You Know Who’s Dancing, Who’s Fighting, Who Went on Vacation and What Everybody Ate for Dinner—but Somehow You Still Don’t Know How to Use Your CRM, Follow Up With a Lead or Build a Pipeline.
Written by Devone Richard
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CONGRATULATIONS. YOU’RE COMPLETELY CAUGHT UP. 👏😂
Congratulations, Realtor.
You know everything.
You know who got divorced.
You know who bought a new car.
You know who went to Cabo.
You know who got into a fight.
You know whose boyfriend cheated.
You know what everybody ate for dinner.
You watched a dog bark at another dog for three minutes.
You watched somebody dance in their kitchen.
You watched two complete strangers argue in a parking lot—and somehow stayed until Part 7 to find out what happened.
You’re basically an investigative journalist when it comes to everybody else’s life. 😂
Now let me ask you something:
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN YOUR PIPELINE RIGHT NOW?
Don’t know?
Interesting.
How many leads need follow-up today?
Don’t know?
When was the last time you called your database?
Can’t remember?
How many listing appointments do you have scheduled?
None?
But you’re completely caught up on Instagram?
FANTASTIC. YOUR BUSINESS IS STRUGGLING, BUT AT LEAST YOU KNOW WHO WON THE ARGUMENT IN THE PARKING LOT.
YOU DON’T HAVE A TIME PROBLEM. YOU HAVE A PRIORITY PROBLEM.
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This is what gets me.
Ask some Realtors to watch a 10-minute training video:
“I haven’t had time.”
Ten minutes?
You couldn’t find ten minutes?
Open your screen-time report.
Let’s see where the time went.
Instagram: 2 hours.
Facebook: 1 hour, 37 minutes.
YouTube: another hour.
But somehow:
CRM training?
No time.
Contract training?
No time.
Lead-conversion training?
No time.
Learning your market?
No time.
Calling your database?
Definitely no time.
Stop lying to yourself.
YOU HAVE THE TIME.
You’re just giving your time to things that aren’t paying you.
YOU’VE MASTERED THE ALGORITHM BUT HAVEN’T MASTERED REAL ESTATE
You know exactly how Instagram works.
You know how to make a Reel.
You know how to add music.
You know the trending sounds.
You know how to use filters.
You know how to make yourself look busy.
You know how to post:
“Another day helping families build wealth! 🏡🔥💯”
Meanwhile, you haven’t closed a transaction in four months.
That’s the problem with social media.
It can make you feel successful without requiring you to actually become successful.
Likes feel like progress.
Followers feel like clients.
Views feel like production.
Comments feel like business.
They’re not.
YOU CAN’T DEPOSIT LIKES.
Your mortgage company doesn’t accept followers.
Your car payment doesn’t care how many views your Reel got.
And your bank account doesn’t care that 4,000 people watched you point at floating words about interest rates.
LOOKING SUCCESSFUL AND BEING SUCCESSFUL ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BUSINESSES.
SOME OF YOU HAVE BECOME FULL-TIME CONTENT CONSUMERS AND PART-TIME REALTORS
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There’s nothing wrong with using social media for business.
I use it.
You should use it.
Market yourself.
Promote your listings.
Educate buyers.
Educate sellers.
Build your brand.
Create content.
Stay visible.
But there’s a huge difference between using social media and being used by social media.
If you’re spending 30 minutes creating content that generates business, that’s marketing.
If you’re spending two hours watching people you don’t know dance, fight, eat, complain and argue…
THAT’S NOT MARKETING. THAT’S WASTING TIME.
And wasting time doesn’t build a pipeline.
THEN YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY THE MARKET IS SLOW
This is my favorite.
“The market is terrible.”
Okay.
How many people did you call today?
“None.”
How many homeowners did you contact?
“None.”
How many past clients?
“None.”
How many expired listings?
“None.”
How many open houses did you schedule?
“None.”
How many people did you follow up with?
“I’m getting ready to do that.”
But you’ve already watched 43 Reels today.
😂
MAYBE THE MARKET ISN’T SLOW. MAYBE YOU ARE.
Somebody in your city closed a deal today.
Somebody took a listing.
Somebody wrote an offer.
Somebody followed up with the lead you forgot about.
Somebody called the homeowner you were planning to call “tomorrow.”
While you were scrolling, somebody else was building a business.
YOUR CRM HAS LEADS IN IT THAT PROBABLY THINK YOU QUIT REAL ESTATE
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Here’s another uncomfortable question.
How many people are sitting inside your CRM right now who haven’t heard from you in 30, 60 or 90 days?
Twenty?
Fifty?
Two hundred?
Maybe more?
You keep asking your broker:
“Do we have any new leads?”
New leads?
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OLD ONES?
You talked to somebody once.
They weren’t ready that afternoon.
So apparently you decided they would never buy a house for the rest of their life.
Meanwhile, another Realtor followed up.
And followed up again.
And again.
Six months later, guess who got the commission?
Not necessarily the better Realtor.
THE ONE WHO FOLLOWED UP.
SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CONVINCED SOME REALTORS THAT BEING VISIBLE IS THE SAME AS BEING PRODUCTIVE
You posted today.
So you feel like you worked.
You commented on some posts.
You watched another Realtor’s video.
You responded to a few DMs.
You changed your profile picture.
You designed a Canva graphic.
You posted a motivational quote.
You watched 15 videos about becoming successful.
It’s 4:30 p.m.
And you feel exhausted.
But what did you actually do today that could create a transaction?
That’s the question.
ACTIVITY ISN’T ALWAYS PRODUCTIVITY.
You can be busy all day and accomplish absolutely nothing.
Real estate still comes down to conversations.
Relationships.
Follow-up.
Knowledge.
Negotiation.
Appointments.
Listings.
Buyers.
Contracts.
Closings.
Everything else is decoration.
YOUR COMPETITION IS LEARNING WHILE YOU’RE SCROLLING
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Here’s what should scare you.
There’s another Realtor in your market who isn’t necessarily smarter than you.
They may not have your personality.
They may not have your connections.
They may not have your experience.
But while you’re watching Instagram…
They’re learning.
They’re prospecting.
They’re following up.
They’re studying contracts.
They’re learning AI.
They’re learning their CRM.
They’re calling their sphere.
They’re practicing their listing presentation.
They’re getting better.
Do that for a week and maybe you don’t notice much difference.
Do it for a year?
THEY’RE GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS.
Not because they’re gifted.
Because they gave their business the attention you gave Facebook.
STOP TELLING YOUR BROKER YOU NEED MORE TRAINING IF YOU DON’T WATCH THE TRAINING
😂 We have to talk about this one.
Brokerages send agents training.
Nobody watches it.
CRM tutorial?
Ignored.
Marketing training?
Ignored.
Contract update?
Ignored.
Lead-conversion class?
Ignored.
Then three months later:
“I JUST WISH THE BROKERAGE PROVIDED MORE TRAINING.”
Really?
We could send some of you a five-minute video titled:
“WATCH THIS AND I GUARANTEE YOU A CLOSING TOMORROW.”
And you’d say:
“Can somebody just tell me what it says? I don’t really have five minutes.”
Then open Instagram and disappear for two hours.
😂😂😂
YOUR PHONE IS EITHER A BUSINESS TOOL OR A CAREER KILLER
Your phone can make you money.
You can call clients.
Text prospects.
Manage your CRM.
Research properties.
Create marketing.
Send contracts.
Follow up.
Build relationships.
Learn.
Prospect.
Your phone might be one of the most powerful business tools ever created.
But that same phone can steal four hours out of your day without you even noticing.
That’s the choice.
IS YOUR PHONE WORKING FOR YOUR BUSINESS, OR IS YOUR BUSINESS WORKING AROUND YOUR PHONE?
FINAL THOUGHT
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I’m not telling you to delete Instagram.
I’m not telling you to leave Facebook.
I’m telling you to stop pretending you don’t have time to work on your career while your screen-time report looks like social media is your full-time job.
Watch the dog.
Watch the dance.
Watch the fight.
Enjoy yourself.
But handle your business first.
Learn your CRM.
Call your database.
Follow up with your leads.
Study your market.
Watch the training.
Book the appointment.
Ask for the business.
Then scroll.
Because at the end of the year, Instagram isn’t going to care whether you made money.
Facebook isn’t going to pay your bills.
And those strangers you’ve been watching dance aren’t sending you a commission check.
CONGRATULATIONS. YOU’VE MASTERED INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK.
NOW MAYBE WE CAN WORK ON REAL ESTATE.
— Devone Richard
Written by Devone Richard
Broker/Owner | OYT Real Estate
California Broker #01857383
Nevada Broker #1002115
📞 626-500-1212 | 702-941-0202
🌐 OYTRealEstate.com