Succeeding in the real estate industry is no mean feat. Statistics show that 85% of real estate agents fail within their first five years as property investment professionals. Interestingly, lack of mentorship is one of the most significant reasons several realtors fail to reach their potential.
A real estate mentor provides the guidance, tutoring, and support that budding real estate professionals need to navigate a complex sector. Most successful real estate investors are often products of extensive mentorship programs.
Unfortunately, despite the invaluable importance of investing in real estate mentoring, several newbie realtors still don't know why they need a mentor or how to find one.
If you're unsure how a real estate mentor can help you succeed in the industry, we've put together this article to outline the benefits of real estate mentorship and the steps to find the right real estate mentor. Let's dive in!
What Is a Real Estate Mentor?
Real Estate mentors are typically seasoned professionals who offer guidance and training to younger and inexperienced investors (usually called mentees) to aid their professional growth and help them reach their career goals faster.
Due to their role as career tutors, you can also loosely refer to a real estate mentor as a real estate coach.
A real estate mentor is often an experienced investor with a wealth of knowledge, decades of industry practice, and a track record of success under their belt. From this depth of expertise, they can tutor a protege and help them reach the top of their real estate career.
Most mentees mirror the methods and techniques of their mentors to enable them to achieve the same results. Since you'll likely shadow your prospective mentor, it helps to choose one in the same investment field as you.
Why Do You Need a Real Estate Mentor?
Real estate mentors are invaluable assets to budding property investment professionals. Whether you're into residential or commercial real estate investing, here are some vital reasons why you need a mentor:
1. Mentors Offer Invaluable Industry Knowledge and Insights
Experienced investors have likely seen it all in the real estate industry. They've encountered the diverse highs and lows that come with working as a property investment professional and have worked with different kinds of clients on multiple types of deals.
Therefore, they possess invaluable knowledge and experience that a newbie realtor lacks. As a mentee, you can benefit from having access to this vast wealth of knowledge.
Your real estate mentor can offer advice on navigating the complexities in the industry, limiting your chances of repeating the same mistakes they made. They're also available to answer your industry-specific questions, ensuring that you don't venture into the market with confusion.
As a mentee under a seasoned investor, you have a significant edge over realtors who don't possess a mentor.
2. Mentors Can Help You Navigate the Local Market
When choosing a mentor, Opting for local real estate investors with experience in your neighborhood or state is often advisable.
These individuals possess in-depth knowledge about the ins and outs of the local real estate market and can provide guidance on navigating the local terrain.
An experienced local real estate agent has insights into market trends and the best investment strategy to apply in your neighborhood.
They also know the type of commercial and rental properties that move the market. Without their guidance, you may need decades to learn these details independently.
3. Mentors Can Help You Build Your Network
Budding real estate professionals only know a few agents in the industry, and a complex sector like real estate is incredibly challenging to navigate with limited contacts.
However, real estate mentors typically have extensive connections (including other agents, customers, home inspectors, loan officers, etc) from years of practice in the industry.
Novice investors can gain access to these connections via their relationship with their coaches.
Access to these individuals also increases the number of opportunities newbie realtors are exposed to. For instance, if you intend to major in residential real estate, your mentor can connect you with clients that you would have otherwise needed extensive marketing efforts to access.
4. Mentors Can Offer Support and Feedback
The real estate sector is quite competitive and complicated. Newbie realtors will likely encounter numerous challenges as they kickstart their journey. Without support and encouragement, these challenges can seem overwhelming.
However, with a mentor, you have someone who believes in you and will motivate you to succeed. A great mentor will also provide feedback on your ideas and decisions.
As a budding agent, you're full of innovative ideas and plans. However, you don't know everything, and your choices may not always be spot-on. Your real estate investing mentor can provide feedback on specific steps you want to take.
These suggestions could keep you on the right path if you were on your way to a career pitfall.
However, support in real estate mentorship isn't a one-way street. While your real estate mentor supports and guides you, ensure you also provide value, especially if you're an intern or apprentice.
5. Mentors Can Help You Develop a Marketing Strategy
Investing in real estate isn't exactly straightforward, and novice agents often have to use trial and error to find the investment strategy that works best for them.
They could take years and numerous failures before finding the ideal type of property and strategy that fits them.
In contrast, a real estate investing mentor (especially one who's an expert in the local market) can offer counsel on the best investment method to guarantee long-term success. A great real estate mentor will also hold your hand and show you how to implement your strategy and get results.
6. Mentors Can Teach You How to Close Deals
Negotiation is an invaluable skill in closing real estate deals, and it could make or break your career. Aside from negotiation, you also need some vital traits to seal real estate transactions, such as the ability to read people and understand their needs.
These skills usually take years to develop. However, understudying with a good real estate mentor can help you develop these traits faster, as you'll likely assist them on investment deals and experience real-life scenarios of these skills in action.
Types of Real Estate Mentorship
Mentorship in the real estate business exists in many forms. Before finding a mentor, it helps to know the different types of real estate mentorship to determine which system suits you. Here are the most common mentorship programs in the property investment sector:
1. One-on-one Mentorship
A one-on-one mentorship program involves understudying under one mentor. It's an excellent mentorship system, as your real estate mentor can focus on you precisely without splitting his time between multiple mentees.
Another advantage of one-on-one mentoring is that it allows you and your real estate coach to personalize the mentor-mentee relationship to fit your individual preferences and schedules.
You can opt for one-time monthly meetings or a mentorship program where you meet multiple times monthly.
2. Group Mentorship
Otherwise called mastermind groups, group mentorship programs involve learning alongside several mentees under one or multiple real estate mentors. A mastermind group can feature as many as ten real estate investors in a single locality.
Alternatively, property investment professionals from across the country or worldwide can work with a single mentor. This type of large-scale mentorship program can occur physically or via a virtual mastermind platform, such as Facebook groups.
Group mentorships allow you to grow your existing network, as you can connect with other real estate investors and glean from their experiences and knowledge. Budget-wise, this type of real estate mentoring is also significantly cheaper than one-on-one programs.
3. Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are one of the best ways to get hands-on experience in the real estate business. In most apprenticeships, new real estate agents work under an experienced investor as an administrative assistant.
Under this role, you'll handle administrative tasks for your mentor while working with them through real estate deals. Depending on your property investment coach, you may receive stipends for executing tasks on their behalf.
On the other hand, other real estate investing mentors take you through intense and hands-on training sessions throughout your internship/apprenticeship. Training schedules can include classes on real estate marketing technology, negotiation skills, writing contracts, lead generation, etc.
Regardless of the system you're under, you'll pick up valuable skills that will accelerate your investing career.
What to Look for in a Real Estate Mentor
Choosing a real estate investing coach is critical to your success in the property investment market. As such, it's not a decision to jump into hastily. Here are some qualities to look for while searching for your real estate mentor:
1. Experience and Track Record of Success
Experience is the most crucial trait to look for in a potential mentor. Your real estate investing mentor should have been in the industry long enough to provide the insights and guidance you need to succeed.
Alongside experience, it's also vital to consider success records. You need a mentor who has proven their worth in the industry with a pattern of successful deals.
A successful and experienced realtor can more likely show you how to replicate the success they've achieved. However, we'd recommend opting for a seasoned mentor who's still an active investor instead one who has retired.
While a retired agent or investor may seem like a good fit, the real estate investing industry constantly evolves. As a result, several trends may have changed since a retired realtor hung their boots.
An active investor will likely understand the current market better than one who is no longer selling or buying properties.
That said, you don't necessarily need to find a world-renowned active investor. You can search for a local real estate investor with a proven success record in your neighborhood.
2. Expertise and Skillset
When signing up for a real estate mentorship program, it's best to opt for a mentor in a specific real estate area, particularly the one you're interested in.
In other words, if you intend to focus on residential investment properties, choose a residential real estate agent or investor as your mentor.
Picking a mentor with expertise in a defined property investment field guarantees that you're understudying an individual with the knowledge, skills, and experience you need to succeed.
However, when considering your mentor's expertise, you need to look for some defined qualities invaluable to your professional growth. Ideally, it would be best if you opted for a real estate mentor that:
- Possesses in-depth knowledge of the local real estate market, including asset classes and tenant profiles, to guide you on the best investment opportunities.
- Understands real estate tax laws and the strategies to reduce taxable income via a 1031 exchange, depreciation deductions, and mortgage and operating cost deductions.
- Has excellent people skills, especially expert communication and negotiation traits.
- Possesses extensive knowledge of real estate metrics, such as cap rate, internal rate of return (IRR), cash flow, cash-on-cash return, operating expenses rate, and occupancy rate.
Aside from these qualities, we also recommend opting for a mentor who understands your investment and financial goals, as they'll be in the best position to steer you toward your objectives.
3. Willingness to Share Knowledge
An investor may be experienced and skilled, but what if they aren't willing to guide you or don't have the passion to? A mentor's passion for coaching you determines how invested they'll be in helping you succeed.
As such, the right mentor for you is the individual who's completely willing to share their knowledge and expertise to help you thrive as an agent.
4. Availability
Availability is non-negotiable in a real estate mentorship program. As your coach, your mentor should be available to provide guidance when needed. It shouldn't be challenging to contact them when you require professional advice.
Of course, this fact doesn't mean they should be accessible 24/7. Your mentor would likely have a busy schedule since they're also a real estate professional. Regardless, they should make time to tutor you regularly out of their busy schedule.
5. Communication Style
Mentorship involves consistent communication. You'll ask questions and seek advice from your mentor on professional issues. They'll also provide feedback and guidance on your career/investment decisions.
Since you'll spend a significant amount of time interacting with your real estate mentor, it's best to opt for a mentor that you share a similar communication style with. This trait ensures that there are no gaps in communication.
Communication also involves active listening. Your mentor should be willing and patient enough to pay attention to your inquiries. This way, they can provide the ideal counsel for any situation.
How to Find a Real Estate Mentor
Numerous opportunities to find the right property investment mentor exist. Whether you're looking for free coaching or paid mentorship programs, you can get an experienced mentor through the following avenues:
1. Join Your Local Real Estate Associations
Local real estate associations provide the best opportunities to find a potential mentor. These organizations typically have diverse members (including newbie investors and industry leaders) from various sectors of the real estate industry.
The diversity in membership gives you access to extensive real estate market knowledge and experience, especially in the local sector.
If you're unsure which real estate association to join in your city or state, your local Real Estate Investment Association (REIA) is an excellent place to start.
You can search your neighborhood REIA on Google if you don't know where to find this organization. After joining your local REIA, you should attend events regularly and network with other real estate agents.
By taking advantage of networking opportunities in your neighborhood association, you can meet successful realtors with the skills and experience in your field who fit the bill as prospective professional coaches.
Interacting with realtors in your local association also helps you learn from other investors and industry experts. These individuals may not be your real estate mentor, but they have valuable bits of experience that can enhance your professional career.
Beyond local associations, we recommend joining the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and other national property investment bodies. These national real estate organizations can grant you access to a vast network of thriving realtors from different US states and real estate markets.
2. Attend Industry Events
Industry events, especially seminars and conferences, are another invaluable avenue to find real estate mentors.
Of course, professional events hosted by your local REIA and other neighborhood organizations are the first place to start if you intend to search for mentors via industry conferences and exhibitions.
However, don't limit yourself to your city or state. Aside from local networking events, you should also attend real estate conventions organized in other states and at the national level. These meetups and seminars typically feature expert investors and realtors as keynote speakers.
Not only can you learn a lot about the local and national real estate market from the lectures of these industry experts, you can also spot potential coaches among them. Remember to search for potential mentors at these events based on skills and experience relevant to your professional goals and real estate field.
3. Leverage Social Media Groups and Forums
Social media is the easiest way to build your professional network today. Several online groups exist on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, where you can meet market leaders and successful realtors nationwide and globally.
The Real Estate Marketing Network, Lab Coat Agents, Raise the Bar in Real Estate, and the National Association of Realtors' Facebook group are some Facebook forums where you can connect with expert real estate brokers, investors, and agents and discover a potential professional mentor.
If networking events are inconvenient for you due to your schedule or location, these platforms provide avenues to connect with coaches from your home or office.
4. Reach Out to Your Existing Contacts
Whether you're a newbie realtor or you've been in the industry, you likely have a network of clients, agents, and brokers.
If you're struggling to find a mentor through one of the above avenues, you can ask anyone from your contacts to recommend an expert property investment professional who can serve as a career coach.
Don't forget to be specific about your professional goals and needs so they can tailor their suggestions to fit what you want.
You'll get a handful of suggestions that you can filter through to find your ideal mentor.
How to Get the Best Out of a Real Estate Mentorship
Mentorship is invaluable to your success as a real estate professional. However, it's possible to work with a mentor and not get the most out of the experience.
A significant amount of effort is required on your part to maximize mentorship programs. On that note, here are a few ways to make the best of mentorship in real estate:
1. Determine Your Professional and Financial Objectives
Before searching for a mentor, you need to clarify what you want to achieve as a real estate professional. Your professional goals will provide direction on who's the best fit to offer you mentorship.
2. Ask Questions and Take Notes
Mentorship is all about learning. As such, you should leverage the opportunity to ask your mentor questions. Ensure you're reaping the benefits of extensive access to your mentor's experience and industry knowledge by learning as much as possible about the real estate market. Don't also forget to take notes at every mentorship class or meeting.
3. Implement
Your mentor will regularly provide feedback and recommendations. Follow through on these pieces of advice by implementing them. Don't sit back and take notes alone. Practice everything you're learning from your professional coach.
An effective way to practice in mentorship is to shadow your mentor's investment and professional strategies. This way, you can replicate their results and success.
Conclusion
Mentorship is critical to success in an industry as complex as real estate. However, finding a mentor can be challenging if you're just starting out as a realtor.
Fortunately, we've provided actionable tips to help you search for the ideal professional coach for your career in this guide. Implementing these strategies is a sure-fire path toward a successful property investment career.
Do you need help finding a mentor as a novice real estate investor? Join Ador SEO's Real Estate Marketing Network to connect with real estate brokers, agents, investors, and other thought leaders in the property investment sector in America today. Grow your network and learn proven investment strategies and marketing techniques from colleagues across diverse real estate markets. It's an opportunity you don't want to pass up. Click the link and join the group now!
