Recently I attended a business luncheon where I heard some astounding facts presented by the executive director of one of the largest local Realtor associations in the country. According to his research, there are an estimated three million real estate licensees in the United States. One million of them belong to a local, state, and National Association of Realtors.

Ready for this? Only an estimated 25 percent will sell one house or less their first year in this association! Does that surprise anyone? My guess is that statistic will hold up in associations around the country.

Does it raise any questions or concerns? We know going in that according to the National Association of Realtors, only about 15 percent of new agents have any sales background at all.

Many new agents will become worse off financially than they were when they started. Others will see their dreams crushed under realities they never saw coming.

Why?

I believe one of the reasons is that we tend to treat new sales agents – consciously or unconsciously- as they may be treated in a direct sales organization where sales people come and go and sales people are considered expendable.

Real sales skills training ranges from nil to not much in most offices. There are no training standards or minimums.

Agents are to follow the law and do business ethically. That’s fine and as it should be. But somewhere in their early days, they should be given intense sales skills training before they can meet the public.

Real estate agents are selling one of the most serious investments most people ever make. There is so much to learn in so little time. Broker-owners must provide enough training to protect their interests, or course. There may be training in contracts and what to do with escrow checks but where is the training that will actually help them make money?

“But we provide many hours of training for our agents” some might say. Great! Do you give them a certificate for perfect attendance? Or do they actually have to prove their skills? They can’t develop skills without practice and they must practice their skills correctly to become skilled. What percentage of your training addresses skills? I have seen a lot of training that has to do with completing forms and learning how to buy into the company’s technology.

Many agents believe that to be successful they need a laptop, an expensive contact system, and other gadgets right off the bat. I don’t agree. Hopefully, they will eventually need all of that and more, but my first suggestion always is to learn how to prospect and sell. Learn how to eliminate sales resistance to you and your services completely. Learn how to build sales acceptance totally and know where you are in that process. It is called “selling” and it’s a skill 85 percent of those entering the business do not have.

It is a complicated issue. We are dealing with independent businesses people here. But in our corporate hearts we know that their battle will be difficult, the odds long, and the needs great. Maybe it is time to open the forbidden door that leads to all those who tried and failed for whatever reason, face it head on, and address the fall-out rate which is known to very few.

Real estate is a sales business. New agents have a right to expect the industry to provide sales training. I know of no other sales organization that expects or provides so little in the way of learning to be a professional sales person.

NAR is to be commended for the professionalism it promotes and fosters. Realtors are accountable to do business within strong legal guideline and a code of ethics with teeth. Maybe it is time for NAR to address this issue with their goal being to reduce the fall-out rate by say 5 percent a year for the next five years, especially those who leave within the first ninety days. Relating those numbers to membership dues might be an incentive.

It is not a matter of designation or credit hours. It’s a matter of survival for many new agents. That is my opinion. What is yours?

Published: May 31, 2004

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David Fletcher has been a Florida licensed real estate broker and new homes sales and marketing consultant for 30 years. Along the way, he has sold more than $3 billion in new homes and condominium products for developers and builder/developers. He has been broker of record for 16 rental conversions and marketing consultant in 29 lender workouts for major communities and condominium projects, a featured speaker at the National Association of Realtors, and chaired the Florida Home Builder Association's Sales and Marketing Council. In 2008 he was named a 'Lifetime Achiever' by Keller Williams Realty's International Division. You may contact him at or call him at 407.234.2349.