You cannot give someone something that you don’t already possess. As real estate professionals, we want others to believe in us, our ideas, and our services. But how strongly do we believe in ourselves?
True confidence is demonstrated by our willingness to persist, even in the face of resistance. It’s not always easy, but it’s always possible. Influential real estate coaches and even the Bible emphasize the importance of this universal principle.
This post is written for two audiences. If you are a real estate agent, this is about mastering persistence in your practice — with buyers, sellers, and every prospect who doesn’t call you back. If you are a recruiting professional, this is about applying those same principles to the agents you are trying to attract. The principles are identical. The stakes in both cases are high. And the temptation to give up too soon is the same.
The Key Distinction: Persistence vs. Pressure
The key is understanding the critical difference between persistence and pressure.
- Pressure is repeating the same message regardless of the other person’s concerns, creating friction.
- Persistence is about empathy, adjusting your approach, refining your message, and adding more value. It’s about demonstrating that you are the best person — or the best brokerage — to serve their unique needs.
Persistence isn’t situational; it applies to everyone, all the time. Are you simply finding opportunities, or are you actively forging them? Forging means seeing the other person’s potential future, not just their current situation, and consistently adding value to close that gap. For an agent, that’s a client who hasn’t said yes yet. For a recruiter, that’s an agent who hasn’t yet imagined what their career could look like somewhere else.
Persistence Communicates Crucial Messages
When you persist with genuine commitment, you convey:
- Genuine Care: You truly believe people are better off working with you — or at your brokerage. You are changing lives and careers.
- Confidence: You believe in your abilities and your offering. Your actions, words, and questions make the difference.
- Targeted Solutions: You deeply understand their situation and speak to their specific goals and frustrations. Remember: Certainty is more influential than enthusiasm.
- Multiple Reasons to Move Forward: You offer value beyond a transaction. You provide unique insights that are compelling to this specific person.
6 Habits of Highly Persistent People
Highly persistent professionals don’t just try harder; they approach resistance differently:
- Celebrate their work — every attempt is a rep that builds skill and relationship.
- Are driven by a purpose beyond the commission — they genuinely want to see the other person win.
- Expect and prepare for resistance — silence and stalls are part of the process, not signs to stop.
- Don’t take resistance personally — it’s feedback, not rejection.
- Use resistance to gain insights and add value — a “not now” tells you something useful.
- Are always adjusting their approach (Persistence) instead of repeating the same message (Pressure).
Why Persistence Matters
- No Substitute: Persistence is essential. You either commit to figuring it out, or you don’t.
- Don’t Give Up Too Soon: Just because someone doesn’t respond immediately doesn’t mean the opportunity is lost. It often just means it isn’t time yet.
- Consider the Cost of Inaction: What do you cost others by not following through with a better solution? For recruiters, this question cuts especially deep — if your brokerage genuinely offers more, stopping at attempt three isn’t humility. It’s a disservice to the agent on the other end of that unanswered call.
Addressing Common Objections
When you encounter resistance, it often signals one of four underlying needs:
- Different Communication Styles (Emotional Motives): They need to hear the message framed differently, appealing to their specific emotional drivers: Profit, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), Comfort, Avoiding Pain, Love, or Prestige.
- Need for More Reasons: They need more value stacked onto the offer or the opportunity.
- Lack of Understanding How to Proceed: They need your guidance through the process — whether that’s a transaction or a career transition.
- Need for Time: They simply need more time — and more touches — to process the decision.
Know Your Market. Win the Conversation.
Here is where persistence gets a sharper edge.
Most recruiting calls — and most client calls — fail not because the professional gave up too soon, though that is a problem, but because the conversation never rises above the generic. “We have great culture.” “Our splits are competitive.” “I’d love to earn your business.” Every agent and every brokerage says the same thing, and people tune it out.
The professionals who break through are the ones who walk into every conversation armed with real market intelligence. They know what the local market is doing. They know where the opportunities are. And they can speak to the other person’s situation in specific, credible terms that make them think: this person actually knows my market.
This is why we use Altos real-time local market data in our conversations. Altos tracks live market conditions — inventory, days on market, price trends, and more — so you always have something current, relevant, and valuable to bring to every touchpoint. Instead of a generic follow-up call, you lead with: “I was looking at the market data for your area this week and noticed something I thought you’d find interesting…”
That is persistence with purpose. That is value, not pressure. And that is what turns a cold call into a real conversation.
(Feel free to use my Altos hyperlink)
In Part 2, we go deeper — into the numbers behind persistence, our DRIS framework for making every touchpoint meaningful, and the 45-day cadence that separates the recruiters and agents who win from those who give up too soon.
Conclusion
Persistence, unlike pressure, always makes sense. Whether you are an agent working a prospect who hasn’t said yes yet, or a recruiter calling someone who hasn’t called back — the principle is the same. Empathize, adjust, and add value every single time.
The clients and the agents who will change your business are out there right now, not responding to people who gave up too soon.
Don’t be that person.
Persist with purpose. Adjust with empathy. Add value every time.
That is how you win the day.
Persistence is where you find the gold