An agent types on a laptop working on a real estate business plan.

Create an Effective Real Estate Business Plan in Only 8 Simple Steps

All successful real estate professionals begin their career with a well thought-out and crafted business plan.

This beginning step is essential for agents looking to thrive in the profession, because it allows you to anticipate potential problems, estimate cost, determine best marketing practices and, in the end, make money.

Unfortunately, some agents jump in without first organizing their plan of action, which more often than not results in failure.

The Path to Success

As a real estate agent, you will have to juggle a variety of important tasks, like scheduling appointments, keeping track of calls, leads and customers, and building a database of clients.

Without a business plan, agents lack day-to-day organization and are more likely to become overwhelmed as important tasks fall through the cracks.

The real estate business plan is the backbone of your business. It’s imperative that you create and follow it. But it may surprise you that there are only eight basic steps to master to create a successful real estate business plan.

But Before You Start…

You won’t be able to even begin crafting your plan until you’ve done some careful research and analysis. You should familiarize yourself with your local market through industry reports and real estate news outlets. You should also look into your competition to identify ways to differentiate yourself and see what has and hasn’t worked for others in your market.

You can begin by finding the answers to some basic questions:

  • How many homes are being sold in your area?
  • How do home sales and prices fluctuate from month to month?
  • How many agents there are in your market?
  • What separates you from them?

The Biggest Mistake Agents Make

The biggest mistake you can make when devising a business plan is to set unrealistic expectations for yourself. This is why research is so important: it gives you perspective on the market and what kind of attainable short-term and long-term goals to set for yourself.

Remember, you can always adjust your business plan along the way, but creating a plan now sets you up to achieve your goals later.

Are you ready to learn the eight steps to creating a successful real estate business plan? Then check out AgentEDU’s course series called Creating a Business Plan, Parts 1 and 2—which along with our other 70 courses on our platform—is available to you for one low monthly price when you sign up for the program.

See also our free downloadable resource, the Real Estate Agent’s Business Plan Template for Top Producers, which you can use as a valuable boilerplate to get you started in the right direction with your business plan.


AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.

A young employee helps a couple with a form

How to Turn One Client Relationship into A Flood of Referrals

Learn how to turn your happy clients into lucrative lead sources that supply you with business for years to come.

Sometimes, your work speaks for itself. Other times, your clients will speak for you. The agents who build successful referral networks know how to get their clients to talk.

Just Being a “People Person” Isn’t Enough

Your professional image and personality are two big reasons clients will decide to work with you, and are important in your business, but being likable isn’t enough to earn you the kind of recommendations that will be profitable for you.

You’ll need to prove to your clients, through every interaction and every step of the home buying or -selling process, that you’re someone they want to stay in touch with.

You may think that simply calling to check in with past clients once in a while, or friending them on Facebook, will be enough to keep them thinking about you. In reality, it’s not that simple. Understanding when and how to reach out to keep client connections open is an art, one that agents who enjoy robust referral business learn to master early on.

There are many channels at your disposal. It’s up to you to know which will be appropriate (and appreciated!) with any individual client.

Be Remembered

 To be someone your clients will recommend to their friends, you’ll need to build trust and provide service so memorable they’ll think of you immediately. What do you offer that other agents can’t?

Maybe you’re a natural with luxury buyers. Maybe you specialize in a certain area or speak a language that makes you indispensable for a certain demographic of buyers. Or maybe you’ve simply found ways to make clients’ lives easier that they weren’t expecting.

Whatever your strengths are, your clients must know that you’re leveraging your skill set to the best of your ability and providing personal service based on their individual needs.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

 If you’ve done a great job and your clients are thrilled with the outcome, then they’ll probably be more than happy to recommend your services to others.

It’s nice when clients think of you and recommend you unprompted, but your clients are human. They’re going to move on with their lives (which will be busier immediately after buying or selling a home) and chances are they’ll need a nudge. Knowing when and how to tactfully ask for referrals is an important element of maintaining your agent-client relationship; the way that you ask is important, and you don’t want to make anyone feel pressured and leave things on the wrong note.

Are you confident in your ability to solicit referrals from your clients?


AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.