Mark's passion and expertise is enabling real estate broker-owners and team leaders to create the systems, structure, and processes to support their growth. He also enjoys sharing his thoughts on business success on his blog: www.winningtheday.blog
I was reflecting on James Clear’s 3-2-1 ideas from last week, and here are the key lessons I wanted to share with you:
1. The Power of Joyful Effort: Your Competitive Edge
The quickest way to gain an edge is to work on what genuinely interests you. When you’re having fun, you’re more likely to stick with it when the hard parts hit. Your passion is your persistence.
2. Stop Analyzing, Start Doing
Stop waiting. Go do it. The paralysis of analysis is a productivity killer. The most powerful small habit is the one of immediate action. Don’t talk yourself out of it—just start.
3. Run Your Own Race: Internal Progress is All That Matters
Problems arise when you compare your journey to others with different constraints (age, family, experience). Play your own game. Judge your progress internally: Are you getting a little better today? Focus on gradual, personal improvement and embrace where you are right now.
Simple Takeaway
Find the joy in the work, act on your intent, and accept your unique circumstances. That’s the formula for sustainable success.
What’s one small action you can take right now to Go do it?
Have you ever had a day where you worked tirelessly, but by the evening, you realized nothing significant got done towards your most important goals? That, my friends, is the Whirlwind – the constant barrage of urgent but often unimportant tasks that conspire to pull us away from what truly matters.
We’ve all been there: staring down a big sales goal, a new lead generation strategy, or an office expansion target. The motivation is high, but the daily grind can be exhausting. This is precisely why we champion the power of daily, proactive growth activity.
Remember the 80/20 rule: 20% of your effort drives 80% of your results. Your daily 30-minute block is where that critical 20% lives.
Whether it’s prospecting, lead follow-up, client nurturing, or skill development, the principle is the same: dedicate 30 minutes a day to the one activity that moves the needle most, before the Whirlwind takes over.
Our experience over the last 25 years has proven one undeniable truth: daily consistency is the key to building and nurturing a robust, long-term pipeline.
The Wrong Question vs. The Empowering Mindset
When we implement this powerful 30-minute block, a common question always surfaces: “How long do I have to do this?”
Let me ask you this in return: Does the mindset of “when can I stop this activity” propel you closer to your goal or hinder your progress?
The challenge for you now is to shift your focus from duration to mastery. The mindset you bring to your daily work determines your results.
Instead of asking, “How long do I have to do this?” ask yourself these empowering questions instead:
“How can I improve my performance during these 30-minute blocks, so they have maximum impact against the Whirlwind?”
“What systems and leverage points am I currently underutilizing to maximize my time and protect my focus?”
Breakthrough Your Resistance
If you find yourself resisting the daily commitment—skipping your critical 30 minutes, feeling drained before you start—stop and ask why.
Resistance is rarely about the 30 minutes themselves. It often masks a fear of rejection, a lack of clarity on the next step, or simply an old, comfortable habit fighting a new, powerful discipline.
Break through that resistance! Use that moment to ask one of the empowering questions above and immediately pivot back to action. That 30 minutes is your shield against the Whirlwind.
The Engine of Success and Accountability
Every top-tier sales professional and business leader achieves growth through one constant: discipline.
This isn’t a temporary strategy; it’s the fundamental engine of your success.
If your goal is sustainable, consistent growth, the daily 30-minute commitment is a non-negotiable investment that prevents future crises. It’s a career-long discipline that ensures you’ll always have a robust pipeline.
We’re not aiming to complete a race; we’re constructing a machine that consistently generates success month after month and year after year.
To ensure that machine is running at full capacity, we must adhere to a core truth:
“What gets tracked and measured, improves. But what is tracked, measured, and reported—subject to accountability—exponentially improves.”
Don’t let your efforts disappear into the void. Make sure your numbers are posted, tracked, and reported. That simple act of accountability turns effort into exponential results.
Go build your machine and conquer your Whirlwind. The extra mile is never crowded.
Previously, I posted about the core truth behind agent retention: it’s not the market or the broker; it’s the behavior and the habits. Knowledge about the 7 D’s (Death, Divorce, Diplomas, etc.) is only powerful when it’s translated into action.
The biggest challenge for most agents isn’t knowing where the business is; it’s consistently creating conversations that lead to appointments.
That’s why we are launching a focused, results-driven challenge for our entire team: The 90-Day New Appointment Hustle.
This challenge is simple, measurable, and designed to install the single most powerful habit an agent can have: Consistent Prospecting that Leads to Face-to-Face Opportunities.
What Is the 90-Day New Appointment Hustle?
For the next 90 days, what if we collectively focusing on one key leading indicator of success: The number of new appointments created.
The Goal: To create a minimum of [Insert Specific Number Here, e.g., 12] new, qualified appointments over the next 90 days.
This isn’t about closing deals; it’s about creating the pipeline.An appointment is defined as a confirmed, scheduled meeting (virtual or in-person) with a prospective client about buying, selling, investing or referring to your real estate practice. An appointment could also be a meeting with a referral source such as a CPA, financial planner, probate & divorce attorney or executives in your area that relocate employees.
Why This Hustle Matters Now
In any market—especially this one—the agents who win are the ones who control their activity, not the market conditions. This challenge achieves two things:
Installs the Winning Habit: It forces consistency. For 13 weeks, you will be intentionally working your database and prospecting for new opportunities, transforming sporadic effort into a non-negotiable routine. This is the definition of Atomic Habits in action.
Fills Your Future Pipeline: Appointments made today are closings three months from now. This challenge guarantees that you are building a robust business for the next quarter and beyond.
How We Will Support Your Hustle
We know that changing behavior requires support and accountability. We are implementing structures to ensure you succeed:
Support Mechanism
Description
When & Where
“Pizza, Prospecting, and Profit”
Dedicated 90-minute sessions for calling, follow-up, and role-playing in a focused, high-energy group environment.
Every [Day of the Week, e.g., Tuesday] at [Time] in the [Office Location]
Weekly Accountability Check-In
A quick 15-minute 1:1 meeting with your team leader/broker to review your progress, celebrate wins, and tackle roadblocks.
Individual scheduling
Actionable Scripts & Systems
Providing proven call scripts and follow-up templates specifically tailored to target the 7 D’s.
Available [Platform, e.g., on our internal portal/intranet]
The Celebration
Every agent who hits their appointment goal will be celebrated and rewarded.
[Date of Celebration, e.g., January 31st]
It’s Time to Act on Your Instinct
We know you have the instinct and the insight. Now, let’s translate that into judgment and action. This is the moment to stop hoping for business and start hunting for it.
The market is full of opportunity for those who are willing to execute. Let’s make the decision, starting today, to own our daily habits and dominate this next 90 days.
Are you ready to commit to the 90-Day New Appointment Hustle?
For Broker-Owners, CEOs, and Top Agents like us, the 40-hour workweek is irrelevant. Our schedules are dictated by one thing: serving the client.
I was inspired by Wall Street Journal reporting by Andrew Blackman on the workweek’s history. The 40-hour standard is a 1930s relic—not a performance strategy. It’s time we acknowledge this and pivot to the real leadership challenge: What are we doing to ensure our agents do not burn out?
The Core Problem: The Unseen Cost of Client Service
We embrace the hustle, but we must confront its price.
The Client’s Schedule is the Killer: Your clients work 9-to-5, so our crucial activities (showings, open houses, contract reviews) must happen evenings and weekends. This is non-negotiable superior service.
The Cost of “Always On”: This dedication to the client—fueled by smartphones and a relentless market—comes at a heavy price. It entirely erases the boundary between work and home. The unavoidable result is a cycle of burnout and talent churn, damaging even your high-performing agentsand spiking replacement costs for the firm.
The Retention Imperative: In the 1920s, companies like Ford proved that greater efficiency led to agent loyalty. We must prioritize a structure that fights burnout, making our firm the clear choice for the best talent.
The Solution: Building a Burnout-Proof Brokerage
If the Cost of “Always On” is talent churn, the solution is building systems that intentionally restore boundaries and time.
1. Tech Triage: AI as the Boundary Builder
The most effective way to protect an agent’s weekend is to eliminate their administrative chores.
Automation is Protection: We must aggressively leverage AI and smart automation to handle lead qualification, document generation, and initial client communication outside of business hours.
Purpose: This is not just efficiency; it’s a proactive defense against burnout, allowing agents to focus on the high-value client interaction they are needed for, not the low-value admin tasks they dread.
2. Staff Support: Designing Intentional Time-Off
Your administrative structure must directly counter the agents’ weekend sacrifice.
The Buffer System: Can we implement client care coordinators or dedicated transaction teams whose schedules create a buffer, allowing agents to truly unplug during their scheduled time off?
The Four-Day Option: For salaried staff, embracing the 100% output for 80% hours model (the 4-day workweek) is a powerful, proven retention tool that shows your firm values their time.
3. Culture Shift: Valuing Rest over “Busy”
As leaders, our messaging sets the tone.
Stop Glorifying the Grind: We must actively promote, model, and reward results and efficiency over mere hours logged or visible exhaustion.
Mandated Breaks: Encourage the use of vacation & down-time and ensure agents are protected from contact during these breaks. This demonstrates that valuing their time is a core principle, not a suggestion. For agents on a team, this is easier. For your solo agents, create a backup buddy system.
Challenge to Leadership
The 40-hour week is dead. Let it stay buried. The future of the successful brokerage is built on Efficiency, Service, and Sustainability.
Ask yourselves as leaders: Are we just watching the talent churn, or are we actively designing a system that protects our high-performing agents from the cost of “Always On”?
Be the leader who defines the New Hustle: where service is relentless, and burnout is obsolete.
The narrative of the 2025 housing market is no longer defined by a standstill. We are at a strategic turning point. Our mission between now and year-end is to be the expert voice that translates complex data into actionable client advice, allowing us to discard the spreadsheets and speak with clarity and confidence.
The Critical Starting Point: Low Turnover
The core issue has been low sales volume. We must acknowledge a Redfin study that shows only 28 out of every 1,000 US homes sold in 2025—a 30-year low.
This is primarily due to the “Lock-in” Effect, where 70% of current homeowners have a mortgage rate under 5% and are understandably reluctant to move. Affordability was the national political theme for a reason.
But here is the crucial reality check: despite this, the market is not frozen. Nationally, over 16,240 homes are still selling each working/closing day. The transactions are simply being led by life events, not rate-chasing.
The Pivot: Why the Market is Shifting Slightly
We are entering a strategic window because affordability is improving and inventory is rising, activating latent demand:
Affordability is the Turning Point: This is the most compelling news for buyers. The monthly median mortgage payment has dropped over $300 since its peak in May 2025. This significant financial relief, combined with rates trending down for most of the year, is the essential catalyst drawing buyers back to the table.
Inventory is Returning: The “lock-in” is cracking due to life events (jobs, family, retirement). Active inventory is climbing back to pre-COVID levels (2017-2019), which means buyers finally have more options.
You can see inventory levels and more metrics in your area—just type in your Zip Code—on my Altos Research Link:
High performers win by leveraging this data to position their clients strategically:
Coach Sellers: Embrace Strategic Pricing Precision We must help sellers move past the past bidding war mentality. The market now rewards precision. Use the fact that 20% of listings in October had a price cut to set realistic expectations upfront. If a home is overpriced, it will sit, and it will reduce.
Manage Buyers: Master the Normal Pace of Sale The frantic pace is over. The median time on market is now 63 days, returning to a normal pre-COVID rhythm. Coach buyers this is historically a more normal pace.
Mitigate the “Wait-and-See”: The Cost of Waiting on Equity Address the fear of “waiting for prices to crash.” The demand is strong, driven by the Millennials, the largest adult generation in their peak household formation years. This powerful and sustained demand mitigates the crash narrative. The bigger challenge will come to light near 2035 when household formation drops to a 100 year low.
The data shows prices are forecasted to continue rising nationally by 2% in 2026. Waiting simply costs the buyer lost equity; a median-priced home is projected to gain $61,000 in value over the next five years.
Be the Knowledge Broker
Arm your team with specific data points for holiday conversations. Our job—Retention, Attraction & Recruiting—is to provide the certainty required to execute a move in an uncertain world.
The skills-based market is here. Are we ready to lead it?
If you are a KCM member, you’ve seen the data; if not, the slides are linked here. Share with others as you see fit.
95% of respondents express a desire to own a home.
To My Broker Owners, C-Suite Executives, Staff, and Top Agent Clients,
The new fair housing data provides critical insights into market conditions and regulatory focus. Reviewing these facts is an opportunity to reinforce best practices, drive operational excellence, and position your firm for robust growth.
The National Fair Housing Alliance’s (NFHA) 2025 Fair Housing Trends Report presents the following metrics, informing our strategic focus on compliance.
Data Snapshot: Persistent Complaint Volume
The 2024 figures reflect a persistent level of reported fair housing activity across the nation.
Total Complaints:32,321 discrimination complaints were filed in the prior year (2024 data).
Historical Context: This total is the third highest since 2014, indicating the consistent demand for vigilance in the market.
Volume Trend: Complaint volume remains stable at levels consistent with the near two-decade high.
Enforcement Observation: The NFHA notes the sustained complaint volume coinciding with observations regarding resource allocation at the federal level.
This data highlights the ongoing nature of achieving equal opportunity in the housing market, covering rentals, sales, and mortgage lending.
Growth Opportunity: Proactive compliance and ethical practices enhance our brand reputation, minimize liability, and foster long-term client trust—a key differentiator in competitive markets.
Compliance requires knowing where enforcement actions originate, noting that state and local laws often define protected classes beyond federal requirements.
1. Focus on California Compliance
For teams in California, adherence extends beyond the federal FHA to the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Resource
Scope of Enforcement
Strategic Action Items
CA Civil Rights Dept. (CRD)
Enforces state-level FEHA, including broader protected classes (e.g., source of income).
Consider integrating training on all state-specific protected classes to mitigate localized risk.
Local Fair Housing Non-Profits
Provides investigation, counseling, and housing testing services.
Encourage operational transparency and consistency to effectively address scrutiny from testing programs.
2. For Clients and Operations in Other States
For operations and clients in other states, state and local laws often provide additional protected classes,making local knowledge crucial.
State Agencies & FHAP: Most states have a designated Civil Rights or Human Rights Commission that enforces local fair housing laws. The federal HUD often partners with these agencies through the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP).
Action for Out-of-State Teams:
Encourage agents to review and adhere to the specific fair housing statutes of their licensed state(s), focusing on local nuances (e.g., source of income, marital status, sexual orientation).
Consider providing state-specific compliance updates during regular team meetings.
Fair housing compliance is a foundational element of sound business leadership and market stability.
Fair and equal housing is not merely a legal mandate, but a crucial precondition to a thriving American economy and the holistic well-being of every community.
To reinforce operational excellence and integrity:
Enhance Training:Consider investing in regular, scenario-based training that focuses on objective documentation and consistent client-qualification protocols tailored to relevant state laws.
Review Marketing:Encourage a quarterly review of all marketing materials, digital ad campaigns, and website copy to ensure strict adherence to all fair housing guidelines across every jurisdiction, avoiding algorithmic bias.
Standardize Policies:Consider implementing standardized, written policies for all property showings and client intake procedures. Utilizing meticulous documentation can serve as robust evidence of fair and equal treatment.
In the competitive world of real estate, it’s not enough to simply make initial contact. The top 1% of agents understand the crucial difference between persistence and pressure—and they know that consistent follow-up is essential for closing deals.
Why Persistence Pays
The numbers paint a clear picture: most agents give up far too soon. They’re leaving money on the table by not consistently following up with potential clients.
Sales Contact Attempts
Outcome
The Opportunity
1st Contact
Only 2% of sales are made.
5th to 12th Contact
A staggering 80% of sales happen here.
Leads Receiving 2+ Contacts
Yet, only 25% of leads ever receive a second contact.
This is where you dominate!
Research specific to real estate further reinforces this. Agents who persisted with five or more follow-ups earned over $100,000 more per year than those who stopped at three.
Persistence vs. Pressure: Understanding the Difference
What separates effective persistence from off-putting pressure? It comes down to intent and approach.
Persistence: This is about genuinely caring about your clients’ needs and providing consistent value. It’s about building relationships, offering helpful information, and staying top-of-mind without being pushy.
Focuses on: Understanding client needs and goals, providing relevant and valuable information (e.g., a neighborhood market report or specific tax insight), building rapport and trust, and following up consistently.
Pressure: This is about focusing solely on making a sale, often at the expense of the client’s experience. It involves high-pressure tactics, aggressive communication, and ignoring the client’s needs.
Focuses on: Closing the deal at all costs, using pushy sales tactics, disregarding client concerns, and ultimately damaging relationships.
How to Be Persistently Effective
Since we know 80% of sales happen between the 5th and 12th contact, your success depends entirely on your system:
Develop a Follow-Up System: Implement a CRM or other system to track your leads and ensure consistent follow-up. Don’t rely on memory!
Provide Value with Every Contact: Don’t just call to “check in.” Offer valuable information, market insights, or helpful resources.
Personalize Your Communication: Tailor your messages to each client’s specific needs and preferences.
Be Patient and Respectful: Understand that people make decisions on their own timelines. Be respectful of their space and avoid being pushy.
Persistence, when done right, is about building relationships and providing value. It’s the key to unlocking significant success in real estate. Don’t give up after just one or two attempts. By consistently following up and focusing on your clients’ needs, you can significantly increase your sales and build a thriving business.
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.
The Key Distinction: Persistence vs. Pressure
The key is understanding the critical difference between persistence and pressure.
Sales Pressure is repeating the same message regardless of the other person’s concerns, creating friction.
Real Estate Persistence is about empathy, adjusting your approach, refining your message, and adding more value. It’s about demonstrating that you are the best person to serve their unique needs.
Persistence isn’t situational; it applies to everyone, all the time. Are you simply finding deals, or are you actively forging them? Forging deals means seeing a client’s potential future, not just their current needs, and consistently adding value to close that gap.
Persistence Communicates Crucial Messages
When you persist with genuine commitment, you convey:
Genuine Care: You truly believe people are better off working with you. You are changing lives.
Confidence: You believe in your abilities. Your actions, words, and questions make the difference.
Targeted Solutions: You deeply understand their situation and offer specific, customized solutions. Remember: Certainty is more influential than enthusiasm.
Multiple Reasons to Move Forward: You offer value beyond simply listing or showing a property. You provide unique insights that are compelling to each client.
6 Habits of Highly Persistent People
Highly persistent professionals don’t just try harder; they approach resistance differently:
Celebrate their work.
Are driven by a purpose beyond the commission.
Expect and prepare for resistance.
Don’t take resistance personally—it’s feedback, not rejection.
Use resistance to gain insights and add value.
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 agree immediately doesn’t mean the opportunity is lost.
Consider the Cost of Inaction: What do you cost others by not following through with a better solution?
Addressing Common Objections
When you encounter resistance, it often signals one of these four underlying needs, which require a persistent adjustment:
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.
Lack of Understanding How to Proceed: They need your guidance through the process.
Need for Time: They simply need more time to process the information.
My Conclusion
Persistence, unlike pressure, always makes sense. It demonstrates your confidence and commitment. By empathizing, adjusting, and adding value, you can turn resistance into opportunity. And that is how you win the day.
A System Will Produce What A System Will Produce, Nothing Less and Nothing More!
On a personal note… I’m stepping away from content for a moment.
In today’s highly polarized political climate, it’s easy to get caught up in fear over labels like “Socialist” or “Islamic.” But what happens when we look past the titles and focus on the fundamental constitutional principles and the pragmatic work of governance?
My Take: Constitutional Integrity and the Work of Compromise
Friends have asked me how I feel about the prospect of a Democratic Islamic Socialist being elected Mayor of NYC. My response: Great! Why? To be effective, a candidate from any background or party still has to compromise and govern for all, and that’s the real work in a Democratic Republic.
You may agree or disagree, and that’s okay. My point of view?
Justice Scalia said it well: “I attack ideas. I don’t attack people. And some very good people can have bad ideas.”
ReligiousFreedomisFundamental: True liberty requires more than mere tolerance – it demands principled acceptance of constitutional rights. Our Founding Fathers weren’t all Christian, and that’s why the U.S. Constitution guarantees religious freedom and prohibits religious tests for office. I’m confident enough in my own Christian belief to respect the right of others to believe or not believe differently.
History Helps Us Understand Government‘s Role: Throughout our history, social safety net programs and regulations have provided necessary stability. Presidents – both Democratic and Republican – like Theodore Roosevelt, Nixon (EPA), FDR, and LBJ established the principle that government has a pragmatic responsibility to establish the rule of law, protect public health, and mediate between competing interests to maintain a stable market economy. Programs like Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act support this long-standing principle.
The Real Challenge: Regardless of which party is in power, we face several interconnected challenges, including the National Debt and the growing threat of environmental stability and widespread economic opportunity. The debt as a percentage of GDP is one of the highest of developed countries – a clear sign that government spending and intervention must be addressed now. It is critical to understand that the problem is not the social safety net programs themselves, but rather how Congress historically managed their funding, often prioritizing short-term budget needs over long-term fiscal discipline, which contributed significantly to the debt.
Capitalism and the Public Good: In my view, Capitalism has the best positive attributes, driving innovation and prosperity. However, it is proven that it must be grounded in the consistent rule of law to ensure fair competition, guard against corruption, protect consumers, and protect contract law.
For me, this is about prioritizing the constitutional integrity of our Republic over the fear of different labels. Throughout American history, progress has consistently come from expanding the table, not shrinking it with litmus tests.
To me, we must revive compromise, harnessing it to translate our deepest values of equal opportunity and civic responsibility into the essential, positive force that yields tangible progress for the public good. If you need a label for me – an Independent Catholic, pragmatic capitalist that is fiscally conservative and more socially liberal – it only confirms that in our Republic, complex ideas precede simple labels.
A Few Successful Bipartisan Compromises:
No Child Left Behind Act (2002): George W. Bush (R) & Key Democrats
NAFTA (1993): Bill Clinton (D) & Republican Congress
Clean Air Act Amendments (1990): George H.W. Bush (R) & Democratic Congress
Beyond the Win: The System for Non-Stop Elite Growth
I’m still reflecting on my time spent last week with one of the largest franchise operations of a worldwide real estate brand, diving into conversations about next-level growth and development.
I knew they already perform at a high level—they’re like the “Blue Angels” of their footprint. But even the top 1% understand that sustained High Performance is both a process and a mindset. You don’t get to the top and then stop refining.
We used a structured approach to guide the conversation, ensuring their legendary execution is backed by renewed clarity and intention. It’s about taking the best and moving to the next level of execution.
To refine that repeatable process and ensure continuous domination, we guided our conversations around four powerful phases:
Alignment (Shaping the right Belief and Vision): If the goal isn’t clear, the execution will be muddy. We solidify why we win.
Preparation (The detailed Brief and planning): Execution is easy when preparation is hard. We map out the mission with surgical precision.
Accountability (Solidifying the Commitments and Contracts): Every top performer is accountable to the process, not just the result. We lock in the non-negotiables.
Learning (The critical Debriefing and Reassessment): The best feedback loop wins. We don’t just review what happened; we engineer what happens next.
This cycle is how the best stay the best—and one that I used to earn the Inc 5000 fastest growing firms 5 years in a row. Ready for the next breakthrough!
Clarity is King, Queen and Bishops!
A System Will Produce What A System Will Produce, Nothing Less and Nothing More!
