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The spring market doesn’t just bring momentum. It brings opportunity, and the agents who show up with systems will be the ones who capture the most market share.
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This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what works — consistently, intentionally and with structure.
Here are 10 scalable, relationship-first strategies that will help you not only stand out this spring but also stay top-of-mind for life.
1. Systematize. Automate. Delegate — or delete
Every task in your business either needs to be systematized, automated, delegated or deleted.
Entrepreneurs love to add, but deletion is often the best course of action. Elon Musk famously trains his teams first to ask, “Can this be deleted?” before optimizing anything.
Start there. Clean house. Delete the busywork that doesn’t create client loyalty or revenue.
Then take what’s left, and run it through the SAD filter:
- Systematize repeatable processes
- Automate what doesn’t need your touch
- Delegate what someone else can do at 80 percent of your ability
More isn’t better. Better is better. And spring is the perfect time to trim the fat and install what’s scalable.
2. Build real vendor partnerships — and communicate the value
If you have vendors you trust, they should be showcased, not just recommended in passing.
Create a section on your website that showcases your preferred partners and links to their respective websites. But don’t just do it — tell them you’re doing it. Explain how that backlink helps their SEO and makes it easier for people to find their business online. Most vendors have no idea what that means, so help them connect the dots.
Then go deeper. Have intentional conversations with your vendor partners so they understand exactly who you help, how you help and what problems you solve. Most importantly, teach them what a good lead looks like for you. Because they’re surrounded by people going through significant life changes — clients, customers, employees — and unless you spell it out for them, they’re not going to think of you in those moments.
When you make it easy for people to refer you, they will.
3. Systematize your referral response the moment it comes in
The minute you get a referral — no hesitation, no delay — send a thank-you text or video. Make it personal. Make it fast.
One of the easiest hacks? Set up text replacements in your phone. Type a shortcut, such as “tyref,” and your pre-written, heartfelt message appears instantly. No thinking, no delay, just consistent gratitude.
Then, take it a step further. Build a process to send a thank-you gift — ideally to their place of business. You want as many people as possible to hear your name in the best way possible, as often as possible. A branded thank-you in a public setting? That’s strategic word-of-mouth.
Build your referral playbook. Follow it religiously. You’re not just thanking someone — you’re reinforcing behavior you want repeated.
4. Rewire referral behavior by retraining your sphere
We train people how to treat us. The same goes for your sphere.
If your people aren’t regularly sending you business, it’s probably not because they don’t love you — it’s because they don’t know how.
You have to teach them that the moment someone they know goes through a life change — divorce, new baby, empty nest, job relocation, aging parent — there’s usually a housing need right behind it. That’s your window, and that’s when they should be saying your name.
Bring this message into everything you do: your conversations, newsletters, social media and events. “Know someone with a big life change coming up? Let me know. I’ve got them.”
You’re not asking for business — you’re showing people how to be helpful. That’s the difference.
5. Run a weekend-long dumpster event that deepens loyalty and visibility
We’ve hosted our Dumpster Day event for six years now, and it remains one of the most loved, shared and talked-about events we do.
It’s simple. We make dumpsters available to our clients and the community throughout the weekend. They clean out their garages, prep for spring and walk away grateful — not just for the convenience, but for the experience.
Here’s what it does:
- It positions us as a helpful, reliable resource
- It helps potential sellers prepare their homes without feeling pressured
- It creates easy, organic brand exposure
Then, on Monday, we send a text to every participant thanking them, inviting them to leave a Google review and reminding them that we’d love to help anyone they know who is facing a significant life change.
One weekend. Massive goodwill. And a ripple effect that keeps going.
6. Turn your open houses into exposure engines
Open houses still work when you do them right.
This spring, invite your vendor partners to co-host the event. Have them set up a table, offer a giveaway or bring snacks to share. Ask them to promote the event on their social media channels and tag you when they do. Then you return the favor.
This isn’t just about buyers. It’s about buzz. You’re giving value to your vendors, visibility to the home and elevating your brand as the go-to connector in your market.
People will start showing up to see what you’re doing — and that’s when the real conversations begin.
7. Join a leads club that trains you for lifetime referrals
If you’re not in a relationship-based leads group like Business Network International (BNI), you’re missing one of the lowest-cost, highest-return lead sources in the industry.
It’s one hour a week. You’re the only agent in the room. And when you show up consistently, serve first and teach your group how to refer you, you’ll start to see real, lasting results — not just one-off leads.
Most of these groups meet approximately 48 times a year, excluding holidays. And one well-nurtured group can easily add five to 10 transactions to your business annually.
You’re not cold calling. You’re not chasing clicks. You’re building a local, loyalty-based network that works for you, and that’s how you scale.
8. Stop wasting time you don’t have. Start using AI
Let’s be real: If you’re still trying to do everything manually in your business, you’re not just falling behind — you’re doing your clients a disservice.
We live in a world that moves at a rapid pace. Your clients expect prompt responses, intelligent solutions and a high level of care. That doesn’t happen when you’re stuck rewriting listing descriptions from scratch or bouncing between platforms to launch a property.
I tell my team this often: If you’re not using tools that help you serve faster and better, you’re choosing unnecessary stress. AI isn’t here to replace the human side of what we do — it’s here to give us more space to do what matters.
Use it to streamline your listing process. Use it to prep your marketing content. Use it to enhance client communication and develop effective plans.
AI won’t make you a better agent. But it will give you back time — and in this business, time is the one thing none of us can afford to waste.
9. Turn your CRM into a command center — not a messy drawer
Most agents are sitting on a goldmine and treating it like a junk drawer. If your CRM is merely a contact list with no strategic approach, you’re missing opportunities.
Your CRM should inform you who to follow up with today, who referred you last month, which clients are approaching a home anniversary and who might be experiencing a life event that creates a housing need.
It should track your leads, your past clients, your vendor partners and your entire pipeline — not just store names and numbers.
This spring is the perfect time to clean house. Clear out the duplicates. Fix your categories. Build real tags and workflows. And most importantly, put a follow-up system in place that happens whether you remember or not.
Because the agent with the best memory doesn’t win, the agent with the best follow-up system does.
10. Catch the business other agents are quietly dropping
Not every agent announces when they’re stepping away. Some stop showing up to meetings, to social media, to their clients.
But their clients are still out there. They still need help.
Be the visible one. Be the one who follows up. Be the one with systems, clarity and a heart for service. Because the quiet exits happening all around you. They’re creating wide-open space for ready agents.
You don’t need to chase every cold lead. You need to position yourself as the agent people can rely on when the agent they used to know is no longer available.
That’s how you win — not just in spring, but all year long.
You don’t need to hustle harder this spring. You need to systematize smarter. Referrals, retention, reputation — they all come from structure, intention and follow-through. Roar into spring like a pro. Your market share is waiting.
Amy Stockberger is the founder of Amy Stockberger Real Estate. Connect with Amy on Instagram.
