One of the reasons I started my training company was because I realized agents needed a more consistent approach to training.
So many agents I’ve spoken with over the past year have felt lost & scared. Many shared with me that they are missing direction and not sure where to turn to get better support.
I’m not surprised. I’m sad…but not surprised.
Depending on which brokerage you join, depending on which province you took your training in, and depending on which board you are a member at, it is possible you are not going to receive a) any training at all or b) any progressive, ongoing career-building training. And this is critical to your real estate career success.
[To understand how training really works in real estate, please visit the bottom of this blog.]
Why should you care about your training?
1. Are the real estate training schools (where you must study to become an agent) properly preparing you to run your own business?
While I can only speak for the Ontario real estate agent training school, I’ve heard from other agents in other provinces that the training is similar, which is the basics you need to get started. Not nearly enough for you to be a good business owner and increase your chances of success.
2. You don’t know what you don’t know.
Training is the only way to grow and discover what you don’t know. But not just any training, training from people who are professionals in their field or area of expertise. So many agents learn from someone who they think knows what they are doing, but that person learned from someone else who really just copied someone else. Who says the 1st person that was copied was actually in the know?
3. Do you want to earn money and have a long-term career?
I’ll bet, yes. Take control of your training future. Be aware of how training works in our industry, be proactive, and absorb it all (from the right sources), which will lead you to even different training areas. The only time too much education is bad is if it stops you from actually taking action and you never implement what you learn. Information paralysis - is a real thing. Many entrepreneurs are afraid that they don’t know enough, so they don’t start or take action. Too much learning can cripple your chances of success as well. Training & real estate can be done at the same time. It’s not an either-or thing.
4. Take the easy path.
If you have the option to use materials/programs/ideas that are already created and save you time, money and energy (and they are from a trusted source with specific knowledge in that particular area): Do it. As agents, we need to look at our time/money trade-off. Our time is money, and trying to do things not within our area of expertise only ends up costing us MORE money.
I want more for our industry. I want clients to feel protected. I want more from the colleagues I deal with. I want better consistency. Most of all, I want you, the agent reading this, to succeed in this career. It’s not always easy being self-employed. Wouldn’t it be great if your career soared because you took the reins of your training path?
Additional real estate reading:
The real estate agent training path
To become a real estate agent, you have to go through a training program (aka schooling) which varies by province. Once complete, you are technically allowed to practice real estate and join a brokerage.
Each brokerage offers a different commitment or opinion on training.
To work at a brokerage, you need to belong to the local board (there may be a few exceptions)
You don’t have a choice in which board you join. I.e. In Toronto, there is only the Toronto Real Estate Board. So basically no competition or drive for them to be better or do more for their agents. Sure, idealistically, that would be the case. You would be surprised at how much it is NOT the case. Sadly I learned this recently myself:
For 17 years, I’ve been an agent with the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) . When I first became licensed, I looked to my board for help and support. I was a sponge, and I wanted to learn everything I possibly could. Unfortunately, the selection was slim, and the topics were not relevant (especially after I had already taken the 2 on repeat all the time)
Last summer, my assistant and I took their ‘new agent’ training course. I wanted to see if, maybe, after 16 years, things had improved.
Sadly they had not. Nor had the selection.
As the largest board in Canada, I had hoped they would have a different and more proactive view of training. After some recent discussions with them, I learned that the person in charge of training is a volunteer and a full-time broker (running a business). This was a surprise since other (not as large boards) have full-time employees dedicated to member training.
Most of the boards offer training to their agents. Some offer more (and better) training and view that additional service to their members (agents) as a great thing.
For some bizarre reason, the boards have to be careful not to step on the toes of brokerage owners and their training.
This is what really blows my mind, and here’s why:
Training is not a one-stop shop. People learn differently, and they pick things up differently from different trainers. I know some brokerages want to offer training as a recruitment tool, which is great. If a brokerage’s training is so good, there is no need to worry about what the board offers and if it’s similar. At the end of the day, we should all want the same thing: a better level of professionalism from agents. THIS is the greater good. And this is how it can help:
Improve the public’s perception of our industry
Increase professionalism between offices & brokerages
Reduce the number of complaints to our regulatory boards
Improve relationships between agents so better deals are done
Remove skepticism from both the public and agents working together
More clarity
Better client experiences
Less fraud and dirty deals
More pricing stabilization