It is estimated that up to 87 percent of real estate agents fail within the first few years of getting started in this business. However, the average income of a real estate agent in the United States is more than $46,000, and many top producers earn more than $100,000 per year. With this in mind, you can see that there is great money available in real estate. Learning how to grow your business early in the process can help you to avoid becoming a statistic in this field.

Invest Heavily in Marketing and Advertising

Many new real estate agents have very limited funds available to devote to marketing, but it is nonetheless important to contribute to marketing if you want to grow your business. Marketing creates leads, and your effort may be well worth the investment. Once you get those leads it is important to keep you and your services at the top of the leads mind. You can achieve this by creating a drip marketing campaign. You may need some startup capital to get started, and you should plan to spend at least ten percent of future commissions on marketing as well.

Focus on Free or Affordable Marketing

While you need to spend money on marketing in various ways, you also need to maximize the use of free or cheap marketing. For example, host open houses for other agents in your office to get some leads. Schedule time to do phone duty as much as possible. Set up social media accounts for your business, and ask friends or family members to follow you and to spread the word about your services. You can also invest in a magnetic sign for your car that advertises your services. This turns your vehicle into a moving advertisement. A podcast is another popular idea. Your following may be minimal at first, but you can regularly expand this audience, and you can send recordings to others to list to later. Podcasts can position you as a true expert in the field and help you to earn business.

Stay in Touch With Your Contacts

You will meet many people through your regular activities, and you need to make an effort to keep in touch with them. Hiring an email marketing consultant is a great investment to make. Through email marketing, such as newsletters, you can enjoy regular communication with these individuals so that you stay at the front of their minds. This can lead to referrals as well as business directly from your established clients. You can also increase your number of contacts by getting out in the public eye more frequently. Attending trade shows, conferences and other industry events is helpful. You can also casually mention your business activities when talking to people you meet at the kids' schools, at personal dinner parties and more. Each person you come in contact with should be added to your email list for additional contact through planned marketing efforts.

Reach Out to Third Parties for Referrals

While your main clients may be home buyers and sellers, you can network to different industry professionals for referrals. For example, reaching out to home builders and developers can be productive. These individuals often have clients who need to sell their existing home, and they need a trusted agent to handle this process. Some people who are building a new home may also need to lease an interim home until the construction project is completed. Other ideas include networking with title companies, home inspectors, leasing agents and others.

Your success as a real estate agent is directly linked to your profitability. This means that you must be successful at generating leads as well as converting those leads to clients and ultimately to closed deals. Because the first step in the process is to generate leads, it is necessary to fully exhaust all opportunities available to you. This includes through various paid and free marketing options. Consider incorporating some of these tips to your current activities to increase your leads soon. With proper effort, you may notice a significant increase in your profitability in the near future.