Brokerage owners and team leaders — I have a question for you: What problem are you solving for agents?

If you're not solving a problem for them, there's no reason for them to come work for you.

The number one problem you can solve is helping them unlock the door to more transactions. Most agents are struggling here, so giving them a roadmap, tools, strategies, and techniques to close more deals should be your top priority.

But there are other problems we often overlook. Maybe they’re struggling with time management, technology, client management, building out a CRM, or having a reliable way to evaluate potential listings.

Agents have many challenges, and if we’re not addressing them, we’re giving them no reason to join our company.

All great businesses — especially industry disruptors — solve problems.

Think about the great companies you do business with today. They’ve solved a problem.

You need to be the problem solver.

Take a moment to reflect on your market. What are four o...

Hey, brokerage owners and team leaders. I’m going to do a quick role play with you right now.

Let’s pretend you’re an agent who just had a failed transaction with one of my agents. I’m going to call you—not text you, but call—and say:

"Hey Jim, I just wanted to reach out. I know you had a transaction with Bob that didn’t come together this morning. I got the bad news, but Bob told me you were an absolute pro throughout the process. This has nothing to do with you or your client—sometimes things just happen. I just wanted to say thank you for your professionalism. We look forward to working with you again in the future. And if there’s ever anything I can do to help, I’m here."

Now, imagine making that kind of call after every failed transaction where the other agent handled things well. What do you think is going to happen on the other end of the call?

Do you think that agent will appreciate it? Absolutely. No other broker is making that kind of call.

What you’re doing is laying a ...

We have a lot more listings nationally on the market than we’ve had in many years. That means we’re going to see a lot more expired listings, especially since pending sales are also dropping.

Pending sales are soft—we're on track for about 3.94 million sales this year, very similar to last year. This is all driven by interest rates. As they hover around 6.5% to 6.75%, the sales pace will likely persist. When interest rates drop, we’ll see a big surge back into the market. But for now, expect more expired listings.

If you're an agent looking for more listings, it's time to focus on expireds—especially as we move from summer into the fall and winter market.

So what can you do to engage these potential sellers?

The #1 strategy: Work with an active buyer.

We all have buyers. Use that active buyer to farm three key categories:

1. The Neighborhood – Target the neighborhood your buyer wants. Use that buyer as a conversation starter with homeowners there. One in 20—at least 5%—will have ...

You are at war with a real estate company or agent in your marketplace. I want you to think—who is that person right now? Who is that company?

If I asked you, “Who’s your number one competitor in your market today?”

Now… what if I told you you’re wrong?

Here’s why: The number one competitor in every market in America isn’t who you think. It’s Zillow.

Why Zillow?

Because Zillow is winning the war, not of market share, but of “mindshare.” And many would argue they’ve already won.

They don’t sell homes. But when people hear the word "real estate," they think of Zillow. That’s mindshare. It’s the first thing that comes to mind.

They’ve spent billions of dollars in ads. They’re everywhere online. So when someone wants to sell a house, they check their Zestimate. When they want to buy, they go to Zillow.

Here’s what happens: someone says, “I want to buy or sell a house,” they end up on Zillow, start browsing, and get prompted: “Want to talk to an agent?”

Then they fill out a form. A...

As a real estate agent, you're probably looking for ways to generate leads in a unique or different way.

I'm going to give you one of those strategies right now. It’s completely outside the box, and I hope it gets your wheels turning and inspires a fresh perspective on your business.

Let me start with a fascinating statistic I first came across in The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley. I’ve researched it myself over the years, and it consistently holds true:

90% of all millionaires—and people who will become millionaires—have volunteered or are actively volunteering in a charitable organization within their local community.

So, ask yourself:

Are you modeling that behavior by getting involved in local charities?

If not, what would happen if you started?

Here’s what happens when you do:

You begin networking with great people—people who are already successful or on their way to success. You’re also giving back to your community in a way that aligns with your passions.

If you’re ...

As a REALTOR, you've heard the word farming, right?

Well, I want to give you a different thought process on farming that I think will be really unique:

Instead of doing a shotgun approach where you're sending out a generalized postcard or letter (which can be effective if done right), I want to introduce you to what I call “Vertical Farming.”

So instead of reaching out to 200 people, reach out to 20. And with those 20 people, go deep.

Here’s how: I might send them a CMA or a neighborhood report (both of which you can generate for free at NAR.com if you're a REALTOR). That system allows you to create a beautiful 81-page report on someone’s home anywhere in the country.

You can choose between a seller report or a neighborhood report (which might be shorter, maybe half the size).

Then, add a cover letter that says something like:

“Hi, my name is Jim. I'm with ABC Real Estate. I'm reaching out to a select handful of people in your neighborhood today to give you a quick update on you...

Here's a question for you: Are you a real estate concierge?

What’s a concierge? If you’ve ever been to a hotel with one, they’re the people who connect you with local shows, restaurants, and experiences. They make your stay smoother and more enjoyable.

That’s exactly the approach we should be taking with our clients—and even our potential clients.

You can start the conversation like this, “Hey, as a real estate professional, I work with vendors all the time—gardeners, plumbers, electricians, carpet installers, landscapers, you name it. If you ever need anything related to real estate, call me. I can connect you with the best.”

Because I refer clients to these vendors regularly, my clients usually get the best pricing—and they move to the front of the line. It’s a win-win.

When you position yourself as the go-to person for anything home-related, you naturally start having more conversations with clients. They’ll call you and ask, “Who’s your landscaper?”

You say, “I’ve got a great...

When you're sitting with a seller for the first time, I like to have what I call the “Red Flag Conversation.”

I'll say, “Hey Mr. and Mrs. Seller, one of two things is going to happen now that we've listed the property: either we’re going to get showings—or we won’t. That alone gives us valuable insight. If we put your house on the market tomorrow like we're planning, and we get a surge of activity, that tells us something important.

“It means that the backlog of buyers—hundreds of buyers waiting for the next listing—have turned and looked at your property. If they like what they see online—the photos, the condition, the price—they’ll come see it in person. So if we see a surge of interest, a spike in calls and showings, that’s a signal we’ve nailed the price and did our job right.

“But the opposite can happen too. If we don’t get much activity in the first week or two, that’s a red flag. It’s the market telling us we probably missed the mark on pricing.

“There’s also a third scenar...

Is it a buyer's market or a seller's market in real estate today?

If we look at the nation as a whole, we have about four and a half months of inventory. What does that mean? It means if every REALTOR stopped taking listings tomorrow, it would take about four and a half months to sell off the current inventory at the current sales pace.

Is that healthy? Is that where we want to be? Generally, a balanced market has about six months of inventory. So being slightly under that means sellers still have a bit more power overall. When a seller prices their home correctly and it's in good condition, they can still get plenty of showings and, in some cases, multiple offers — even in today's market.

This is also why home prices continue to rise, despite higher-than-normal interest rates and an economy that appears to be nearing a recession.

The limited supply keeps pushing prices up.

However, it's crucial to understand that real estate isn't just one giant national market. Real estate, like...

Here’s a question I get almost every day from people who think they need to start recruiting to grow their business.

As a real estate brokerage owner or team leader, the only way to grow profitability is by increasing the number of agents working for you.

You have to switch hats. Many of you are coming from being top-producing agents, where your focus is on personal production. But when you move to the brokerage side, it’s no longer just about your production—it’s about where production comes from.

Production doesn’t come from one, two, or even ten agents. It comes from a team of agents working under you. Your customers are no longer buyers and sellers. As a brokerage owner or team leader, your customers are agents.

If you want to grow, you need more customers—more agents. If you stay stagnant with the same number of agents, you won’t just fail to grow; you’ll become less profitable over time. Inflation is constantly eating away at your profit margins. It’s grow or die. Expanding y...