Is It the Market or Is It Something Else?
Yesterday a team leader asked me a question that I have not been able to stop thinking about.
“I’m struggling. Do you think it’s the market or something else?”
And I want to be honest with you. My first instinct was to say yes, the market is tough. Because it is. Rates are not where anyone wants them. The news is not helping. Buyers are hesitant and sellers are uncertain. All of that is real.
But that is not the full answer.
Because here is what I am also seeing at the exact same time. There are agents and teams who are winning right now. Not scraping by. Actually growing. And they are operating in the same market, reading the same headlines, dealing with the same interest rates as everyone else.
So what is the difference?
They adapted. And they did not wait for the market to make it easy before they did.
The last few years put every agent and every team through something. A pandemic. A frenzy market that rewarded everyone regardless of skill. Then a sharp correction. Then uncertainty that just kept going. The agents who stayed in the work, who kept having conversations, who kept showing up when it stopped being easy, those agents came out the other side with something the others do not have. Resilience. And systems.
And right now, this market is exposing the teams or agents that were riding the wave instead of building the engine.
The opportunity is still there. The conversations are still there. The listings are still there. The buyers are still there. But you have to go get them now. They are not coming to you on their own.
That means speed to lead matters. When someone raises their hand, you need to be the first one having that conversation, not the third. It means follow up has to be relentless and real, not a automated text that nobody responds to. It means your database needs attention, real personal outreach, not a mass email blast once a quarter. It means leadership on your team has to be sharp and present, not absent and hoping everyone figures it out.
Tactical execution is what separates agents right now. Not market conditions.
Your action items this week:
- Do an honest audit of your follow up process. How many leads or conversations from the last 30 days did not get a second or third touch from you? Go back to those people this week with a real personal message, not a template.
- Look at your database and identify ten people you have not spoken to in 90 days or more. Pick up the phone and call them. No agenda, no pitch, just a genuine check in. You will find opportunity in that list.
- If you lead a team, have a direct and honest conversation with your people this week about what is actually working and what is not. Not a motivational speech. A real conversation about tactics, activity, and accountability. The teams that communicate clearly right now are the ones that will come out ahead.
Wishing you a productive week ahead.