Have you ever thought about becoming a real estate mentor? As a real estate agent with many years of experience, mentoring another agent will not only positively impact them, but it will benefit you in ways you've never imagined. Teaching others how to persevere vs. just spinning their wheels will create incredible real estate agents in the future. Let's look at why you might want to provide guidance, as a mentor, to up-and-coming real estate professionals.

January is #NationalMentorMonth

Once in a while, I hear complaints about newly licensed real estate agents. "All they had to do was pass a test, and now they think they're going to make $1 million in commission this year." Although that's unrealistic, some agents do make incredible profits after only a few years as real estate agents.   Newly licensed agents don't have real estate experience and need help setting and achieving their real estate goals. That's where you come in, the sought-after, experienced real estate professional.  

You've perfected your craft as a real estate professional, and now you have a chance to change the life of another agent by sharing your experiences. Passing down the real estate knowledge you've gained over the years will help a new agent build a strong base for a successful career. Your real estate expertise can help them in many ways, including the following:

• Build confidence
• Develop discipline
• Professional/personal life balance

Scheduling

Create a schedule with your mentoree so you can dedicate a specific amount of time to them each day, week, or month. A plan will help them develop discipline, which will carry over into their real estate career.

As you share your knowledge and the lessons you've learned, leave time for the agent to ask questions. When the mentoree asks questions, they not only learn more but are more likely to retain the information you've shared.   

• Create a schedule together
• Share experiences
• Answer questions
• Support their efforts
• Encourage job shadowing
• Share your routines
• Set up a 90-day review

Listening Skills

As you provide guidance, practice good listening skills. Let your student tell you about their experience in the industry, goals, challenges, and any areas where they feel they need the most help. Their input will help you determine where you need to focus your attention to help them grow. You may learn your student's late father was a real estate agent who shared extensive knowledge about cold calling. Instead of wasting a lot of time on this skill, focus on other skills you feel need to be developed.

"The people with the most potential are the ones who 

know they have a lot to learn."

Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist

Empower Them

Praise is essential, but showing them how to do things better is most empowering. Instead of saying they did a great job reaching out to a lead they were unable to make contact with, encourage them to reach out 8 more times and communicate to them why that's most effective. This will give them direction and promote growth, independence, confidence in their abilities, and make them more effective as a real estate agent.

As you mentor over many months, you will likely develop a friendship. The mentoree will feel a higher level of trust, comfort, and respect between the two of you. You'll find yourself celebrating the mentoree's successes, like landing a listing, and propelling your student into even more extraordinary accomplishments.  

Benefits to You

• Becoming more of an expert
• Introduction to new opportunities
• Others may seek you out as a mentor

As you share information and nurture this new real estate agent, you will find yourself becoming more of an expert. Your motivation will increase, you will hone in on the most essential bits of knowledge from years in the field and positively influence your student. Their questions may spur you to revisit a lead nurturing technique, for example, you share with them but haven't used in a while.

As you share your knowledge, you also increase the likelihood of being introduced to opportunities you otherwise would not have had. For example, your network of professionals will likely expand as you are introduced to your student's contacts.  Use these connections to help spur the mentoree's growth as you teach them how to nurture their SOI.

As you mentor more and more people, you may find others seeking you out as an industry expert. Mentoring may even become a niche part of your business. Your career may evolve into opportunities to collaborate with other experts, invitations to speak at real estate conferences, and you may find yourself training others to become mentors. The options are endless.

Conclusion

Being a real estate mentor could change the life of an agent who only knows the basics and is new to the industry. Sharing your expert real estate knowledge can jump-start their career and benefit you in more ways than you could ever imagine. If a new agent joins your agency, reach out to see if they would be interested in mentorship. You could change someone's life for the better, and, in turn, they might find themselves mentoring someone else in the years ahead.  Pay it forward.