Becoming a successful real estate agent is easier than you think, but most people fail in their first year. We have to understand why these people fail, and how we can avoid it from happening to us.

Studies show that the primary reason these people fail lies in their psychology – self-doubt. They just do not believe in what they are doing, and they will find excuses to stop doing what they need to do when they are hit with obstacles. When agents convince that they can’t succeed, they stop taking actions that are necessary for them to become successful.

What actions does a real estate agent need? The answer is “prospecting”. Most people hate making cold calls and this seems to be a difficult task to those who don’t believe that the calls will ultimately result in their success. The failure to prospect is the equivalent to failure to bring in business and, in turn, make money.

The next reason why ones fail as a real estate agent is related to prospecting, but it is not quite the same, the key is to follow-up. When it comes to purchasing something as important as a home, it is extremely important for buyers to build a level of trust with the person doing the selling. Real estate agents who don’t follow up consistently lose business to those who do.

Another problem is that many real estate agents don’t take the time necessary to make their listings look as appealing as possible. Not only must the information be presented accurately, which it often is not, but things such as photos and descriptions should also be high quality, and this quality helps to sell homes. Real estate agents who “just want to get something up” will often see their listings on the market much longer than the ones who put in the time and effort necessary to make the homes that they are selling look as appealing as possible.

Working as a real estate agent has its challenges; basically you don’t get paid if you don’t sell. Most real estate agents fail in their first year, in large part because they simply don’t believe that they can succeed. This lack of belief, and the high attrition rate that they see that reinforces it, leads them to stop doing the things they need to do to be successful. Repeated direct action in the three areas discussed above is the best way for a real estate agent to ensure success.