People move in and out of their real estate careers for a variety of reasons. Some spouses may move to support a partner’s career and choose not to launch in their new market. Some parents may choose to stay at home with their children during their preschool years. Maybe you left to work in a different field, to obtain your college degree, to spend time traveling or to pursue personal interests.
Whatever the reason, if you’re now ready to get back to your real estate career, you’ll need to invest some time and energy in a professional reboot. Here’s seven steps to get started and get your business moving forward again.
1. Find out how to reactivate your license.
Get in touch with your state’s real estate commission to find out what you need to do in order to reactivate your license. In some states, you’ll need to take some continuing education classes and fill out the required paperwork. In other states, you’ll need to begin the licensure process from scratch if it has been more than a couple of years since your license expired.
If it’s going to take a while for you to get through the renewal or relicensing process, you may want to see if you can convert your license to referral status. This will allow you to refer leads to a licensed agent as needed while you wait to have your license reinstated.
2. Determine which brokerage to join.
You may already have a former brokerage that you want to rejoin when your license is renewed. Alternatively, you may be looking to relaunch your career in a totally different market or you may simply prefer to work with a different broker this time around. Either way, you’ll need to compare your local brokerages and find out which one is right for you.
Different brokerages operate in different ways, with some emphasizing training and support while others offer better commission splits and fewer services. Talk to a number of brokers to find out what style will work best for you as you begin again.
3. Notify your sphere of influence.
Spend some time reconnecting with folks in your sphere of influence to let them know that you’re back in the industry. If you’ve gotten to know a lot of new people in your years away, you may have a lot of new names to add to your customer relationship management system.
While you may want to send out a blanket email announcement, don’t neglect the personal touch. Reach out with a handwritten note and a couple of business cards and follow up with a phone call to encourage referrals and inquiries from your sphere.
4. Reach out to your past clients.
Similarly, let your past clients know that you appreciate their business and would like to work with them again whenever possible. You may want to sponsor an event for past clients to renew your acquaintance and find out how you can be of service to them or to their friends and family.
As you put together marketing for your relaunch, reach out to past clients for reviews and testimonials as well. This can be a valuable way to build your authority and credibility with incoming leads and potential clients.
5. Seek out educational opportunities.
Though you’ve taken classes or online courses as part of your license renewal process, you’ll want to continue to seek out training to support your professional development. You may want to learn more about a useful tech platform or practice scripts for buyers and sellers. If you choose to work in a specific niche you’ll need specialized training and resources.
6. Create marketing platforms and materials.
In the time you’ve been away, you may have missed out on opportunities to network and connect with new leads. You’ll need to catch up by creating a marketing strategy to help you raise your professional profile.
Work with a company or designer to build a website for your business. Create content through a blog, podcast or video channel. Put together a social media strategy. Consider direct mail marketing to a geographic farm and email marketing to your SOI. The more consistent you are with marketing, the more likely you are to build a business that can support you on an ongoing basis.
7. Celebrate each success.
It can be intimidating to restart your career, especially if you’ve been out of the game for a while. Rather than focusing on where you’re not, try focusing on where you are and each accomplishment that is leading you to your long-term goals.
McKissock Learning is the nation’s premier online real estate school, providing continuing education courses and professional development to hundreds of thousands of real estate agents across the country. As part of the Colibri Real Estate family of premier education brands, McKissock Learning, along with its sister schools Real Estate Express, Superior School of Real Estate, Allied Schools, The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Gold Coast Schools, The Rockwell Institute and Hondros Education Group, helps real estate professionals achieve sustainable success throughout each stage of their real estate career. Learn more at mckissock.com/real-estate.
