Want a stat that'll blow your mind?

The millennial generation is wealthier than my generation and the one before me. They're wealthier than the last two generations at the same age.

You might say, "What? That can't be true."

But it is.

And here's why:

A lot of this has to do with buying a home, and this is great news for us. Many millennials bought homes pre-COVID or at the beginning of COVID, and they had to stretch to do it. We often don't give them enough credit, but a lot of them gave up their lattes and stopped ordering from Instacart and DoorDash. They really stretched and bought a house before or at the start of COVID.

Back then, they thought prices were high and that they were stretching too much. But they made it happen. Then, what happened with prices? Prices skyrocketed during COVID. So now millennials are benefiting from this huge equity build over the last few years. That equity makes them more affluent than the two generations before them.

So why am I bringing this up?...

Hey guys, did you know that only 5% of REALTORS reach out on the one-year home anniversary after selling someone a house?

Isn’t that crazy? Just 5%! And even fewer do it for the second, third, fourth, or fifth year.

But if you’re one of the 95% who haven’t done this, here’s your opportunity. Go back — not just this year, but 2, 3, 4, or even 5 years — and load up the contacts you’ve forgotten about. Give them a quick call today and say, “Hey, I just wanted to wish you a happy belated one-year (or two, three, five-year) anniversary on your home purchase.”

And by the way, take a couple of minutes to run an updated equity analysis for them. Say, “Here’s how much money you’ve made on your house in the past few years. I’m sending you the report so you can check it out.”

If you start doing this every year with all your past clients, your business will boom. This simple gesture can unlock so much potential....

Hey guys, what is your power base number? This is an essential number that every REALTOR should know. Your power base number is simply this: if I take my database size — and you should know your database size, whether it’s 195, 232, or 182 — you should know that number. If you don’t, you’re not in control of your business (which is a whole other conversation).

Let’s assume you do know it. Let’s say your database size is 232, and you closed 22 transactions last year. If I divide one into the other, 232 divided by 22, it tells me that for every 10.5 people in your database, you’re averaging one closed sale.

That’s your power base number.

You can use that number in a few ways. For business planning, you can say, “In 2025, I don’t want to close 22 transactions; I want to close 30." Since you know your power base number (closing one transaction for every 10.5 people), you can calculate that 30 times 10.5 equals 315.

Now,...

So, how are you going to communicate your buyer agent commissions now that the MLS policies have changed?

We can’t list them in the MLS anymore, and agents and offices are coming up with different approaches. I want to share one of my favorite ideas that I’ve seen a few offices implement.

One office is using a Google Sheet—a live, online spreadsheet. The Google Sheet lists all their property addresses in one column and the corresponding buyer agent commissions (BACs) in another. It’s simple but effective. Since it’s a live document, you can update it in real time. The sheet generates a URL, so anyone with that link can access it and see the current BACs.

Now, here’s the cool part: With that URL, you can create a QR code using any free online generator. Attach the QR code to your marketing materials, and when someone scans it, they’ll be taken directly to your Google Sheet with all the BACs. As you add or remove listings, the document updates...

How many of you are using cold emails to reach out to neighborhoods or farm areas?

If you’re not doing it yet, it’s something you might want to add to your toolkit. You don’t need to send thousands of emails—maybe just 50 or 100 at a time. Keep it manageable.

You might be wondering, “Jim, where do I find these email addresses?”

There are plenty of places to find them. One of my favorites is REDX. They often have email addresses for homeowners in certain neighborhoods. They might not have them all, but they have a surprising number. Once you have those email addresses, you can send out emails to solicit listings or at least start a conversation about potential interest in selling.

Here’s an idea: use the same script you’d put on a postcard or mailing and adapt it for email. Then, take an integrated approach—send both the physical mail and the email. You can also add “layers” by sending a text and running a social media...

If you're a brokerage owner or team leader, what's the number one reason someone would join your firm?

Often, when I talk to brokerage leaders, they say it’s all about commissions—that’s the driving factor.

But that’s not true. We need to move away from that outdated thinking.

What really drives agents to join a company or team is the potential to close more transactions.

It’s about transaction count, not commissions.

So, how do you build a company or team that focuses on generating leads and helping agents develop leads on their own? Your goal should be to increase each agent’s transaction count, making them one of the highest-performing in your market area.

Here’s an interesting statistic that might surprise you: 50% of all agents in America closed one deal or less last year.

Even if those agents are getting a high commission on that one deal, it’s not enough to support their families. They’re struggling and barely staying in...

How many agents have contacted you—called, texted, emailed—in the last 30 days to say they want to work for you? If that number is four or five, or even more, congratulations! You're in a position where you're attracting agents to your company. That’s a rare position to be in, and not many offices can say the same.

But if you're not attracting a lot of people, the question becomes: why not? There could be many reasons, but the number one thing we need to focus on is building a company that is attractive.

It sounds simple, but it's not. There are many factors involved. Agent productivity, the training and education you offer, and how your company appears from the outside all matter.

Do you have a great culture?
Are your agents engaged in the community?
Is your company active on social media?
Do you have a YouTube channel?
Do you have a great office environment?

Being a visible leader in the MLS and the market helps too. Your agents should be out there, talking...

When recruiting agents, you'll hear "no" 90% of the time, if not more.

Many brokerage owners and team leaders stop recruiting because they dislike hearing "no." We may not be accustomed to it, especially if we've been successful in lead generation. This rejection can make you think recruiting isn't for you, leading you to wait for agents to come to you, which is not effective.

Your brokerage will fail if you don't actively recruit.

To start getting yeses and change your mindset about recruiting, understand that recruiting isn't about getting a yes today. It's about opening doors and creating relationships. The worst recruiters aim to close immediately, treating all agents the same—new agents and experienced agents alike. This is a mistake.

Recruiting a new agent is relatively easy, but recruiting an experienced agent doing $10-20 million in transactions is like recruiting a professional athlete. It starts with relationship building and opening doors.

How do we open doors?

We...

Question:

Who is your target audience?

When you are spending dollars, you need to target a specific audience. The big mistake most agents make is targeting everyone. They say, "Anybody thinking about buying or selling real estate, please contact me." This shotgun approach is very ineffective and can waste a lot of energy, effort, time, and most importantly, your budget and money.

You need to refine your message to target the specific audience you want to attract. This means you have to define who you're going after. Big businesses create what's called a persona—the exact person you're trying to get to respond to your message.

Maybe it's first-time home buyers, investors, or second home buyers. You might get even more specific, like targeting someone aged 45 to 55, who has owned their home for over 15 years, has a low mortgage, and wants to move closer to family and friends.

By the way, this is the #1 seller in today's market in 2024.

If I'm targeting this kind of seller, my...

What is a success portfolio for a real estate professional?

Well, if you've ever gone to a photographer, architect, or even a wedding planner, you'll often see a book of their work—a portfolio. This showcases what they've done for other clients in the past.

Think about yourself. We often have listing presentations and now even buyer presentations, but do we have a portfolio of past performance?

This portfolio can be the pre-listing kit you've always dreamed of or the pre-buy meeting kit that will really motivate and inspire people to want to work with you.

So what would you put into this success portfolio? Of course, you'll include the properties you've sold and testimonials from other clients. You can also add marketing examples to show what you've done to market properties on social media, with flyers, with postcards, and even in a digital presentation, including video.There's a lot you could include in this presentation to make it really come alive and pop.

Now, imagine you...