , I don't want to take the exam and fail because if I do , I have to pay money to take it again . And that is true . I don't remember the exact fee , I know when I was doing it , when I fail the first time and you had to take it again , I think it was like $69 , $62 , $69 , something like that . So you do have to pay to take it again . But when you go in the second time , it's like you're a little bit more prepared because it's like I kind of know what I'm expecting a little more . But just keep that in mind . Go ahead , jump off the cliff , grow your wings on the way down , take the exam . It's all about you as a person . Okay , so don't get caught up in . Okay , I'm a brand new agent . No one knows me right now . So I need to go to a larger brokerage to get the recognition Because , at the end of the day , you're going to be focused on creating yourself as a brand . Your name is actually going to end up being the brand People like you to be relatable . They want to know that . Oh , this person is just like me , or this person reminds me of my cousin , or this person reminds me of my sister . I can actually I trust her , you know , and people , people do business with people that they trust . Hey guys , this is Natasha LaQuinn , the queen bee of real estate , and you are tuned into the throne , and today I'm a treat for real estate agents . Now it doesn't matter if you are a brand new agent , if you are aspiring to become a real estate agent , and maybe you have got , haven't gotten your license yet , or maybe you've been in the business for a while . I think something that I say may apply or appeal to either one of those . So a question that I've been getting asked a lot is in regards to passing the exam and also choosing a brokerage . So we're going to talk about three things . Number one is passing the real estate exam , and no , I don't have any special tricks or a magic wand , but I do have some pointers . So , passing the exam , choosing your brokerage and being authentic those are the three things we're going to cover here today and so , jumping right into it , let's talk about number one passing this exam . So obviously , this is for those that are aspiring to get your real estate license , and I'm sure maybe you've heard some horror stories , whether it's friends or family members that have already been in the industry and they're talking about how tough the exam is and depending on what state you're in as well , because I know some of them are beast more than others .

Speaker 1 2:35

But specifically talking about Texas today , yeah , let's be honest and clear . I personally took my test over three times . I have a family member I think he took his test like seven times . Some of the agents on my team they've taken it three and four times and this is not to , I guess . I guess assume that you're going to fail from the beginning , but it's just to say it's okay if you don't pass the first time , it's not the end of the world . My honest opinion and I'm actually telling my 20 year old the same thing right now because she's completed her classes . She's finished her classes like months ago and she's been terrified of the exam .

Speaker 1 3:24

And so some people they will take the prep course over and over again because you know they have a prep exam that's supposed to prep you and kind of get you geared up and ready for what to expect on the test . But you won't know what's on the test until you go and take it . That it may sound like a crash dummy move , or like I'm telling you to jump off the cliff and grow your wings on the way down . But in my honest opinion , the only way to really figure out what's on the test and what to expect is going to take the damn test . The reason why I say that is because you can do all the prepping in the world , but the questions on the prep exam are not the same questions on the test and what happens is when you actually take the exam , it eliminates the anxiety of what to expect , that uncertainty of oh my God , what are they going to ask me , how should I study ? What should I study for ? If you actually take the exam , you start to see the flow of questions , how they ask them , so you can properly prepare after that .

Speaker 1 4:28

For me , when I took the test and I failed it , what it does is it doesn't tell you the exact answers that you missed , but it will tell you the category . So , for an example , let's say I failed seven out of 10 questions in the contracts department when I failed that test . At the very end they're going to have your breakdown of passes and fails and it's going to show you the category . It's going to show me in the contracts section this is how many you miss right or in the agency . When you talk about agency and relationships or representation , it'll show me the percentage you know or the amount that I missed . And so in my mind I'm like , well , dang , it seems like . It seems like the most of my troubles came from agency slash , representation type of questions . Let me study those . Or the bulk of my problems seem to have come from the contracts department . Let me review or go over the contracts category a little bit more . So that , in my opinion , is much more helpful than me going to the prep exam and just taking some random prep course over and over again and never actually getting the hands on experience to take the exam . Now you do .

Speaker 1 5:49

Some people say , well , I don't want to take the exam and fail because if I do , I have to pay money to take it again . And that is true . I don't remember the exact fee . I know when I was doing it , when I failed the first time and you had to take it again . I think it was like $69 , $62 , $69 , something like that . So you do have to pay to take it again , but when you go in the second time , it's like you're a little bit more prepared , because it's like all right , I kind of know what I'm expecting a little more . But just keep that in mind , go ahead , jump off the cliff , grow your wings on the way down , take the exam . And then I will also say follow your first mind .

Speaker 1 6:30

A lot of these questions they seem to be tricky . It's almost like a trick question because you're looking at it and you're thinking , oh , it's A . And then you read further in the multiple choices it's just like , oh well , it could be C as well , and so it's like the way that they mix up the questions . It could be a little confusing . And so it has you second guessing yourself , and so you've answered A , and then you sit there and play with it for like the next five minutes saying , oh , but I , it could possibly be C too , and you go back and forth and then at the very last minute you go and change your answer to C and then you end up getting it wrong . So follow your first mind . Whenever you're looking at a question and it pops up in your mind , you say , okay , yep , it's A Circle A . Keep moving . Don't go back and play with it and get all wishy-washy , because you'll confuse yourself and then you'll waste all of your time getting stuck on one answer . So that is my , those are my thoughts on the exam for first timers . And if you do fail , now you know nobody wants to talk about if they fail , because it sounds like you're being negative or you're not being optimistic . No , you're being real and it's okay . Give yourself some grace . Walk in there expecting to pass , but knowing that it's okay If you don't it just go from there , because I think the fear of what if I don't do it the first time around it stops us from pulling the trigger and go ahead and getting it done . So that is my little two cents on the exam for those of you that are aspiring to get that license .

Choosing Your Brokerage and Being Authentic

Speaker 1 8:09

Number two choosing your broker . So , in case this is the thing , choosing your brokerage is very important . Now , a lot of times , I find that new agents automatically go to the larger brokerages the Keller Williams , cartwell Banker , gary Green , remax and there's nothing wrong with that at all . Let's be clear , I'm not talking down on anyone . However , before you go and you choose your brokerage , you need to know your personality . You need to know what kind of assistance you need . What I will say is that some of the bigger brokerages they have a larger budget , so maybe they have a more extensive training library , they have all these good videos and branding and marketing brochures and they are able to offer all of these things .

Speaker 1 9:08

From , maybe , a branding perspective or if somebody saw your business card with a Remax logo , it's just like , oh , this is cool , I'm looking for some type of brand recognition without having to establish my own individual brand first . I think a lot of times . That's why new agents will go that route . But you have to remember that it's all about you as a person , so don't get caught up in . Okay , I'm a brand new agent . No one knows me right now , so I need to go to a larger brokerage to get the recognition , because , at the end of the day , you're going to be focused on creating yourself as a brand . Your name is actually going to end up being the brand right ?

Speaker 1 9:53

So if you represent a family today , you do a really good job and then they refer a co-worker to you and then they send their son to you to buy a home and then they send their goddaughter I don't know to you to buy a home , they're sending those people to you , keith Johnson or Christy Cook , whatever your name is that past client is sending business to you . They're not sending them to you because you're at the Kella Williams . So it doesn't matter if you jumped from this company to the next company in the next year or so . The people that you serve is in the community that you serve . They're coming after you . So keep that in mind .

Speaker 1 10:38

Also , with a larger brokerage versus a smaller brokerage or more independent style brokerage , sometimes you don't have access or as hands-on experience as you like and I'm not speaking for everyone when I say this , but I do know I'll give you my own personal testimony . So even when I was first licensed actually , I had been licensed for maybe six years at this point and my grandmother was my real estate broker and I kept hearing all these people talk about well , I won't say the name about this particular agency and how they had this great training and extensive training program and I was curious . I was like what are they doing that we're not doing ? So I went and jump-shipped . I left my grandmother's brokerage and signed up for this other larger brokerage , just so I could be nosy , because I wanted to see what they were doing . I wanted to look at their training , get a hold of the binder and the materials that they were handing out . And so I went and I met with the recruiter over there . They didn't know that my family was in the real estate business , but , yeah , I was doing , I guess , kind of like a mystery shopper type deal , and so I went to this larger brokerage . They recruited me . Oh yeah , hands-on , we're like a family here , we're not going to leave you hanging . We're going to give you this strategy plan and all these things that they promised me . Oh , we have this extensive training of video library and anything you want to go look for . You can find it on our website . Okay , whatever .

Speaker 1 12:15

So I go ahead , I sign up , and the minute that I signed up , I showed up to the office the next Monday and then I didn't hear from anybody else after that . It was just like crickets . I was sitting in the office and I was just staring at the four walls by myself . No one ever reached out , asked me if I needed anything , asked me if I needed help , and then , yeah , they had this big , extensive catalog of training videos . But I'm thinking to myself , well , hell , as a new agent luckily I wasn't brand new . But I was thinking to myself if I had been a brand new agent that had gotten reeled into this particular firm , I would have been stuck in these four walls waiting for help , just shuffling through this catalog of training videos , not knowing where to start . And so , from there I was like um , this isn't all what it cracked up to be . So , yeah , they have the training library and they have the resources and the tools , but if there's nobody there to hold your hand and help you , then those things don't matter .

Speaker 1 13:18

And so I think what I've learned to appreciate with smaller brokerages is that you do get the hands on , feel you know , you do have accountability there , like if you tell a smaller broker that , hey , this is my goal , this is what I'm hoping to do , this is what I'm looking to do for myself in this business . They don't have 500 other agents that they're managing , maybe they have only 10 . And so they're able to keep up with you and tap you on the shoulder and you know , although as an agent you are an independent contractor , you know you don't have a boss or a manager , so to speak , so nobody can really tell you what to do . But let's be honest , we all really thrive with accountability , so you do still have that kind of coach or mentor person to tap you on your shoulder and say Tasha , what are you doing ? You know , you told me you wanted to do XYZ and you haven't done any of it . You know they're able to challenge you on a more individual , close-knit basis . A lot of times it's easier to get a hold of somebody , even like with me .

Speaker 1 14:26

I'm a broker of a smaller independent firm . You know my agents , especially the brand new ones . They knew that sometimes it would be a Saturday , 10 o'clock at night and they could reach out to me and say hey , I got my first deal , I'm trying to write this contract and I have no idea where to start . Can you help me ? And I would literally sit there with them and walk them through page by page , paragraph by paragraph , of this contract 10 o'clock at night on a Saturday . Sometimes with the larger agencies you might not get that , and so it depends on what kind of vibe , what type of culture you're looking for . And so that's why I say really think about yourself first and what your needs are before doing your interviews and determining what broker you want to sign up with . Now , maybe you do multiple interviews , maybe you can interview two larger brokerages and two smaller ones , and so that way , by talking to the different types and multiple types of brokerages , you can decide where you best fit . But yeah , so that's my thought process on choosing a brokerage .

Speaker 1 15:32

Number three being authentic . I think being authentic is going to get you very long way , and being authentic actually ties into the previous thing that we talked about with choosing your brokerage , because when you are being yourself , it doesn't matter what brokerage you're attached to . Again , people are tying themselves to you and I think , when it comes to longevity in the business and setting yourself apart , it is very much so based on people's ability to trust you and to know you , the real you . So if you're funny , be funny . It's okay . You don't have to go by the book or say , oh , you know , that's a little bit too risky for me to say . Or let me keep my company on this side and business on the other side . No , it's okay to find a way to mesh those two things together .

Speaker 1 16:38

Maybe you are You're your , your educator by nature . You just really enjoy Educating . Well then , maybe that will make you . That'll be . The thing that makes you stand apart is Finding ways to always implement education To your clients . Maybe you host home buyer classes , maybe you have an online course that you offer . So , whatever it is that you're naturally good at or that you enjoy , finding a way to incorporate that into your everyday business , I think it's great .

Speaker 1 17:11

But don't get caught up in looking at what everyone else is doing , because I know these days is very hard , especially like for me . Well , a lot of people are doing the property tours . You know they're in front of the camera and they're walking you through the houses and somebody will say , oh , I hate being in front of the camera , you don't have to be in front of the camera , that's not your thing . Then maybe you just find a way to capture the homes and maybe do slide shows or pictures of the houses . But if being in front of the camera and Giving tours is not your thing , don't make it your thing just because that's what everyone else is doing . So you have to find what makes you authentic and being okay with that . Don't let somebody tell you what you should be doing and how it should go , because I think that's what we get caught up doing the most is that we Go back and forth and then we look at this person's page and then we take a little bit from this person's page and then , by the time you're done , your mind is all scrambled up with all these different thoughts and ideas of Multiple people's pages and none of them resemble what you enjoy .

Speaker 1 18:24

I think one of the biggest examples for me is my and I knew you , you you got , you guys have seen Her on here before but one of my agents , lanaya . She does a really great job at it and I think I use her as an example all the time because she was very self-conscious about an accent that she has and now she's learned to embrace her accent and a lot of people Actually know and recognize her now Because of that . And she doesn't shy away from it , she doesn't try to change it . She likes to dance , whatever it is that she likes to do on a natural basis . She does that in business . It doesn't have to always be serious and and To the point and direct people like you to be relatable , they want to know that oh , this person is just like me , or this person reminds me of my cousin , or this person reminds me of my sister . I can actually . I trust her , you know and people , people do business with people that they trust . So you want to remember , don't get caught up in that . Be authentic , so let's rewind .

Speaker 1 19:31

Number one for aspiring real estate agents we have the exam . Go ahead , take the exam . Stop taking these prep courses over and over again . Jump off the cliff , grow your wings on the way down and Let the experience from Taking the exam help you to know what you need to prepare for if you do have to go in there and take it a second time .

Speaker 1 19:55

Number two , choosing your brokerage . Don't get caught up in names and brands and larger agencies if that's not your thing . Be cool and comfortable knowing what you need , what your needs are , and choose a broker that's gonna suit gonna suit you in your own personality . So it doesn't matter if it's a larger brokerage or independent brokerage . The clients that you serve are going to be using you for you . And thirdly , being authentic . We say it all the time , but it's so important making sure that you're staying true to yourself being funny , charismatic , energetic , fun , humorous , whatever it is that you do . Do your thing unapologetically , unapologetically , and I'm just happy and excited to see where you guys will go from here .

Speaker 1 20:45

I think , in this business , especially if you look on Facebook these days or any type of social media platform , it's just . It just seems like everybody is getting licensed Every day , all day , and you're thinking , oh god , another one , oh , another one . You know even because I know on my Facebook sometimes You'll have someone that says , hey , does anyone know you know anyone have a referral for a realtor in Houston ? And then people will tag me . But then in that same post there's like 200 other agents tagged and I'm like , oh God , so there's just so many . So you have to get comfortable knowing that there is a lot of competition out there . But you establish your own niche , your own specialty Work , your own sphere of influence . We all know enough people in our corner to get started and then just start expanding and branching off from there .

Speaker 1 21:38

But I think it's also important to figure out and this is , I guess , a bonus , because I know we kind of covered the three things already but figuring out , is there a certain specialty that you want to focus on ? Maybe maybe you're a veteran , maybe you're ex-military , and you say you know what ? I'm retired military but I have a really soft spot in my heart , so I want to service military clientele . I want to show them how to use their VA loan to purchase homes . Or my mom was a school teacher and I want to help school teachers buy homes using the teacher's program for down payment assistance .

Specializing in Real Estate Business

Speaker 1 22:23

Either one of those things ? I mean , there's all kinds of specialties that you can get into . So , maybe thinking about , is there a certain pocket of business that you want to tap into that will set you apart from other people ? But anyway , I think that that's enough to get you started for now , as always , I'm here for questions , tips , advice , insight . If there's anything you want us to cover , let me know . But until next time , I'm your host , natasha LaQuinn , the queen bee of real estate , and you've been listening to the .