Today we’d like to introduce you to Cedric Banks II.
Hi Cedric, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Since graduating college in 2018, I have always been heavily interested in real estate. My original goal was to be a sports agent and use those funds to become an investor, but I wanted to avoid getting into debt without a sufficient way to make money for myself. So like most people in real estate (the people whose podcast/youtube I was watching), I read rich dad poor dad, cashflow quadrant, the richest man in Babylon, think and grow rich, and a few other financial literacy books that inspired me to figure out creative ways to start making money. In 2019, I decided last minute not to go to grad school and just become a real estate agent representing people looking to buy/sell/invest. Real estate is one of the main professions that create wealthy individuals, and I wanted to participate. I understood that most people worked hard to succeed in this business, and I knew that my naturally hard work ethic/hustle would also pay off for me. Choosing this route also made more sense because I would be at a firm with successful agents that have been in the business for 10-20+ years, and I can learn from them. So I enrolled at Superior School of Real estate, which was number 1 at the time for pass rate to earn your license; it took me 8 months to earn my license because I failed the class two times. During that whole time, I was working at the YMCA as a sports coordinator, FedEx part-time, and a Lyft driver/post mates driver on the weekends.
I had all those jobs to make sure I paid my bills while keeping notecards to study. The notecards came in handy because since I was in school before the pandemic, I had to be at a venue to learn about real estate and not online. So I had to take off work two days a week for 8 months to ensure I was in class 8 hours both days. I could bring the notecards while waiting for Lyft rides, and if I were at the YMCA and were on break, I would study. I even had notecards with me at a concert once and was studying until the show started. People always ask me for studying advice. Make sure you have notecards specifically handmade for each chapter, and whichever chapters you are weak in, study those specific cards. I also tell them to make a study group with people retaining the information because having other minds study with you can help you understand things from a different perspective. So once I finally passed March of 2019, I realized that most of the stuff in real estate school that I learned didn’t show you how to get clients, so that was my next challenge after getting my license, and it took me another 8 months to finally close my first two deals that were in the same week. I told everybody I knew that I was a realtor, and it paid off 8 months later when I had an investor and a fraternity brother buy from me. Once I closed those two deals immediately quit FedEx and started putting more time into networking, and from there, my social media started to grow, and more people started to reach out for my help and asked me to help them buy or sell. In 2020 I decided to leave the small firm that taught me how to be a successful agent (for which I am forever grateful) and join exp realty. The business model set at EXP is perfect for me, and I can’t imagine ever leaving. I’ve met a lot of successful agents that started at other firms that ended up at EXP for the same reasons, and since 2020 I’ve been growing at a nice consistent rate. Each year I sell more in numbers and volume than the last year, and all my focus is on getting 1% better every day in my business and personal life. Doing so has gifted me lots of success, and I’ve been receiving decent accolades and exposure since. Such as, property spark ranks me every year as a top realtor in NC and Greensboro and is now a feature with voyage! I am forever grateful for where real estate has taken me so far, and I’m more excited for the future and can’t wait to see what’s in store for me next!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest struggle was getting my license since it took 8 months, learning how to be an agent, and having great communication skills to help people understand that my best interest is with them, not just making a sale. To me, relationships will always be more important than the transaction itself. The only other struggle is staying consistent with networking or creating social media posts because being a successful real estate agent is full-time, not part-time. I realized that all my clients have different and weird schedules, and if I want to be their number 1 agent, I have to always be available for them. I learned that when I represented my first deal on both sides when I had an investor selling her property, but she lived in Sweden, and we could only take at like 5-6 am or after midnight due to her schedule.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about EXP Realty LLC?
EXP realty stood out to me because independent agents get 80% of their transactions, and you can cap at the firm and make 100% per transaction for the remainder of the year from when you joined exp. For me, that is every August. You get the 100% once you have made 16k for the firm on the 20% side, which we call capping. It may be different depending on which team you are on, but this is what attracted me to EXP the most: the company has a stock program for each sale made. EXP also has a mentorship program for new agents, we have our EXP world, which reminds me of sims, but it’s a real broker in charge and staff to help answer questions, and we have modules online to learn from other successful agents. My services are basic. All my buyers or interested clients can request a buyer/seller consultation from the link in my bio on Instagram @agentcedbanks. I tell all my clients they can text or call me at any time, and they can vouch for me and say that I am always there when they need me.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My work ethic, welcoming energy, and empathic skills have helped me the most in being successful. I have had clients from all cultures who always say they appreciate how hard I work for them and how it feels like I’m always on their side. I’m like that naturally from playing sports my whole life. I’ve always been used to working with other people and having to understand them to win or achieve a goal. So those sports lessons from a kid up until my sophomore year in college have entered their way into my business and how I carry myself and treat my clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/cedricbanks?fbclid=PAAaYHKojEzw6OdOcQMdppQHbr403nyF-qexdI_V6A31u9qTJd6AIxRoVxtEw
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agentcedbanks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cedric.banks.31
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedric-banks-ii-293744109/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AgentCedBanks
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxAVxEHO85UGxpKxJ_BUA7Q
Image Credits
@richershots on Instagram for my professional shoots and a few other content on my Instagram
