This article will shake everything about your choice to sell real estate as a newbie and will expose the reality of practising real estate consultants like myself. As a trainer and coach for real estate consultants, I find it amusing to share these uncommon yet challenging truths about our journey in this field.
Before we dive in, here is the best article you’ll see online about starting your journey as a realtor/real estate consultant in Nigeria. Read it here.
Commercial Break:
I am Eze Maximus Chukwujindu. I am a real estate sales trainer with 5+ years of experience. I help realtors build a $1B+ annual sales brand.
My team and I at Win Realty and Win Business School have successfully trained 300+ satisfied clients in the last 5 years
Let me save you some time and heartache. If you’re thinking of becoming a Realtor because you saw someone on Instagram driving a G-Wagon and holding a “Just Sold” sign, pump the brakes. I’ve been in this business for a few years now, and I’m here to give you the unfiltered, no-BS version of what this career is really like.
Being a Realtor is Hard
80% of new agents are gone within 2 years. Why? This is not a job, but rather a business. There’s no salary, no sick days, and no health insurance. It’s commission-only, which means if you don’t close, you don’t eat. Most people don’t have the discipline, savings, or stomach for that.
You’ll be Alone.
Nobody trusts you in the beginning. Your friends and family will say they support you only when there are traces of success looming. It hurts, and it happens more than you think. You have to prove yourself before anyone gives you a shot, which means cold calling, door knocking, begging for referrals, and hearing “no” more times than you can count.
Mental strength is a non-negotiable for every real estate consultant/realtor if you must thrive and be successful. The framework that will help you start and never look back on this journey is DNPT – Decide, Network, Partner & Team
D – Decide that selling real estate is what you want to do for life.
N – Make networking your next best activity. Your network will determine how far and how enjoyable this career will be for you. Become a people person.
P- Partnership is very close to networking, but it’s not. Partnership serves as a network that yields specific benefits for all parties involved. Partner with great people, like media companies, real estate companies, other realtors, etc. This is where your business will start to experience some scale.
T – Team. You need to build a team immediately after you begin to figure out this real estate sales thing. Your team will provide you with the support and ability to reach new heights.
Sadly, you’re in Business now.
You’re not selling homes; you’re running a full-blown business. You’re the marketer, the social media manager, the customer service rep, the negotiator, the transaction coordinator, the accountant, and more. If you don’t have the money to outsource those tasks, guess what? You’re doing all of them. And most of your day will be spent doing everything except showing homes.
As a realtor/real estate consultant who’s setting up for success, learning about everything will help you so much in this business. As I outlined above, you have a lot on your hands, including property inspections. Do not fear. Learn to learn and keep learning.
Selling is for the Strong
It takes months (sometimes years) to make consistent money. Let’s say you do get listings. Congrats. You’ll work your ass off staging it, marketing it, holding inspections, and then it sells. That one check? It needs to last, because you might not close another deal for a while (not my prayer for you).
But this is the reality for many, especially those who refuse to pay for learning or paid coaching. Their journey will be longer and more painful.
In all, be ready to grind it out for every sale to happen until you gain stability and become an attractive “investment advisor.”
Bye to Work-Life Balance
Your time is never your own. Forget weekends. Forget holidays. Forget relaxing nights. Buyers and sellers want your attention on their schedule. And if you’re not responsive? They’ll move on to the next agent who is. Real estate isn’t concerned about your work-life balance.
I personally strongly advocate against prioritizing work-life balance outside of your professional responsibilities. Your work should be your life until balance is sustained. As a real estate consultant/realtor, you are to focus on making the business work first.
If it demands your time all day, give it gladly, even if you’re tired!
Your Mental Health though!
The emotional rollercoaster is savage. You may spend months nurturing a client, only for them to suddenly stop communicating with you at the last moment. You’ll have to be a therapist, a firefighter, and a miracle worker—daily. This situation is not even funny.
Selling real estate will test the last of your resolve, and if you don’t break, then the world is yours for taking.
One of the ways I recommend to my mentees to stay mentally agile, stable, and ready at almost all times is to sanitize their environments of the wrong energy vampires. Be quick to let go of one if they mistakenly creep into your mind.
You Must love Competition
The real estate sales industry in Nigeria is the biggest informal employer of labour. The market is oversaturated. Everyone and their cousin is a Realtor now, and only a small percentage of them are doing meaningful volume. It’s a noisy, hyper-competitive space where people will undercut you just to get a sale.
If you’re coming in to play the low- or mid-level game, you’ll be wiped out easily. The cake is big enough for everyone, but you must compete strategically to have a share. This world is warlike.
You have to consistently arm yourself with the right tools, knowledge, and strategy at all times to have your fair share of the pie.
And then, A.I.
And here’s the reality: AI is targeting all weak agents. If you think this job is about opening doors and filling out contracts, you’re already replaceable. AI is getting better by the day—automating paperwork, analyzing property data, writing listing descriptions, and even doing showings virtually.
Agents lacking unique value, deep market knowledge, and people skills will become obsolete in a few years. AI doesn’t require sleep, it doesn’t require a commission, and it consistently follows up.
Therefore, if you are considering entering this field because you believe it offers quick money, easy sales, or is simply a “fun” job, reconsider your decision. This business is a meat grinder, and most of you won’t make it.
However, if you are truly passionate about real estate, exceptionally resilient, and prepared to sacrifice time, money, and comfort to create something substantial, then this field may be for you. Then maybe—just maybe—you’ve got a shot. I’ve created a course to assist you in effectively beginning your real estate sales journey in Nigeria. Enroll immediately
For everyone else, stick to watching Selling Sunset. It’s safer.
