To kick things off, drop an intro in the comments and let us know: - 📍 Where are you licensed? - 💼 What’s your role in real estate? - 🎯 Do you have a niche you focus on? - ❓ What’s your biggest challenge with lead generation? - This question will be used for course development!

Zillow made real estate feel easy. But it also made growth unsustainable. This is the story of how Zillow was both the biggest blessing and the biggest curse in my business. It Was Like Printing Money... Until It Wasn’t Not long after getting into real estate, another agent introduced me to Zillow Premier Agent. At the time, you could lock down a zip code for $75/month, and it felt like cheating. The leads were high quality. The deals closed fast. And we were making money effortlessly. But then things changed. Zillow opened the zip code to more agents and kept raising prices. I should have seen the writing on the wall. But, like most agents riding the wave, I figured the gravy train would never end. So I kept feeding Zillow more money. Then, Reality Hit Hard Before I knew it: - Our cost per acquisition was eating up one-third of our commission. - We were fully dependent on Zillow. - We couldn’t just turn it off without killing our business overnight. The problem? These leads weren’t building a real pipeline, they were just giving us quick wins. The Zillow Lesson Every Agent Needs to Learn If you’re using Zillow, be careful. - Track your cost per acquisition. Know your numbers. - Don’t become dependent. Zillow can flip the switch anytime. - Use it as a tool, not your entire strategy. Zillow isn’t good or bad. But how you use it determines your success. Be smart about it. ​What to Learn More About Real Estate Systems? Check out Our YouTube Channel - Click Here

In real estate, attention is currency. If you want to close more deals in 2026, you have to start by getting in front of more people. BY JOSH RIES December 23, 2025 originally published in Inman Jake Paul made about $92 million a few nights ago in six rounds of boxing. Let that sink in. This guy is not a world-class athlete. He’s not undefeated. He’s not even a top-ranked fighter. Yet he walked away with nearly nine figures in earnings. o what does that have to do with real estate? Everything. Because the truth is, Jake Paul didn’t get paid because he’s a great boxer. He got paid because he knows how to get attention. And in real estate, attention is currency. If you want to close more deals in 2026, you have to start by getting in front of more people. Not just random people. The right people. And you have to stay there long enough for them to remember you, trust you and eventually choose you. The harsh reality: Attention trumps talent We’ve all seen it in our markets. There’s always that agent who isn’t the best at negotiation, marketing or even customer service, but they’re everywhere online. Their signs are everywhere. Their name keeps popping up. And despite their skill level, they’re consistently closing deals. Why? Because they’ve figured out the same thing Jake Paul did. They control the narrative. They show up often. And they know how to stay top-of-mind. Meanwhile, some of the best agents I’ve met are barely visible. They rely on repeat clients or referrals and hope that business just keeps rolling in. But in a shifting market, “hope” is not a marketing strategy. Attention is the 1st step of the funnel

Most follow up is fixing a bad first impression. Fix the first impression, speed up the conversion. In real estate, and honestly in any business, weak first contact creates drag. If your first message is slow, vague, or generic, the client feels uncertainty. Then your follow up becomes damage control. More texts, more checking in, more chasing. Here is the math. Start with 100 new leads. If your first response is weak, maybe 40 reply, 20 book, 10 show, 4 take the next step. Now change one thing, first impression. Fast response, clear next step, one simple question. That can turn into 55 replies, 28 bookings, 16 shows, 7 next steps. Same lead flow, same spend, almost double the result at the bottom of the funnel. A strong first impression is not hype. It is speed, clarity, and leadership. Speed, they hear back quickly. Clarity, they know what happens next and when. Leadership, you guide the process instead of dumping questions. Use this message framework. 1, confirm what they asked for 2, state the next step and timing 3, ask one easy question Example you can steal. Got it, I can help. Next step, I will send you a short list of options today, then we will pick the best path forward. Quick question so I do not waste your time, what is your timeline. Fix that first touch and your follow up becomes reminders, not persuasion.