Let’s say you got a referral today. What's your next step?

You should have a series of steps you follow every time. When you systemize how you approach referrals, sure enough, more referrals come your way.

Let’s start with what NOT to do: We’re not just going to send a silly little gift card or a coffee card as a thank-you. That would be ridiculous. We should do way more than that.

Think about it—this is the apex point. Everything you do with your SOI (sphere of influence) is leading up to getting a referral. And when you finally get that payoff, when someone actually sends you a referral, wouldn’t it be crazy to just send them a $5 or $10 gift card?

That’s why we're going way bigger than that.

So here’s a list of things to consider:

First, call them and thank them. If you haven’t already, send them a handwritten note: “Hey, thank you so much. I appreciate the referral.”

Then praise them publicly on social media. Make a post thanking them. This encourages others in your SOI to t...

Let’s say you meet a buyer at an open house, online, or at an event, and you think, "Hey, I’ve got a hot lead here." Then they cool off. Ever have that happen?

Here’s the issue: Most buyers are not immediate buyers. About 75% of buyers are in the buying cycle for six to nine months before they actually close. Only around 25% of the people you meet will buy within the next 30 days.

The problem is, most agents don’t have a strong follow-up plan.

Your follow-up process should have at least five touchpoints during the buying cycle—and for many of us, it probably needs more.

Think about your follow-up: How often are you reaching out? And how many different media channels are you using?

Sure, you can just call. Or just text. Or send video texts. Or rely on social media. Or mail letters.

But really, you should be doing all of it.

The one thing I want to emphasize today is the concept of a video drip campaign.

This is a system anyone can implement, yet almost no one is doing it.

Even ...

So what are five reasons why someone should list their home in today's spring market, spring of 2025? I'm going to walk you through these reasons, and you can share them in an email, a newsletter, or your own video to your clients.

First, interest rates have come down from their highs. We're not at the peak anymore. In the past few weeks, rates have started to dip because there's talk of a potential recession. While a recession isn't great for the economy, it can actually benefit real estate by lowering interest rates. Buyers are catching onto this and becoming more active—more loan applications, more market activity.

Second, buyers are still out there. Despite everything happening in the economy, the job market, and beyond, people still want to own homes. Over 90% of American adults want to own a home—they're just trying to find a way to make it happen. Homeownership may have dipped over the years, but that desire to stop renting and start owning is still strong.

Third, inventory i...

Hey guys, right now we have an incredible opportunity to talk to our clients. They’re nervous, frustrated, and anxious. What are they anxious about? They’re worried about the trade war, the stock market, their 401(k)s, their ability to retire on time, and even the possibility of losing their jobs.

There’s a lot of anxiety in the market right now.

You can sit back and hope everything gets better, or you can take action. Your game plan should be to reach out to everyone in your database this week—either with a call or a text. I prefer a call.

You can say, “Hey, I know you’re watching the stock market like I am, and you’re seeing all the turmoil with the trade war. How are you feeling about it? I’ve been talking to a lot of my clients, and some are thinking about diversifying their portfolios by investing in real estate. Real estate is a safe, stable, and secure investment. It went up 5.2% last year, and it has a baseline value. The baseline value is whatever you can rent the property ...

Hey guys, with the trade war heating up, renters are concerned about inflation. This is a great opportunity to have a conversation with them, and really put it out there on social media. You could do a video, or send out mailings about inflation likely rising again.

We can say, "Hey, if you're concerned about the trade war and inflation starting to rise again, remember we all lived through COVID when rents skyrocketed. A lot of experts are starting to say that this could happen again. So, if you're worried about that, one of the best ways to hedge is to buy your own home."

I know buying a home can seem like a stretch if you’ve never explored that route, but here’s what buying a home does for you. Even though you might have to stretch a bit for that payment, it locks in your payment for 30 years.

Your payment might seem expensive today, but five, 10, or 20 years from now, it won’t be. If you stay a renter, your rent is guaranteed to increase every year. It’ll keep getting higher and ...

Okay, guys, if you're a brokerage owner or team leader and you want your team to remember one key market statistic this week, what would it be? Something like:

• "Home sales are up 10%"
• "Pending sales are up 6%"
• "Listings are up 55%"
• Or "Home prices are up X."

How do you get people to actually remember those stats?

I'll tell you what you shouldn't do. When you have your next office meeting, don't do a "data dump," which is what we often do as brokerage owners or team leaders. We throw out 25 different stats, and guess what?

Nobody remembers any of it.

Instead, share just a few key stats—maybe three to five—and then clearly state what you want them to remember.

When you tell them what to remember, they actually retain it because you've set the expectation.

At the beginning of the meeting, I might say, "Hey, I want you to remember this: The list-to-sell price in our market has dropped from 100% to 98%. That means sellers are getting 98% of their asking price, which is still ...

Quick question for you—since the beginning of the year, how much time have you invested in lead generation? Whether it's with your sphere of influence, open houses, FSBOs, expired listings, absentee owners, or geographic farming, where have you focused your efforts?

To maintain a consistent income without the ups and downs, you should be dedicating at least an hour a day to lead generation. But remember, we don’t do what we don’t schedule. If it’s not on your calendar, it’s unlikely you’ll actually do it. There will always be distractions pulling you away from this essential task.

Let me give you a simple strategy to ramp back up into regular lead generation. Because if you’ve been doing little to none for the past three to six months, jumping straight into an hour a day can feel overwhelming.

The solution? The Plus One Strategy.

It’s simple—just do one of these activities today:

• One call
• One text
• One video text
• One handwritten note
• One social media post

If you really wan...

Did you know that 74% of consumers base their hiring decisions on branding? That means nearly three out of four people are making choices based on how a business presents itself.

So as a REALTOR, how strong is your branding right now? If you looked at all your branding—your website, business cards, presentation materials, and stationery—does it all feel cohesive? Does it represent who you are and what you offer? Or is it a mismatched mess, completely inconsistent?

If your branding is all over the place, it’s time to fix that. Since branding plays such a big role in decision-making, we need to ensure yours is dialed in. Let me share a couple of branding tips I’ve learned from top marketing experts over the years.

One of those experts is my friend Tiffany Wilkerson. She taught me that a brand shouldn’t just be some random, funky logo. Even though she creates incredible logos, the best branding advice she gave me was this: for REALTORS, the most powerful brand you can have is your own ...

Here's a question for you:

If I were to look at your website today—pull it up and review it together—would it truly represent the market or niche you serve? Would it showcase what you actually sell?

Or would it just be a big, beautiful picture of you, with no clear indication of your market? If your website doesn’t clearly reflect your niche, that’s a mistake. Your website should visually and contextually align with the market area you serve. The photos, the language, and the messaging should all match your target audience. This is key to becoming a hyperlocal agent.

A hyperlocal agent is someone people immediately associate with a specific market. So take a moment today and analyze your website—does it truly reflect the area you serve? Making this small adjustment can significantly improve engagement.

Now, let’s take it a step further. Look at your social media. Are you a strong representation of your market there? Are you showcasing all aspects of your local area? Do you have a Y...

Guys, I’ve got a great strategy for working with buyers. One of the biggest concerns buyers have is understanding the paperwork involved in real estate. It’s a real fear point—not just for buyers but for sellers too. But let’s focus on buyers for now.

Let’s take a different approach when handling paperwork with buyers. Here’s the worst thing you can do as an agent: You take a buyer out, show them homes, and they get excited about a specific one. Then, you bring them back to the office and say, “Okay, it’s time to write the offer.” You pull out 30–40 pages of paperwork, and suddenly, that excitement turns into hesitation. It feels like a bucket of cold water being dumped on them. They start second-guessing everything.

So, how do we prevent that? You take the sting out of the paperwork early. Here’s how:

During your initial consultation with the buyer, you say:

"One of the biggest value points I bring to the table is guiding you through the paperwork. There’s a lot—typically 30+ page...