In the 483rd episode of the show, Robert Newman and Jonathan Denwood lay out six habits that quietly undermine agents—and how to replace them with smarter moves. Robert, a veteran sales leader turned real estate SEO strategist, and Jonathan, co-founder of Mail-Right and longtime WordPress pro, keep the focus on practical fixes you can deploy right away. If you want a cleaner brand, warmer responses, and a steadier pipeline in 2025, start by cutting these out.
Stop Sending Canned, Low-Value Email
Nothing erodes trust faster than generic email blasts. Consumers are flooded with templated newsletters and IDX push-forwards that read like filler. At best, they’re ignored; at worst, they train your audience to tune you out—or unsubscribe entirely. If an email doesn’t deliver local relevance or personal context, don’t send it. Replace “spray and pray” with short, specific notes: a deal of the week and why it’s underpriced, a brief market pulse in plain English, or a two-sentence story about how you solved a tricky appraisal and what a seller can learn from it. Keep messages human, timely, and local, and your open rates will reflect what your tone already suggests—you’re writing to a neighbor, not a list.
Stop Posting the Wrong Content on Social Media
The fastest way to disappear on social is to post content that isn’t you. Audiences can spot stock posts and borrowed personalities instantly. Authenticity travels farther than polish, and consistency beats occasional sizzle. Lean into your real archetype—tech-savvy hustler, patient explainer, neighborhood lifer, horse-property whisperer—and speak from where you actually live. Show your face. Talk the way you talk with clients. Share what you truly know: schools, streets, builders, lenders, micro-pockets that still sell in slow markets. If you wouldn’t say it across a kitchen island, don’t publish it on your feed. And when you do publish, anchor it to your local world—walkthrough clips, quick market clarifiers, behind-the-scenes problem solving—so the algorithm can recognize and reward what your audience already feels: this is the agent who actually knows this place.
Stop “Staying in Touch” Without a Purpose
Random check-ins feel like interruptions. Purposeful check-ins feel like service. The difference is the prep you do in your CRM. Track real details—birthdays, kids’ milestones, move-up timelines, HOA quirks, tax reassessments—and let those facts guide why you reach out. A quick text when property taxes change, a note when rates shift enough to justify a refinance conversation, or a call when inventory hits a client’s target street signals that you see them, not just their contact record. When each touch answers a likely question or removes a small worry, people take your calls and refer you freely. Intent isn’t accidental; it’s scheduled. Put a weekly “reach-outs with purpose” block on your calendar and let your CRM prompt the conversations.
Stop Operating Without a Simple System (and Ignoring Your CRM)
You don’t need enterprise software to be organized, but you do need a method you’ll actually use. A light CRM plus a rotation framework keeps a 300–500-person database warm without burning you out. The goal is regular, thoughtful touches—not heroic bursts followed by silence. Whether you follow an alphabetical rotation, a “Top 100” focus, or a birthday-driven cadence, the habit matters more than the tool. Use contact notes, tasks, and tags to record what you promised, what they asked, and when to follow up next. If you insist on managing your career from your inbox, you’ll eventually drop balls you never meant to juggle. Systems aren’t about rigidity; they’re about reliability. The agents who win are boringly consistent at the basics other people postpone.
Stop Hiding—Build a Local Network in Public
Invisible agents don’t get invited to listings. Waiting for the phone to ring is not a strategy. Show up where real conversations happen: open houses (yours and others’), school events, neighborhood meetings, charity nights, first-time buyer workshops, and weekend park cleanups. Lead with an honest, five-second introduction you can say without flinching: who you help, where you work, and one problem you solve. Then listen more than you speak. Take other people’s cards and follow up the next day to ask how you can help them. If you’re newer, volunteer to assist at open houses to learn how seasoned agents run the room; if you’re experienced, host micro-events tied to the questions you keep hearing. Local presence compounds. The more faces recognize you offline, the warmer everything else becomes online.
Stop Wasting Questions—Turn Them into Content
Every client question is a marketing brief. When someone asks about appraisal gaps, HOA restrictions, closing timelines, or buying before selling, write down the question and answer it publicly. Record a short, clear explanation on your phone and post it. Expand it into a paragraph on your site or Google Business Profile. Share the same answer on the platforms where your future clients already read—Instagram, Facebook groups, Reddit, even Quora—so it keeps working long after the conversation ends. If you can capture a Zoom snippet of a question (with permission), even better; nothing beats the authenticity of a real exchange. Over time, this library of answers turns into a durable advantage: you become the agent who reduces anxiety with clarity, and that’s the person people choose when money’s on the line.
A Word on Texting and Tone
The same rule applies to text that applies to email and social: helpful beats hollow. Blast automations and AI-driven scripts can sour an entire community if they fire off-topic or at odd hours. Use text sparingly and specifically—appointment confirmations, timely updates, quick nudges tied to something you know they care about. If a message wouldn’t make sense coming from a thoughtful neighbor, it probably doesn’t belong on your phone.
Replace Bad Habits with Simple, Human Cadence
The fix for all six missteps is not complexity; it’s cadence. One short, local email each week that actually helps. A couple of genuine check-ins driven by your CRM. Two minutes of video to a past client with a timely insight. A public answer to a question you heard twice this week. One event a month where you show up in the community and shake hands. Do the small, right things on a schedule and your reputation will shift from “another agent” to “our agent.”
Final Thoughts: Cut the Noise, Keep the Signal
Standing out in 2025 isn’t about louder marketing; it’s about cleaner signals of value. Ditch the canned emails. Post as yourself. Reach out with purpose. Work a simple system. Be seen locally. Turn questions into answers everyone can use. When you make these your defaults, you stop chasing attention and start earning trust—and that’s the only attention that turns into listings, referrals, and a business you actually enjoy running.
