Why aren't you getting more referrals?

The problem is you're not asking for referrals. You think you are, but you're not.

Let me give you a natural and fun way to ask for referrals that people love:

Think of your sphere of influence as your personal sales army. Imagine you recruited a hundred or more salespeople to work for your team. If you gave them an assignment, do you think they would bring you sales?

Of course they would. The reason they're not doing it now is because you're not giving them guidance as the sales manager.

So here's an example of what you can do: Send a mass text, email, personal calls, or even a video text to your sales army, saying:

“Hey guys, I'm really short on inventory right now. If you see a house with a preferred sale sign or a vacant house, could you quickly take a picture and send it to me? It could give me an edge in getting that listing. Thank you!”

Another idea is to...

Here's the ultimate test to take your business to the next level:

Many agents get stuck in a production band, where they consistently achieve a certain level of sales, like 3 million, 5, million, or even 6 million. But they're trapped within this range dictated by market fluctuations.

How can you break through these plateaus and actually scale your business to new heights?

Well, to break through and move up, you need to systemize your business.

Scaling requires systematic processes. So, the question is: Do you have a process? Do you have one for working with buyers, sellers, and marketing listings?

Because if you're winging it without any systems in place, you can't scale. Eventually, you'll hit a physical capacity and realize you can't handle more because you're just trying to keep up.

To move forward, you need processes. Start by breaking down your business like a loaf of bread and create a process for each aspect:

For...

Quick question:

When was the last time you visited your own website? Not Zillow or your MLS, but your personal website?

Let's be honest, many agents forget about it after setting it up. They think it looks good and move on.

But here's the issue: your clients won't use your website unless you do and show them how. So, here's what you need to do. Pretend you're a buyer and go on your website, familiarize yourself with it again because it's been a while. I recommend using Loom (loom.com) to record a quick video tutorial on how to use your website.

In the video, you can say, "Hey guys, I'm thrilled to be working with you. I wanted to give you a quick tour of how to search the MLS on my website. It'll be simple and fun. In just two minutes, I'll show you how to get started."

Then, guide them through finding properties, creating searches, saving searches, and what to do when they find a property they like and want...

Hey guys, let me share an inspiring story with you:

Years ago, I met Wan Foran, a REALTOR who faced incredible challenges on his journey to success. Wan graduated from real estate school on September 11, 2001, as a Muslim immigrant in a small town. Despite the odds stacked against him, Wan achieved remarkable success. I asked him, "How did you overcome these obstacles?"

His answer changed my perspective, and it can change yours too.

Wan knew he needed to expand beyond his local market to thrive. So he adopted a unique approach to farming...

Instead of targeting specific demographics or niches, he focused on feeder markets—areas surrounding his town that contributed potential clients. Wan identified the top 10% of REALTORS in each feeder market and initiated contact through postcards, calls, and emails. He introduced himself as a hardworking REALTOR and offered an enticing proposition:

If they referred clients to him, he...

Human resource directors, why should you care about them?

Well, if you're seeking a new lead generation strategy, consider focusing on HR directors.

Here's why:

In most markets, companies with over 25 employees have an HR person responsible for hiring, evaluations, and more. Part of their job involves recruiting, primarily focusing on the company's benefits.

But what if you could assist them in selling not only the company's benefits but also the benefits of living in the area?

Here's how you can approach HR directors:

Start by obtaining a list from the Chamber of Commerce and target larger businesses in your market. Introduce yourself as [Your Name] from ABC Real Estate, a relocation specialist.

Let them know you understand their role in human resources and offer your assistance as a REALTOR in promoting the market area. Emphasize that your services are free to the company, and you only earn a commission if...

I recently heard a great story about a real estate agent who moved to a new market and didn't know many people. She knew it would be challenging to succeed without a sphere of influence, so she came up with a brilliant strategy:

She researched the top 10 things people want to do in the area and created a video about each of them. She then posted the videos on YouTube and TikTok, and connected them to her website and blog.

By doing this, she was able to reach a wider audience and get her name out there.

She also used Facebook and Google pixels to remarket to people who visited her website, and started putting ads in front of them.

This strategy paid off, and it paid off big:

She went from zero to 10 million in business in just one year!

If you're interested in trying this strategy, don't worry - it's not technical or difficult. Everything you need to know can be found on YouTube, and most of it is free. The only cost is for ads, but...

Jess Lenouvel is a real estate marketing expert, author, and founder of The Listings Lab. In an age where algorithms rule our lives, her innovative approach bucks the traditional real estate mold and gives agents back their time and freedom without sacrificing growth or peace of mind. With an emphasis on marketing, personal connection, and timeless principles, Jess is a thought leader in the industry, enabling real estate agents to thrive in both their professional and personal lives. Listen to this episode and learn why identifying a niche is critical to creating a winning strategy, the nine posts that are critical to attracting (instead of chasing) your ideal client, how to choose your platform, and how to build your audience. Bring a pen because you will want to take notes!

How's your real estate business going?

When I ask some people this question, they seem to lack enthusiasm about where they're at with their business. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon as we've entered what I like to call the Real Estate Hunger Games, and here's what that means:

This year, we're projected to close about four and a half million transactions in real estate with around 1.6 million REALTORS. When we rewind the clock back to 2012, just about a million REALTORS were in business and we were still closing about the same number of transactions. With 60% more REALTORS doing the same volume of transactions, it's no wonder why it's more competitive than it's ever been in our industry.

So, the question is, how do you make sure that you're not market driven but strategy driven?

I'm going to share with you a simple strategy that's going to be so simple you might think it won't work, but it absolutely will work...

Hey guys, some new interesting information from NAR regarding how far people move when they buy a new home.

For decades, the number was about 10 to 15 miles from where they were moving to where they were going to.

Now that shot up dramatically last year to 50 miles—an unheard of number. And where are people heading?

1. Small towns: up 9% from last year.

2. Rural areas: up 7% from last year.

So people are wanting to exit urban areas, kind of that urban exodus we've talked about for a long time. And why are they doing it? Well, they have remote working, they have a remote school, and they want to get out of the urban jungle. And affordability is a big issue. They can buy a much bigger house, much nicer house by going out to these rural and small town areas.

So what about your market? Are you starting to see this in your market?

Maybe you're on the flip side where you live in a rural market like I do and you're benefiting from people coming to you. And on the other side, maybe...

Here's a target market right now that could be a massive opportunity for us:

We should be looking for opportunities. In every market shift, there's an opportunity. And one opportunity we're starting to see is retirement.

People are accelerating their retirement plans. In fact, the number of retirees in the marketplace is up 13.7% in the third quarter of this year.

Why?

A lot of people just don't wanna face the challenges of recessionary markets and things happening, and that's out of their control. They just want to exit and enjoy the rest of their time, right?

So when you have a retiree, by definition, a lot of times what they do is they want to downsize. They wanna scale back their lifestyle, so they can afford the retirement. And we're seeing this a lot with empty nesters and just people that are ready for the next phase of their lives.

So these retirees are perfect target audience for us in that they're probably...