Brandon Baca, aka “Coach Baca,” Founder and CEO of Ten Oaks Real Estate, has been areal estate agent for fifteen years and has been coaching people on how to become a successful real estate agent for the last decade.
1. What does a day in the life of a real estate agent look like?
A real estate agent wears three hats. One of them is business development – figuring out how to get people to use you as their real estate agent. The second one is customer service – showing houses, listing houses, negotiating contracts, etc. And the third hat is transaction management. You’re running “air traffic control” for the transaction – title companies, lenders, mortgage companies – you’re arranging all that stuff. You progressively take off one hat at a time. But your number one job is to figure out how to get people to use you as their real estate agent.
2. How do real estate agents best manage their time?
If you really want to build a business, you have to create rhythms, routines, and rituals to your days and your weeks – that is what’s going to move you forward in the business.
3. How do you begin a career as a real estate agent?
First, you have to go to real estate school – that’s roughly 90 hours of education. You can do it online or in a classroom setting. Once you’re finished, you’ll take a PSI exam. After you become a licensed real estate agent, you have to sign on with a brokerage for at least two to three years. A lot of brokerages are a legal entity with a little bit of training and a few classes. We’re first about agent success at Ten Oaks. We dig in with our agents and
help them build a plan to become successful in a way that fits their lives.
Tips from “Coach Baca”
1. Understand that as soon as you get a real estate license, you're starting a business. The more you see yourself as a business, the better decisions you'll make.
2. Your number one job is business development. You must spend your most focused energy on generating new business.
3. Make sure your clients have proper expectations for buying or selling. The more they understand the process, and the fewer surprises during the transaction, the more likely you are to get repeat business and referrals.
4. Don't be a salesperson. Be an educator.
