You may not think so at the moment, but this is actually a golden time for you. You're not slammed, and you have time to get smart. So pick a neighborhood you want to sell in. Spend 2 hours a day a few days a week driving that neighborhood, viewing properties there and reviewing community and governing documents. 2 hours a day in CE classes and learning your paperwork/documents. 2 hours a day mailing, calling, visiting people you want to know you're in RE now--reaching out to your sphere. And 2 hours a day blogging and networking online. Do this 2 - 3 days a week to start. Don't think because you're not setting the world on fire, you're failing.  Another 1-2 days a week, ask your broker to direct you, or ask to shadow him/her or another top producer in the office. Be an unpaid assistant for a short while. You will gain in experience that way. So I've got you busy all the workweek. Another 1-2 days, start setting up a filing/organizational/CRM system. Before you know it, you'll be lamenting that you haven't time for anything! OH! And wear your name tag from your company and your R pin everywhere you go. If they don't have one, have one made.

While I am sure you will get a lot of advice about how to get business for yourself, I strongly believe in actually having something worthwhile (such as knowledge and experience) to offer the client, so I suggest learning the market and the contract. 

If you are in an area where previewing active listings is an accepted practice, do that.  A lot.  Go to open houses, go to broker opens, decide if you want to target a neighborhood or specific target market and if so, learn all you can about that. Learn the contract. Every single word.  I cannot tell you how many deals I have done with *experienced* agents who do not understand the contract. 

If you don't have listings but want to become effective at open houses, find an agent in your office with listings and ask to do one.  AFTER you have learned how to do them effectively - and you learn by watching and talking to other agents.

Attend any training you can;  much of it won't be worthwhile, but there are nuggets to take away from any training. 

Figure out what kind of agent you want to be by observing others.  There are a million different ways to get business and a million different ways to serve that business.  Figure out how you will be different or what you have to offer. 

Unless you are fresh out of school, do you have any kind of experience that you can leverage in the real estate industry? 

Peruse this website and soak up the plethora of experience, advice and information offered here by thousands of successful agents across the country. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call some of them!  

I understand you want to get business and start making money;  here's the funny thing, when you are out there in the world, creating activity and learning, you will find that you will run into a lot of people who will naturally want to talk about real estate. Be prepared to do just that!  

When I first started out, I would find myself in my own neighborhood, walking my dog and ending up in conversations about the real estate market with my neighbors.  NOT about me, but about the market and the neighborhood market specifically.  Because I knew the market, even as a newbie, I sounded knowledgable and soon, I was known as the "real estate lady" to some folks.  No one ever asked how long I had been in the business because I sounded knowledgable and confident.  

And THAT is how you attract business to yourself. Good luck!!

I strongly recommend that you do not start to follow T Guru Party ... what the top trainers and coaches teach and train ... which equates to begging for business.  Sit down with your broker and pick their  brain, find a mentor, learn the contracts, study your market so you are prepared when you have a prospective client.

open houses are great - come from contribution - follow up and offer them other listings and information

Good morning Steve. Blog like crazy, join at least one networking group and build your social media presence.

Write tons of neighborhood blog posts, become the neighborhood expert.

Spend everyone of those 8 to 16 hours per day doing some kind of marketing.

If money is short then you may be amazed at how effective 8 hours of door knocking can be.

If you have a badge, wear it.  Call everyone you know and tell them you just got your license and need their help.  Who do they know that is talking about moving?  Then call those people.

Welcome Steve. I think you should find a mentor, try to team up with someone or try being an assistant to an experienced agent. Stick with it and you will be rewarded.

Get out and meet people and ask for the business. This is a people business and you have to build your business by adding people to your database. Have you a system in place to stay in touch with them?

I started out educating myself in my own neighborhood. I looked at different subdivisions, I called and scheduled previewing appointments to see what the inventory was. I spoke to neighbors, family, and friends, gave them information on homes in the neighborhood, and price ranges and I even did a few tours with them. One of my neighbors had a family member moving into town and we ended up writing an offer on the property down the street. My other neighbor was relocated due to a job and I got to list that home. You have to start somewhere and I chose to start closest to home. Venture out from there. I even picked up a buyer who pulled up to a home for sale that I just happened to open to preview. I always ask right off the bat if their realtor knew they were driving around looking at homes because its our job to open them and if they liked this house they needed to call their realtor. They told me they didn't have a realtor and were just looking around. I gave them my card and the flyer to the house. Thought nothing of it and they called me a week later wanting to look at other houses in the area. Another sale just from previewing homes and talking to people. 

Talk to people you know, you may be surprise...

Hi Steve,

Check with your local newspaper and see if they would allow you to submit consumer education articles. I do this and generally get some good quality leads from each article. The newspaper is in print and also can be accessed on line.

Also, a realtor friend of mine uses $15 per week to go to several businesses and chat with the owners; spending a little at each place. He is doing very well.

Get to know a loan originator. You can both help each other with information and referrals.

Wear shirts with your company name on them. It gives people something to start a conversation with you about.    

I concur with all the other advice here AND get to blogging as much as possible.  The one blog post I see for you was great.  Do more of that.  Daily, if possible.  Blog about real estate advice, listings, neighborhoods, your city, events... whatever.  Just keep blogging.  To be found by the public from ActiveRain, you need to become a Rainmaker.  That's when blogging is going to actually benefit you.  Blogging is the most cost effective and long term form of lead generation by far.  

Wishing you much success, Steve!

friends and family!

Did you attend new agent training with your company? If not, see what is available through your local board of Realtors.  In the meantime talk to everyone you know, not about yourself until they ask.  Show an interest in others and they will usually reciprocate.

If you are not on the phone, knock on doors. Knowing everything about your neighborhood won't help if you canxt convey that knowledge to a potential client

 Good morning Steve. It seems as if you have gotten a lot of good answers.

Steve Anderson - simplest thing is, approach your closest people! You'll be surprised how easy it is to grow your business just from your sphere of influence.

your circle of friends.  start there.  Call them.

There is a lot of great information posted here.  

Candice has some great advice. 

You may find it very worthwhile to invest some of your research time looking at the websites of perhaps 25 different realtors.  Make notes of what works and doesn't about their photos, their home page layout, the topics they cover, how readable, how approachable.  This can help you enormously in choosing what to put in your own website.  Being positive and respectful are two useful criteria for reviewing what you have there.  I wish you enormous success.

 There are many great answers here and it was smart to get on AR. Talk to as many people as you can, get a mentor, learn your neighborhood, get in touch with a good lender and read the blogs here. Get your name out there. And most of all, don't give up.

the best advice anyone can give you is to find a real estate office that offers mentoring and training.....you can't do this business on a "wing and a prayer".... if they don't offer training and a mentor where you are, pack it up and get out fast.... 

 Most agents do not close a single deal during 1st year. 80% drop out the following year.  Talk to your broker, new agents, relatives.... 

I advise to most. Do not quit your day time job until you are established. Many agents still have side jobs to make ends meet.

Does talking to people one-on-one scare you? If not, then get some comfortable shoes and start pounding the pavement talking to as many people each day as possible— or you can get on the phone, start dialing, and do the same.

If you don't like door knocking or talking on the phone, then I would suggest you blog and then hope and pray that people will see it and call you up and want you to help them buy or sell a home.

Doorknocking, holding open houses and brokers opens for other agents.  Make sure all your friends/family/former coworkers/frat brothers/families of ex girlfriends (assuming they still like you)/etc. know.  Look on Meetup for networking mixers, follow the local chamber of commerce for those as well.  Find a hiking/activity group and casually get to know people.  "Hey, what do you do for work?  Me, I'm a realtor!"  Heck, I almost got a client off of Plenty of Fish last year!

Sphere of influence.

Steve Anderson Start working with a mentor who can teach you the business. You may also look at your SOI (Sphere of Influence).

Build your sphere of influence (start with family and friends and then expand, expand, expand) and start sharing items of value (market reports, housing info, etc) with them on a frequent (1x/month) basis.

Find a mentor.  

You need a business plan, and daily schedule.  Work expires, fsbo's, open houses for other agents, and most important let everyone you know that you are in the business and ask them for referrals.

parked and reading

Call you list of SOI (sphere of influence) your family, friends and previous co-workers.  Get them to give you names or number of people they know buyer or selling.

Write a boatload of handwritten notes to everyone you know and include your card. 

Calling everyone yo know and ask if anyone they know is looking to buy or sell

Face to face contacts constant email contacts with everybody in your database.