Fulfill the required learning

Your state's real estate regulatory body - usually known as the "State Department of Real Estate" or the "Board of Real Estate" - is a goldmine of information. You'll find prelicense, post-license, and CE educational mandates and a list of state-accredited institutions.

I recommend: The Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) Regulatory Bodies has links to state governing bodies. Check out the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to download the "CE Requirements by State" Excel file. Check out the top online educators, such as 360Training, American School of Real Estate Express, Allied Real Estate School and CE2GO, which each offer dozens of accredited courses for several states.

Sharpen your sales skills

Your prelicense, post-license and CE courses are all required by law to teach you the legalities of the real estate practice. If you're looking to increase your sales, you'll need to continue to learn to specifically hone your sales skills.

I recommend: The NAR's Realtor University offers more than 80 inexpensive online courses, many of which are designed to sharpen your selling skills. Check out Real Estate Champions for comprehensive sales training and free resources.

Consider specializing

Within the real estate industry, there are many ways for a real estate agent to specialize on a particular market segment, such as residential or commercial sales.

I recommend: Looking to gain additional designations? Then click here: NAR's REALTOR Family Designation Programs. The Open Directory Project (DMOZ) Real Estate Education and Training Schools, lists educators who offer general and specific types of training.

Keep training, keep selling

There are hundreds of real estate sales training courses and materials available on the Internet, or through real estate institutions and universities.

I recommend: For a clearinghouse of real estate sales training websites and resources, check out DMOZ Real Estate Education and Training and click on any of these subcategories: Academic Departments, Books, or Seminars and Coaching.