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Even in challenging markets, somebody is having their best year ever. So what are they doing? Trey Willard and the W Group Real Estate Team have used systems and mindset strategies to build momentum while others are struggling. With over 100 homes closed and nearly 200 under contract, Willard’s systems and mindset are a masterclass in service and execution.
“We’re in the action economy now,” Willard told me during our recent conversation. “Information’s everywhere, but what matters most is who’s taking action on it.”
Here’s how Willard and his team are winning in today’s market and how you can apply the same frameworks in your business.
What is the action economy?
Willard defines today’s market as one where ideas are cheap, and execution is everything.
“Agents are paralyzed by too much information. AI gives you the answers. But if you don’t do something with it, it’s just noise,” he said.
Instead of trying to outthink the market, Willard and the W Group lean into disciplined action, focusing on conversations, appointments and follow-through. He focuses on simplicity over complexity. He said one key idea he tries to stay focused on consistently is: “Simplicity scales. Complexity kills.”
Conversations still close deals
Willard’s team doesn’t chase vanity metrics. Instead, he and his team focus on five key performance indicators (KPIs). They include:
Appointments set
Appointments met
Buyers or sellers signed
Homes under contract
Closings
He doesn’t even track conversations directly because, as he said, “If you’re meeting with people, the conversations are already happening. You can’t get to a closing without a conversation. So that’s where everything starts.” Whether you’re a solo agent or team leader, the principle holds: Track what matters, and reverse-engineer your activity to hit your goal.
Daily discipline builds momentum
Willard credits much of his consistency to mindset work. He believes how you start your day sets the tone for how your day will go. He stated he’s developed his own version of Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning.
His daily routine includes:
Quiet time and devotionals
Affirmations and visualizations
Reading and reflection
A momentum-building call to a friend or past client
That first easy win through a call to a friend or past client creates a rhythm that he rides into more difficult calls. This is a technique he encourages his agents to follow.
Creating a culture of accountability
Each Monday, Willard’s team gathers around their scoreboard, which is a live dashboard of set and met appointments, contracts and closed units. It’s all grounded in the principles from the book The 4 Disciplines of Execution:
Set a wildly important goal: This is your main focus.
Act on the lead measures: What are the activities that, if consistently carried out, lead to success?
Maintain a visible scoreboard: Keep a running total on your KPIs to know where you stand in relation to your goals.
Build a cadence of accountability: Regular meetings or overviews with a coach, team leader or accountability partner to help maintain momentum.
And that last one is where many team leaders fall short, according to Willard. “If there’s no cadence, it’s easy for agents to fall behind. And once they fall too far behind, they check out.”
In addition to Monday meetings, his team runs Tuesday roleplay sessions, Thursday new agent accountability calls, Friday expansion check-ins and quarterly one-on-one reviews. This helps his team maintain a level of accountability few others match, which leads to the success they are having.
The 2-a-week formula for 40+ closings
One of Willard’s simplest yet most effective productivity hacks is to just meet with two people about real estate each week. He calls it “Do the Two.” And if agents follow that formula for 48 weeks, he noted, the numbers start to stack. This is how he sees the numbers playing out over the year:
96 appointments per year
60 percent to 70 percent of those sign
70 percent to 80 percent of those close
Even with fall-throughs factored in, that still lands most agents in the 40-plus deal range if they just stick to the process.
Staying in production for the right reasons
While many team leaders pull back from production, Willard remains active and intentional about it. It keeps him sharp while modeling the consistency for the team, and it builds profitability. His team is involved in the Zillow Flex program, and he explained that for most Zillow Flex deals, his team nets just 30 percent to 35 percent of GCI. But when he closes a sphere-based deal himself? Nearly 100 percent flows through to the business.
The modified 36-touch system that gets results
Willard follows a version of the 36-touch model taught by Keller Williams, but he keeps it simple and human. He utilizes social media to supplement the purposeful touches he makes.
These include four quarterly mailers (home value offers, team wins, Saints/LSU magnets, holiday cards) and four personal touches (birthday videos, equity check-ins, client events, quick “thinking of you” calls). He consistently connects with his database on social media and shares social proof of how they are helping their clients achieve their goals.
The team also hosts client appreciation events. These include multiple invite touchpoints, which lead to top-of-mind reminders whether they attend the events or not.
With every touch made, he wants to lead with value, not the typical checking-in calls many agents make. “If every time I call you, I’m giving something, not asking for something, my call will always be welcome.”
His keys to success: Take action. Track it. Repeat
Willard and the W Group are a model of how consistency and accountability lead to success. Whether you’re a new agent or a seasoned agent looking to build momentum, following his model will work for you.
Willard closed out my conversation with him with four simple instructions for agents and team leaders:
Jimmy Burgess is the Chief Coaching Officer for HomeServices of America and President of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Real estate is changing fast, and so must you. Inman Connect San Diego is where you turn uncertainty into strategy — with real talk, real tools and the connections that matter. If you’re serious about staying ahead of the game, this is where you need to be. Register now!
Sometimes a success story comes along that inspires us and reminds us why we’re in this business. Taley Hunt’s is exactly that. Her story is a case study in grit, consistency and “leading with value” that catapulted a brand new mom from zero to more than 400 transactions in her first five years.
Hunt arrived in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2019 with no sphere, no budget and no roadmap. What she did have was a $41,000 higher-ed salary she wanted to replace, a baby on the way, and a willingness to “go in blind and messy until something clicked.”
“People keep telling new agents to ‘hustle,’” Hunt told me. “For me, that just meant taking whatever tiny thing I had, whether it was one client, one inspection, one model-home visit or whatever else I had, and turning it into content that let the world know I was in the game.”
That decision produced 28 closings her first year (with a newborn baby), 86 the next, 145 the next and — by early June of this year — she had 110 homes closed or pending on the board. Her team is tracking toward 200 sides and more than $1 million GCI this year, with virtually no paid leads.
Below is the exact framework she follows — a seven-point system any agent can model, no matter how modest the starting point.
She shows — then shows again
Hunt has built much of her success through social media and her authenticity on the platforms. Her first viral post was as raw as it gets: She wedged her newborn’s rocker between a monitor and a stack of listing agreements, snapped the scene and captioned it:
“Writing my first offer while my assistant naps.”
She never stopped. Day after day, she gave her followers a front-row seat to the building of her business. These posts have included:
Selfies at model homes (“Touring new construction—come with me”)
An eight-month-pregnant belly in a spec house
A two-minute car video after an inspection (“Here’s what we found and how we’ll negotiate it”)
“I didn’t wait until I ‘deserved’ to post,” she says. “I documented everything — previewing homes no one asked me to preview, searching the MLS for six hours — because that shows you’re active in the market, not just posing in front of a sold sign.”
Why it works
When you are looking for your ideal audience, the fastest path to success is showing up as your most authentic self. Hunt’s success breaks down to three key components.
Relatability: Clients saw a real mom juggling real life, not a flawless billboard.
Visibility: Every Story went to Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. As she put it, “I try to double-dip everything.”
Searchability: Hunt Googled “questions first-time buyers ask,” answered them on video and created evergreen SEO content that still circulates.
She always turns 1 deal into 2 … or 3
Hunt’s very first buyer came from a Facebook group where an out-of-state agent needed a Columbia referral partner. She snagged it, executed flawlessly and — before closing — asked that buyer a simple question:
“Who else do you know who might be buying this year?”
Sixty days later, she closed her first referral from that first client. “That was my lightbulb moment,” she says, “realizing every transaction is a tree with more fruit — you just have to water it.”
Hunt has built what she calls her “3-R flywheel,” a relationship-driven strategy that fuels consistent business without cold calls or heavy ad spend. The first “R” stands for relationships. She stays close to past clients through personal texts, interactive Instagram polls and behind-the-scenes Reels that keep her top of mind in a way that feels natural.
From there, her second “R” stands for referrals. She plants a simple but powerful seed at closing: “Can I count on you to introduce me to one person I can help this year?” That one ask, followed by a handwritten thank-you note, helped drive 32 percent of her sales in 2024.
Finally, her last “R” stands for reputation. By tagging vendors, lenders and referring agents in her social posts and Reels, she shines a light on others in a way that earns reshares and multiplies her reach.
She practices database discipline: DTD2 + weekly value emails
Hunt is fanatical about DTD2, a tagging schedule popularized by The CORE Training. Week 1 of every quarter? Call (or, in her case, text) everyone whose last name starts with A or W. Week 2: B & X, and so on. Result: Four personal touches per contact per year, baked into the calendar.
“I text; I don’t call,” she emphasizes. “Nobody wants surprise calls anymore. A quick check-in text feels respectful.”
She also does a weekly newsletter to her database every Friday. That Friday newsletter has a 48 percent open rate. The newsletter has three key components: Local life (farmer’s markets, festivals, 5Ks, etc.), a market snapshot (clear and simple updates on the market) and ICYMI (links to her top Reels so they stay relevant with the algorithm).
“I’m not trying to convert via email,” she says. “I’m staying relevant. If they see my name weekly and hear from me quarterly, we’re golden.”
She hosts client appreciation events regularly
She hosted her first client event in Year 2. It was a photo with Santa event, and 15 families showed up. “It wasn’t the turnout,” she notes. “It was the triple touch: invite, reminder, thank-you.”
Today, her team runs five signature events, all co-sponsored by lenders, inspectors and insurance reps. These include a spring egg hunt (300 attendees in March), a summer movie day (buys out the theater), a fall festival (food trucks, inflatables and vendor booths), Thanksgiving pie pickup (apple or pumpkin as options), and Santa photo and toy drive (her favorite and a great way to end the year).
If you’re a new agent or someone who has never hosted a client event, you may be feeling overwhelmed hearing all she does for client appreciation events. But she encouraged agents to “Start with one annual anchor event. As you master the process, layer in a second, then a third.”
She’s a digital farmer — for other Realtors
Out-of-state agents are her second farm. She nurtures them exactly like a neighborhood. She’s built an email list of agents in other markets, and she consistently adds agents to that list. Her approach to digitally farming for agent referrals includes:
A monthly value email: “Steal my six highest-converting postcards.”
Posting daily in group searches: She types “Columbia, SC agent?” into national Facebook groups twice a day to snag live referrals.
Handwritten notes: She sends 10-15 cards weekly to top producers in feeder markets (Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, Houston and Memphis): “I love paying 30 percent for buyers headed to Columbia. Here’s my cell.”
Forty percent of her 2025 pipeline now originates from agent referrals. Every closing triggers a public Reel thanking the referring agent and reiterating that 30 percent split. “I make the agent the hero,” she laughs, “because heroes get sequels.”
She posts with purpose: The ‘little help’ strategy
Scroll her feed and you’ll spot templated “buyer-need” graphics like:
“VA buyer, $450K, needs 3/2 near Fort Jackson — know anyone?”
“Investor hunting duplex under $300K in Cayce — DM me.”
Each ends with two clear calls to action: Share or direct message me. One spring listing that she was able to track came straight from an owner whose neighbor shared the post.
She also stated that sneak-peek posts of “coming soon” listings, which she shoots green-screen style in front of a map, spark the same fear of missing out and occasionally turn into double-ended deals.
She’s found that leverage beats burnout
When you’re barreling toward 200 sides, leverage isn’t optional. Once Hunt realized this, she hired showing assistants at $25 per hour to help out with buyers. She now leans on a transaction coordinator and automates everything she can. But she still answers her own Instagram DMs.
“That’s my trust channel,” she says. “People feel like they know me; I’m not handing that off.”
Her advice to rookies is equally direct: “Start documenting now — even if you’re juggling a stroller and a Supra key. Ask every client for the intro to the next one. Systematize your follow-up, and celebrate gratitude loudly.”
She tells new agents what she’d tell her year-one self: “The things you struggle with today will be what you help someone else through tomorrow. Keep going. Winners are the ones who don’t stop when everyone else would.”
Four years ago, her stretch goal was matching her husband’s Army salary. She surpassed it tenfold this spring. “I couldn’t have dreamed this big,” Hunt admits. “Authenticity did the heavy lifting. I just kept showing up.”
Jimmy Burgess is the Chief Coaching Officer for HomeServices of America and President of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Since the NAR commission suit settlement, buyer agents have faced new rules, new documents and a new normal. This month, Inman drills down on Today’s Buyers Agent with the fresh marketing strategies, skills and tools buyer agents are using to prosper in changing times.
Every agent dreams of building a business that has a consistent flow of referrals. Not just because it reduces marketing spend or shortens sales cycles, but because it’s a business built on trust, service and long-term relationships. The best agents I know, the ones who weather every shift in the market, have one thing in common: Their business is powered by referrals.
This article outlines seven strategies to help you build your own referral machine. These are timeless, proven approaches that agents across the country are using right now to create businesses that grow regardless of market conditions.
1. Create a digital referral farm
You’ve heard of geographical farming. But what about farming agents in other markets?
Start by building an email list of real estate agents from outside your area. These are people you’ve met at conferences, connected with on social media or worked with on deals in the past. This collection of individuals is your “digital farm,” and it’s one of the most overlooked yet powerful referral strategies.
At least once a month, send an email that adds real value to these agents. Share something that helped your business, like a script that worked, a marketing strategy you implemented, or templates for high-converting direct mail campaigns. It’s even more personal and impactful if you include a short video walking them through the tip you’re sharing.
Sign off each email with something like:
“This is your friend in real estate in [Your City]. Thanks in advance for keeping me in mind if someone is moving to the area.”
The key is consistency. Lead with value. Ask them to forward your emails to other agents and to let you know if they want to be added to the list. Over time, this positions you as the go-to referral partner in your market.
2. Create an MVP list for referrals
Just like you’d farm a neighborhood, you need to cultivate your most valuable relationships. These are your MVPs. These are past clients and sphere contacts most likely to send you referrals.
Create a list of 25, 50 or 100 people. Then, focus on showing up intentionally in their lives. Don’t just “check in.” Engage with their lives. DM them to congratulate them on life events. Comment meaningfully on their social media posts. Notice them, celebrate them, and let them know you care.
The goal is to remain top-of-mind. This isn’t achieved through constantly asking them for referrals, but through authentic connection. This builds goodwill and ensures that when the opportunity for a referral arises, you’ll be the name they recommend.
3. Build relationships with former agents
The past few years have pushed many agents out of the business. Some went part-time; others left entirely. These individuals still have contacts, relationships and influence, and they’re often open to earning referral fees.
Reach out to former agents, and show them how to keep their license active in a referral-only capacity. If your brokerage offers a referral company, explain how it works and how they can earn passive income by sending business your way.
Reassure them that you’ll treat their referrals like family and that you’ll keep them in the loop. When they see a path to stay connected to the industry and be compensated for their past efforts, many will jump at the opportunity, and you’ll gain a new referral source.
4. Post with purpose
Want to generate organic referrals on social media? Start posting with a clear purpose.
Instead of just posting closings, share “little help” posts — specific buyer needs or sneak peeks of upcoming listings.
For example:
“I’m working with a couple moving to [your city] looking for a 3-bed, 2-bath in [neighborhood] under $600K. If you know someone who’s been thinking about selling, please share this or DM me.”
These posts tap into the law of reciprocity. People want to help. They’ll tag friends, DM you, and engage with the post. That interaction puts your content in their feed more often, expanding your reach.
5. Focus on feeder markets
Where are the buyers for your area relocating from? These are called feeder markets, meaning the other city feeds a steady stream of buyers to your market. Identify where your buyers are coming from, then build a referral strategy to tap into those markets.
Send handwritten notes to top agents in those cities. Include something simple like:
“I love paying referral fees for buyers moving to (Your City).”
You can increase the likelihood of referrals from specific agents in feeder markets by:
Following agents in those markets on social media
Commenting consistently on their content
Adding them to your digital farm email list
When those agents have clients relocating to your area, you’ll be their go-to local expert.
6. Tell referral stories publicly
Every time you receive a referral, tell the story on social media. Here are a few ideas on how to share these stories publicly:
Thank the referring agent on social media
Explain the referral process and your system for keeping agents updated on social media
Share the story of helping a referral you received, and thank the referring agent in the story
When agents see you making other agents’ clients happy and they see you publicly thanking the referring agent, they’re more likely to send you a referral when the opportunity arises for them. Sharing these stories publicly builds your reputation and shows how easy you make the referral process.
7. Reward referring agents generously
Finally, show appreciation to the agents who trust you with their clients. A 30 percent referral fee instead of the usual 25 percent speaks volumes. A thoughtful thank-you gift or handwritten note after closing leaves a lasting impression.
Treat them like you treat your best clients. Show them you value their partnership and want more of it.
If you want more referrals, start by giving more value. Give ideas, resources, recognition and gratitude. Build relationships with agents and clients alike. Create systems that make it easy for others to send you business and reward them when they do.
A referral-based business isn’t built overnight — but it’s built to last. And when done right, it becomes the foundation of a business that thrives in any market.
JimmyBurgess is the Chief Coaching Officer for HomeServices of America and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Since the NAR commission suit settlement, buyer agents have faced new rules, new documents and a new normal. This month, Inman drills down on Today’s Buyers Agent with the fresh marketing strategies, skills and tools buyer agents are using to prosper in changing times.
Sometimes the difference between a struggling agent and a top agent isn’t massive; it’s minor. But those small, consistent habits make all the difference. In this market, especially, it’s the agents who show up with discipline, strategy and intention who continue to grow.
This article shares seven specific habits that top agents consistently practice and why they work.
1. They start every day with lead generation
For top agents, lead generation isn’t something they do when they have time; it’s the non-negotiable that starts every single day. Whether it’s social media outreach, circle prospecting, database calls or open house follow-up, they prioritize creating new business before anything else.
Many now start each morning with social media DMs to past clients, prospects or sphere contacts based on life events. A birthday, a job promotion or a move can all serve as great conversation starters. Others send short, personalized video messages about new listings or record unsolicited video CMAs to past buyers. These agents know that starting the day with proactive communication leads to opportunities and momentum.
They also segment their efforts based on urgency. For example, they may reach out to hot leads with property updates, touch base with cold leads using educational content and re-engage past clients with value-based check-ins. This layered, purposeful outreach builds stronger and more consistent pipelines of business over time.
2. They build a personal brand
While struggling agents often react, the best agents are proactive. They stay top-of-mind by consistently showing up in front of their audience on social media, YouTube, via email communication or even through direct mail. They reinforce their brand through education, storytelling and community engagement.
Top agents know that consumers choose people, not companies. So they focus on being relatable, knowledgeable and visible. They share client stories, market updates, neighborhood insights and behind-the-scenes moments that humanize their brand and deepen connections.
Their brand becomes a magnet. It keeps them top-of-mind and first in line when a client is ready to make a move or has the opportunity to refer a potential client.
3. They prioritize reviews and referrals
Top agents know a happy client is the best lead magnet. But they don’t just let good service speak for itself; they amplify it through reviews. They actively collect reviews through platforms such as Google, Zillow and Facebook. They don’t stop at gathering 5-star ratings; they turn those reviews into social media posts, email content and listing presentation proof points.
They also leverage the power of storytelling. Instead of saying “another one sold,” they highlight the client’s journey: the challenges faced, the solutions provided and the outcome achieved. These narratives build credibility and emotional resonance.
And most importantly, they ask for referrals with intention. They send follow-up emails after closings, thank-you notes after reviews and occasional check-ins with past clients that include a gentle reminder to send business their way.
4. They invest in coaching, training and masterminds
Growth doesn’t happen in isolation. Top agents surround themselves with ideas, accountability and support. They attend masterminds and conferences where they gain perspective from peers in other markets. These gatherings help them identify trends early, learn about new marketing strategies and stay motivated.
This learning doesn’t just come from masterminds and conferences; they also invest their time and money in training. Whether it’s learning how to leverage AI, refining their negotiation skills or sharpening their listing presentation, they understand the market is always changing, and the agents who stay relevant are the ones who keep learning.
Most top agents also work with a coach. Coaches help them create systems, hold them accountable and accelerate breakthroughs. Whether it’s weekly calls or monthly strategy sessions, coaching creates clarity and consistency.
They realize learning isn’t an event; it’s a lifestyle.
5. They treat their CRM like a gold mine
Your CRM holds untapped opportunities. Top agents know this and treat it accordingly. Tom Ferry has said that roughly 8 percent of any database will transact each year. Based on this belief, if you have 500 contacts in your database, roughly 40 are likely to buy or sell. It’s just a question of who they’ll choose.
Understanding this, top agents deliver consistent value to their database. They send property alerts tailored to each contact’s interests. They create segmented email campaigns. They send video market updates. They make their database feel like a VIP club, not just a spreadsheet.
One standout strategy is the “Deal of the Week,” first taught by Sharran Srivatsaa. Each week, the agent highlights one listing, often the best buy the agent sees on the market that week in a specific category (luxury, first-time buyer, fixer-upper, etc.). This approach creates curiosity, triggers responses and keeps the database engaged.
These consistent touches build relationships, and those relationships build business.
6. They focus on listings, not just buyers
The best agents understand that buyers can consume time, but listings offer leverage. While buyers are important, listings drive market presence, efficiency and scalability.
They structure their business to attract sellers through strategies that include but are not limited to:
Farming specific neighborhoods with high turnover rates
Using direct mail to share just-listed/just-sold updates
Hosting neighborhood events to build local recognition
When you control listings, you control inventory, and that positions you as a local expert. Listings also generate buyer leads, improve your online presence and create more predictable revenue.
Top agents know that listings lead to leverage, and leverage leads to growth.
7. They build momentum in the slow seasons
When other agents take their foot off the gas, top producers hit the accelerator. They use slow seasons to sharpen their skills, deepen their relationships and plant seeds for the future.
They double down on marketing, host educational events and reconnect with past clients. They batch content, update their systems and train their teams. Because of this, when the market heats up again, they’re ready. They’ve already created momentum, and that momentum becomes listings, referrals and closings while others are still trying to get back into rhythm.
Top agents don’t just weather the slow season; they win it.
If you’re looking to grow, start with one of these habits. Get consistent. Then add another. Success isn’t about being superhuman. It’s about doing the right things every day, even when no one’s watching.
That’s how top agents create separation from their competition and build businesses that thrive in any market.
Jimmy Burgess is a real estate agent and national team builder with Real Brokerage in northwest Florida, serving the 30A, Destin, and Panama City Beach markets. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
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If you’re not known as an expert for a specific community or area, then you’re not an expert. Geographical farming is a foundational strategy for agents looking to build a consistent business with a steady flow of listing opportunities.
In a business where burnout is common and consistency elusive, Craig Duran, a Panama City Beach, Florida-based agent, has quietly built a career — and a lifestyle — around geographic farming. In this article, he shares the dos and don’ts of farming the right way.
A rocky start that led to a system
Duran entered real estate in 2003 after a stint as a professional musician and golf shop employee. His early years rode the wave of a hot market — until the 2008 crash struck. One particularly painful year saw only five closings.
“I didn’t have the skill set. I wasn’t really running a business,” he said. Ready to quit, a lifeline came from an unexpected place: His mother gifted him three months of coaching with Bill Fields.
That coaching taught Duran two things that changed everything:
You’re in the people-finding business.
You need a repeatable system to find and serve those people.
That’s when he discovered farming.
Starting with 1 farm and a letter
Duran chose a condo building where his office was located and wrote a letter. Within the first couple of letters, he landed a listing.
“I probably got lucky, but that’s when I saw the potential,” he said.
From there, he added a second, more traditional residential farm. He diversified not just by geography but by product type, balancing vacation condos with primary residences.
Today, his business runs 12 to 13 active farms, which provide him with a business that consistently provides listings.
Selecting a farm: What matters
Duran’s criteria for selecting a farm have evolved. Early on, proximity and product familiarity were key. Now, he encourages agents to evaluate farms based on:
The annual turnover rate gives you an indication of how many homes will typically sell in the coming year. This gives you the ability to calculate how many homes your efforts may be able to generate for you in the coming year, should you decide to farm that area or neighborhood. You should anticipate a minimum ability to capture 10 percent of the sales in the coming year and even higher with consistent value and communication with the owners in the farm you choose.
The average price point and potential commission provide another way of understanding the investment you will make and the potential return on that investment. Factoring in $2 per household per month is a great way to budget your annual spend for the area or neighborhood. This will be a combination of monthly mailers to the owners, along with “just listed” and “just sold” cards for the homes you list in the neighborhood.
Understanding if there is already a dominant agent in the farm helps you decide which areas have the most opportunity for immediate impact. Finding a neighborhood where there isn’t an agent who has over 10 percent of the previous year’s sales is a factor that increases your ability to become the go-to agent for that farm area.
It’s hard to sell something you don’t like. Duran said, “You should genuinely like the area or property type. It makes conversations easier.” He also considers life stage alignment — young agents farming starter neighborhoods, for example, can connect more naturally with homeowners.
The goal: A 10x return
While he no longer obsesses over exact ROI calculations, Duran aimed for a 10x return early on.
“Some farms hit that. Some get zero for three years and then explode in year four. You’ve got to play the long game,” he noted.
He tracks everything in a spreadsheet, manually entering data at year’s end. His process isn’t just analytical — it’s reflective.
Monthly execution: Direct mail and digital layers
Duran’s strategy centers around consistent, relevant direct mail. The core messages:
“Just sold” notifications
“For sale” promotions (with QR codes)
Market updates curated for each farm
“People want to know what’s happening in their building or neighborhood — not generic data,” he said.
Digitally, he uses landing pages to capture emails and send e-alerts with property activity. The key? Value-first content with no sales pressure. This is an example of one of his postcards for capturing email addresses for e-alerts:
“If someone wants a market update emailed to them, I give it freely. That branding carries weight later when they’re ready to list.” This is an example of a market update postcard Duran has used recently:
Video: The underrated farm asset
Duran creates screenshare video updates, walking viewers through market stats and trends. Each one is tailored to the specific farm.
“You can’t say everything in a postcard. These videos let me explain how I think — how I work. Owners feel like they know me before we ever speak.”
Many are 10–15 minutes long, breaking the “keep it short” rule. “People watch. Especially when it’s about their property,” he said.
This is an example of one of the neighborhood-specific updates he does:
When to let go of a farm
Deciding to drop a farm is difficult. Duran has seen zero ROI in some farms for years, only to have them pay off later. Still, he evaluates annually and adjusts. Factors include:
Lack of engagement despite strong effort
Shift in inventory or pricing that no longer fits his model
Burnout or lack of personal interest
“You can’t farm everything forever. It’s OK to pivot,” Duran said.
Final advice: Consistency over perfection
In a market filled with distractions, Duran’s advice is simple: “Just get good at helping people. Focus on consistency. That’s what separates the agents who survive from those who thrive.”
Whether you’re a new agent or a seasoned pro needing to regain momentum, geographic farming isn’t just a marketing tactic — it’s a foundation. The best time to start farming an area or neighborhood may have been yesterday, but the second-best time is today.
Start farming your first or next area today, and your future business will be stronger and more consistent.
Jimmy Burgess is a real estate agent and national team builder with Real Brokerage in northwest Florida, serving the 30A, Destin, and Panama City Beach markets. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
