DARRYL DAVIS How to Make (cid:1) $100,000 Your First Year as a Real Estate Agent McGraw-Hill New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Toronto Copyright © 2007 by Darryl Davis. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publica- tion may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 0-07-150911-9 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-07-143759-2. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. 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McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limi- tation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise. DOI: 10.1036/0071437592 Professional Want to learn more? We hope you enjoy this McGraw-Hill eBook! If you’d like more information about this book, its author, or related books and websites, please click here. For more information about this title, click here Contents Acknowledgments v Introduction vii 1. What It Takes to Succeed as a Real Estate Agent 1 2. Getting Started 19 3. Real Estate Companies: Who’s Who and What’s What 35 4. Choosing the Right Company, with the Right Training, for You 49 5. Getting Organized 64 6. Prospecting: The Keys to the Kingdom 80 7. Prospecting For Sale By Owners: Dialogues and Communications That Work 99 8. Alternatives for Listing Leads Other Than For Sale By Owners: Techniques and Dialogues That Work 117 9. The Listing Conversation 147 10. Your First 90 Days of Success 171 Index 177 iii This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank all the students I have trained since 1993. They have not only been an inspiration for me, but through their trial and tribulations, they have helped me to better understand the real estate industry from a training standpoint. To the people at McGraw-Hill who have worked on this project. Their support and understanding have been incredible; I couldn’t ask for a better team. To all those in my office, for they are the backbone of my company. They help free up my time so that I can work on new programs that will help others. To Rob Daniel, my business associate, my second spiritual guide, my pseudocoach, and, more importantly, my friend. To Darlene Lyons, who has been such an important person in my life over these past several years. Thanks for helping me become a better speaker and a better businessman and for being my spiritual advisor. To Uncle Jack and Aunt Nancy, who have always supported me in everything I have done and who continue to support me in everything I do. I know that no matter what, you both love me, and that gives me so much energy and life. You have always believed in me, even when I start to doubt myself. Jack, thanks for stepping in and being my role model, filling the void of Moe, and for being my consigliere. To my son, Michael, for becoming such a wonderful young man— you are truly a gift from God, and I love you with all my heart. Last, but most certainly not least, to Erica. I know I’ve said it so many times, but you are the angel in my life, and I love you for all the support you have given me and for the patience you have shown me. v Copyright © 2007 by Darryl Davis. Click here for terms of use. This page intentionally left blank Introduction L et me congratulate you for investing in this book, How to Make $100,000(cid:1) Your First Year as a Real Estate Agent. More than likely, you fall into one of three categories: (cid:1) You haven’t yet gotten into real estate. You’re thinking about it and you are wondering, “Is this a good career for me”? (cid:1) You just got your license and you have no clue what you are doing or what you need to do. That’s why you bought this book. (cid:1) You’ve been in real estate for some time but you aren’t yet making a six-figure income, and you want to. Wherever you are in your real estate career, I want to acknowledge you for making this investment. There’s an old rule of thumb in training that says if you speak or teach to the lowest denominator, meaning the most inexperienced person in your audience, then everybody should benefit. With that in mind, to achieve the best possible result for all readers, I’m going to communicate with you and cover the basics as if you were unli- censed and unfamiliar with the intricacies of real estate. For those of you who don’t fall into that category, please hang in there with me. I promise you’ll benefit as well. So in the following pages, I will go over how to get your license, how to find to find a real estate office, questions to ask when you’re on the interview, and many other things. Then, I’ll give you specific tips and techniques for what you need to do to become a success in real estate. vii Copyright © 2007 by Darryl Davis. Click here for terms of use. viii Introduction “Success” is a relative term. And the title How to Make $100,000(cid:1) Your First Year as a Real Estate Agent is really representative of your market. Depending on where you’re from, making a $50,000 income could be equivalent to somebody in New York who’s mak- ing $100,000. However, my commitment is to get you to those six figures, and that’s where I’m coming from. Before we get started, let me offer you some tips to maximize the value of this book. First, buy yourself a spiral-bound notebook and create your own to-do list as you read. When things that I say jump out at you, jot them down. You never know when you’ll be inspired! The second tip I’ll offer is, if you haven’t already done so, to pur- chase my first book, How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate (McGraw-Hill). For those of you who have read it, it has a tremendous amount of information to get you to the next level in your career. Finally, I encourage you to go to a special Web site I designed for you, www.NewAgentSuccess.com. At that Web site, you will find a plethora of items to help you have a successful real estate career. Many of my students have earned over $100,000 in their first year. If you follow what I share with you in this book and implement my recommendations, you can make a six-figure income your first year as well. But it’s up to you. And that’s going to bring us to our first chapter. Is real estate for you? Do you have what it takes to succeed in this business?.