This article provides a step-by-step guide to the process of getting a commercial real Estate license. Commercial property has become increasingly important to the real estate industry in recent years, due in part to the unique properties that set it apart from residential properties…

A commercial real estate career is an exciting and fulfilling way to make your mark on the world. But how do you get started? Everyone’s journey begins differently. All real estate agents don’t follow the same steps or have the same route. This article will provide a guide to help you decide which path is right for you.

1. Complete Courses Required in Your State

The themes shrouded in these courses run the range from private deals and renting, fair lodging regulations, sorts of genuine property possession, business land, and other public and state-explicit substance. Most courses are generally comparable to a section-level school course.

To the extent that value goes, you can hope to pay somewhere in the range of $150 to $900 contingent upon your state, and what design you choose to take the course in. As you can envision, live courses or intensives are by and large costlier than the web or study-at-home courses.

Here is a fast breakdown of the course necessities expected to get a land permit in the six biggest states in the country:

2. Finish the Assessment and Get Your Commercial Real Estate License

Whenever you've finished the coursework expected in your state to be qualified for a land permit, you want to breeze through your state's permitting test. Tests are by and large managed by your state and will have somewhere in the range of 75 to 150 various decision questions covering the themes you mastered during your permitting course.

3. Find a Commercial Real Estate Brokerage to Work For

Once you’ve passed your test and received your real estate license, you can now pursue a career in residential sales or leasing, commercial sales or leasing, or even appraisal or property management. However, to legally, and successfully, start conducting business as a commercial agent, you must first find a sponsoring brokerage offering the experience you need.

To do this, there are two tried-and-true options:

Option 1: Look for Teams Handling Rentals & Sales

Since getting your first deal in commercial real estate can be more complex than residential real estate, you may decide to cut your teeth at a firm that allows you to do both. In a large city like New York or San Francisco, rentals can be an extraordinarily lucrative and quick source of income while you develop your commercial real estate knowledge and clientele.

This is because a commercial lease can take months to close, while most residential leases close in a week or less. A brokerage that handles both residential and commercial transactions, therefore, can mean quick cash for rent and groceries while you work toward getting your first commercial deal.

The only slight drawback here is that very few brokerages are evenly split between commercial and residential sales and leasing. Most are either all or mostly residential, or all or most commercial. That means while you may get a quicker, easier source of income, you’re probably not learning from a very experienced commercial broker.

Option 2: Look for Brokerages With a Salaried Training Program

The second way to start your career in commercial real estate is to join a commercial real estate brokerage that has a training program for new associates. Generally speaking, most training programs will last a year or more, and some brokerages offer salaries to their trainees, which means no need to hustle for deals right away.

The only drawbacks here are that brokerages that offer salaried training programs are generally pickier about who they hire. That might mean a long job hunt, and, possibly worse, a lower than expected training wage. Depending on your location, skills, and the company you’re applying to, you might get anywhere from $30,000 to $45,000 per year as a trainee. Many training programs are unpaid.

4. Become a Member of Industry Associations

While not all states require agents to join an association, many brokerages do as a condition of joining the agency. This is because these associations provide their members with added credibility in the marketplace. Additionally, this is a good idea because each association offers different networking and continuing education opportunities, as well as discounts on software and services you may want to work with.

A few of the best-known associations for commercial agents are the following:

NAR (National Association of Realtors)

ULI (Urban Land Institute)

REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York)

Commercial Real Estate Agent Salaries

According to the NAR member profile, the average income of residential real estate agents in 2018 was $41,800. That said, the median gross annual income for a commercial real estate agent in 2018 was $153,000. While the earning potential for both residential and commercial real estate is only limited by how hard you work, median incomes for commercial real estate are still significantly higher.

Although the numbers clearly show the vast difference in median earnings for residential and commercial real estate agents and brokers, there are a few important caveats to keep in mind:

Median incomes for residential real estate professionals can be skewed: There are a very large number of new agents and part-time agents who bring the average income down. As you can imagine, a brand-new agent working strictly on commission is not going to make anywhere near as much as an experienced agent. Likewise, a residential agent working 20 hours per week is not going to make as much as an agent working over 60 hours per week.

Commercial real estate professionals have more experience: Since the barrier to entry to starting a commercial real estate career is higher, there are far fewer brand-new agents working in the field. There are also very few part-time commercial real estate agents or brokers.

Commercial real estate professionals work full time: As a rule of thumb, most commercial agents work at least 40 hours per week.

Commercial real estate agents start with a salary: Many entry-level commercial real estate agents start their careers as salaried employees. As they move up the ladder, they either move to a combination of salary and commission or straight commission. Meanwhile, almost all residential real estate agents work on commission only.

Commercial property is more expensive: Finally, median sales prices and rents are generally much higher for commercial real estate. That means bigger commission checks.

Is a Commercial Real Estate Career Right for You?

Before you even think about signing up for real estate classes or picking out a brokerage, you need to take an honest assessment of your current skills. For a career in commercial real estate, consider your soft skills—your personality type and strengths—as well as your hard skills and experience.

While residential real estate doesn’t exactly reward shrinking violets, commercial real estate often demands gravitas and bravado just to get your foot in the door. Clients and deals are much harder to come by, and the competition is far more experienced and aggressive. Confidence and resilience are core soft skills needed to thrive in commercial real estate.

Here’s Marina Filichkina, Head of Sales for global commercial real estate firm Tranio, on the importance of confidence:

“First and foremost, we look for people who have genuine confidence. I’m not talking about boastfulness—I’m talking about confidence that’s rooted in experience and in-depth insights into the market. At the same time, we look for salespeople who know when to ask for help from or defer to their supervisors and more experienced colleagues. You can usually tell from the moment a person walks into the room whether they have the sort of genuine confidence it takes to be a top-notch salesperson.”

Questions to ask yourself about your soft skills include:

How confident are you?

How would you feel about making 200 cold calls every day?

Does the idea of walking around a neighborhood and knocking on the door of every single business sound exciting?

How about knocking on the same door a week after the owner slammed it in your face?

If this sounds like a challenge rather than torture, then a career in commercial real estate might be for you.

In addition to confidence, persuasiveness and relationship-building skills are also important soft skills for working in commercial real estate. Do you find it easy to get people to open up to you? Are you the type of person who can quickly and easily establish a rapport with the new barista at your local coffee shop? If so, you might have one of the core soft skills most commercial real estate brokers are looking for in new associates.

How to Get Hired as a Commercial Real Estate Agent

While a magnetic personality and 1,000-watt smile might almost guarantee you a job in residential real estate, commercial real estate brokerages tend to be pickier with new hires than their residential-focused counterparts.

There are two very good reasons for this. First, commercial real estate deals are more complex and require more finesse to find and close than residential deals. Second, because of the relatively steep learning curve, many commercial real estate firms pay entry-level associates a salary while they learn the ropes.

Here are a few things that commercial brokerages tend to look for when interviewing potential agents:

Relevant Educational Background

While a degree isn’t absolutely necessary, many larger commercial brokerages won’t consider new associates without a degree from a four-year college. For the largest, most successful firms like CBRE, JLL, or Cushman and Wakefield, you might have trouble getting a job if your degree isn’t from a tier-one school.

In addition, since there is a lot more behind-the-scenes analysis work in commercial real estate, many brokerages look for candidates with four-year degrees in business-related fields. High-level math and finance skills are great assets for working in the field.

Professional Experience

Along with a four-year degree in a relevant field, many top commercial brokerages look for candidates with professional experience in high-pressure, numbers-driven fields. If you’ve worked for an investment bank in residential real estate, property management, recruiting, engineering, architecture, or law, you’ll get more interviews at prestigious firms.

Cultural Fit

With a median age of 60 and a workforce that’s 73% male, the commercial real estate world still lags pretty far behind most of corporate America. If you’re coming from a younger, laid-back company, you may be disappointed to find out how buttoned-down and testosterone-filled many commercial brokerages are.

If this kind of environment bothers you, do your research before accepting a job offer. You can also check out our guide on the questions you should ask when interviewing brokerages for help completing this step.

Bottom Line

Although getting a commercial real estate license has a higher median income, it isn’t for everyone. It takes specific expertise, training, and qualities to excel in this competitive, fast-paced field. However, with the right skills and the right education, you too can one day sell, buy, or lease some of the most expensive real estate on the planet.