When you’re starting out as a real estate agent, it’s important to set some goals for yourself so that you have something to aim for while you work. Of course, expecting to sell every property under the sun is a bit unrealistic, so you want to make sure the goals you set for yourself are achievable, while also providing a good challenge for you to dig your teeth into.

Your key goals should be based on selling properties and trying to achieve higher rates with each sale. Let’s take a look at some good goals to start with, which will give you a foundation to build on.

Five properties in one year

When you start out, you won’t have the advantage of experience in terms of reputation, which means you’ll find that your client list is quite small. Also, if you work as part of an agency, you will find that you get to keep some of the less desirable properties, while the better ones go to people who have proven themselves in the industry.

This doesn’t mean you should get discouraged and not put in the work. Set yourself a goal of selling five properties outright during the course of your first year. Take the time to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each property you work with and experiment with ways to turn this to your advantage and attract the buyer’s attention. With that foundation, you can raise the goal on a few properties each year, until people start to notice.

go for the average

Through your research, you should be able to discover the average price a property like the one you are dealing with sells for. This should be your goal in your early years. Many novice real estate agents panic when they sell a property for slightly below market price, but this is to be expected when you are just starting out.

The important thing is that you take the experience of these first sales and apply it to the newer ones. Your goal should be to reach the median sales price within two years, to demonstrate that you are learning and that your experiences show you what customers want from a home.

understand what you want

The real estate industry can take up your entire life if you’re not careful, so it’s important to understand exactly what you want from the industry and build your goals around that. For many people, this means earning a certain amount of money. If that sounds like you, set up a long-term plan with milestones for each year, with the goal of earning the amount of money you set out to earn for that year.

Others may want to ensure they maintain a proper work-life balance, and should set their goals accordingly. Bottom line, you need to know what you want before you set goals for yourself.