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One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn in this business — and relearn, frankly — is that shiny objects don’t close deals. Discipline does.
As a former broker-owner, I’ve seen the cycle too many times: Agents chase the next tool, the next platform, the next “can’t-miss” lead source, only to find themselves back at square one looking for another “new” solution. I’ve been guilty of it myself.
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The reality is, you don’t need more leads. What you need is to do more, to do better with the leads you already have.
Stay top-of-mind with your sphere of influence
That means focusing on your sphere of influence. Really working it — not just sending a holiday postcard and calling it a strategy. I’m talking about consistent, meaningful engagement — the kind that builds trust and turns relationships into transactions.
Dustin Brohm said something recently on his Massive Agent podcast that stuck with me: “Scaling comes from repeat actions, not randomness.” Randomness is chasing every new hack that pops up in your feed. Repetition is refining the proven playbook until it runs like clockwork.
And that’s where discipline comes in.
Tom Ferry nailed it on a recent Monday Morning Motivation. “Discipline is prioritizing the needs of your future self,” he said. Read that again. It’s not about doing what feels urgent now. It’s about doing what actually moves the needle long-term.
Your future self doesn’t need another $99 per month software subscription. Your future self needs systems, follow-up, relationships, better messaging, and consistent outreach to people who already know, like and trust you.
Improve the value of the content you provide
One tool that’s helped me stay consistent when I hit a creative block is Listing Leads — the scripts, the templates, the way it’s built to plug right into what you’re already doing. I’ve used it, and I’ve seen it work.
Garry Eberhardt, a friend and former agent of mine, recently landed a $1.3 million listing in the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard using a Scout campaign and a simple Listing Leads email script. The framework gave him just enough of a nudge to deliver a message that resonated.
He wasn’t doing anything drastically new; he just improved the delivery.
That’s the key. You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel. You just need to say the right thing to the right people in a way that gets heard.
Why everyone, from agents to brokerages, needs a content plan
Brokerages often struggle with this, too — creating content that serves both buyers and sellers, that fits the market and the moment, and that agents can actually use.
At both of my brokerages, I made it a priority to give my agents something valuable they could send each month — a smart, timely email for their SOI. I’d also include market data from Altos Research because it gave real insight, not just fluff.
But doing that at scale, every single time, for every market segment? It’s tough, which is why discipline matters even more. Not every outreach needs to be perfect. It just needs to be consistent. When you stay visible, you stay valuable.
“Lead gen has gotten out of control,” Jimmy Mackin said recently. “You shouldn’t have to become a full-time marketer just to stay in business.”
Here are his three tips for building a predictable business without having to invest in an overengineered lead-gen “system”:
- Show up to your database consistently. That can be in the form of a regular email newsletter, videos, blogs or other core content offerings that add value and educate members of your sphere of influence, including past clients, referral sources, colleagues, friends and family.
- Use social media to stay visible and valuable. Distribute that core content through consistent posting, engaging with commenters and direct messages. Starting from scratch or rebooting your social media? Commit to just one platform, then build your presence over time.
- Have marketing that runs even when you’re busy closing. An updated and robust online presence works for you 24/7, warming up cold leads. Properly search engine optimized, it will generate leads on your behalf without the 30 percent to 40 percent fees charged by referral networks and portals.
So no, you don’t need another lead source. You need better follow-through. You need to make the most of the people already in your world.
Future you is counting on today you. So get busy.
Troy Palmquist is the founder and principal at HomeCode Advisors. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
