Aaron Kirman has sold roughly $6 billion worth of land over his 25-year career, making him one among the highest realtors in l. a. .

He routinely sells multimillion-dollar properties, including one estate for a whopping $65 million, and on his new CNBC show, "Listing Impossible," he helps homeowners sell their luxury land . He also runs the Aaron Kirman Group (AKG), a real estate team he started in 2017 that's grown from seven agents at its inception to nearly 70 today.

As a top realtor, Kirman makes seven figures, but not all agents earn a ton of money — and that's one of the biggest misconceptions about the job.

"On average, agents make anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000, which isn't what the public thinks that they make," he tells me when I spent a day shadowing him from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. "It's a lot less than you think because it's such a competitive industry."

Entry-level agents can bring home even less than that because "it takes about a year to sell something," he says.

The author and Aaron, in front of a $65 million home

CNBC Make It

Over the course of the day I spend with Kirman, he lets me in on what it takes to make it in the cutthroat industry. Here are his three keys to success:

You have to put in the time
Even Kirman, who's established himself as one of the most successful agents in the country, works long days that often end past 9 p.m. A misconception about the work is that realtors, especially those at the highest , don't work that tough . "It's a tough job," he assures me. "There are a lot of nuances that make it extremely complicated."

When it comes to being successful, "60% of it is showing up," he says. "You just have to work really hard."

While he logs a lot of hours, "it's in a different format than most [jobs]," he says. "I don't sit at a desk or in an office. I'm out and about."

You have to be brutally honest
Kirman has worked hard over his career, "but I especially credit my success to at least one secret: I'm brutally honest with my clients," he writes for CNBC Make It. "If agents don't tell their clients what mistakes they're making, it can take much longer for a home to sell."

During the day I spent with him, two of our appointments were to assess the staging of homes nearly ready to put on the market. True to his word, Kirman didn't hold back when offering feedback. His commentary ranged from, "Hate the chandelier. We gotta get this down." to "Everything is disgusting," which was his gut reaction to one particular home theater.

I especially credit my success to one secret: I'm brutally honest with my clients.

Aaron Kirman

star of CNBC's "Listing Impossible"

He's also had to inform homeowners things like, "you have terrible taste," "your home is worth much but you think that ," and "the layout of your home is awful."

You have to understand people