KGCI: Real Estate on Air - The Go-To Agent Playbook: Discipline, Systems, and Authentic Branding

Episode Date: September 19, 2025

Every market has plenty of agents, but only a few become the trusted “go-to” professional in their community. In this episode, we break down the step-by-step playbook to help you stand out—not with gimmicks, but with discipline, structure, and real value.Coach Randy Byrd explains why freedom without discipline can derail agents, while Lars Hedenborg shows how building and nurturing a database can fuel long-term growth. You’ll also learn how to sound like the expert (not the echo), the power of unsolicited CMAs, and why authenticity beats perfection every time.From database strategy and market mastery to personal branding and hyper-local content, this conversation delivers actionable insights to help you build trust, visibility, and a business that lasts.

Is it possible to really work at identifying the right people to add to your database and adding massive value to those people expecting nothing in return that each of those 50 people could send you one closing in a year? Is it possible? For me, it's for sure it's possible. This is KGCI Real Estate on Air Live, your weekly deep dive into the strategies, trends, and tools shaping the real estate industry from market updates to actionable strategies and exclusive interviews with top agents. We're here to unlock your full potential and help you thrive. Thousands of agents trust KGCI every week. Now it's your turn. Let's go live. Here's Ian Wheatley.

Hey, good morning. We know that every market has agents, dozens, sometimes hundreds, but it's only a handful that ever become that go-to agent in their community, the ones that the people call first, the ones that the community knows and trusts. And here's the kicker. You don't need to get there with postcards anymore. You certainly won't ever get there with gimmicks or guesswork either. So what are most agents relying on?

They're relying on these short-term hacks, copying somebody else's brand, or even Chase and that next shiny object. And that's why they never break out of the pack. So today, we are breaking down the real playbook, step by step, clip by clip from discipline and structure to market mastery and delivering real value and showing up authentically. Because this is how you become that go-to agent in your community with no postcards required.

It's also, not for nothing, been a pretty interesting week in news, so let's check those housing headlines here on Real Estate on air live. I'm Ian Wheatley. Mortgage rates have done almost nothing but move lower over the past four months. And the first Fridays in August and September, that's when the Bureau of Labor Statistics released their jobs report account for about half of that total drop because of the weaker results in those jobs reports.

So since the September 5th, jobs report, rates have held sideways, a slightly lower range that's resulted in several additional lowest since headlines. So we already know that, but let's talk about this jobs report because that September report had a big revision that indicates that the economic slowdown that is creating this improvement in interest rate for buyers is more substantial and probably began a little bit earlier than we initially had understood, right? So for those 12 months leading up to March, March, nearly a million fewer jobs were added. That is the largest annual downward revision on record. And these annual adjustments, it's all part of the routine process by the Bureau of Labor Statistics who's responsible for the monthly jobs report. But this weakening job market could be influencing the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates,

potentially increasing the likelihood of that rate cut to stimulate economic activity in their meeting this. week. So with these rates slip in over the past few months, there's some good data to go along with it from the Mortgage Bankers Association. They are reporting that applications in August for new home loans bounced back, moving a full percentage point higher after those applications had slipped 6% in July. So applications are still higher than they were a year ago. So with all this going on, agents, I want you to call your preferred lender. I want you to get their take because It's been an interesting September already, and it's only going to get more interesting as the week rolls along. And that's Check Your Housing Headlines here on Real Estate on Air Live.

I'm Ian Wheatley. All right, so look, at every market has agents, but only a handful ever become that go-to. The ones that people call first, the ones that agents keep bump it into, and the ones that the community knows and trusts. And here's the kicker. You don't have to get there with postcards. The way you get there is with systems, with expertise. with real value and showing up authentically. So let's break down the playbook, step by step, clip by clip,

from discipline and structure to market mastery to hyperlocal visibility and brand power. This is how you become the go-to agent in your community. No gimmicks, no guesswork, but it starts with something tough. It starts with discipline. Here's Coach Randy Bird. We romanticize this business because of the lack of structure, the lack of responsibility,

own superstar. But with that comes, you know, discipline and complacency and things. So I think most agents are inherently entrepreneurs when they enter the space. They want to have their own opportunities. But again, the amount of freedom that is provided is usually the Achilles Hill to the agent. So being a military guy, I often go back to military standards, right? They, yes, you know how to walk. We're going to teach you how to walk properly. Yes, you know how to hygiene, but we're going to teach you how to hygiene our way. You're going to eat when we tell you to eat. You're going to eat the amount we tell you to eat because we know it's better for you.

That's the beginning stages of boot camp in the military. And then they start really pressing the importance of chain of command, of responsibility, of duties, of honor, of disciplines, of understanding all these pieces. And when I coach entrepreneurs, they're the opposite. Let's just be honest. They're the opposite of that. So how do you weave in the understanding that they have to have disciplines, they have to have these things in their business to succeed, proven?

How do we weave that in while keeping intact their desire for independence and for no schedule and self-motivation, right? nobody holding them accountable. So how do they reach out for that accountability and those components that are going to help them? That's the things that I like to focus on. I think those move the needle the quickest. And they're not the sexy things that, you know, Facebook ads and YouTube dominance and Instagram and being a social media superstar, all that sexy.

But it's not the fundamental reason that agents are failing. Now, being the go-to agent isn't about doing more. It's about building systems that keep you consistent. The founder, Real Estate B School, Lars Heddenborg, shows us why your database is the engine behind it all. The first thing is like structuring and building the database out properly. The second step is expanding your digital footprint. So we can dive into the tactics around those specifically,

but those systems scale to 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 500. We've got clients doing multiple seven figures on just, our database system alone, but they started out with no business with the database, right? So they started, you know, with a haphazard approach to their business and specifically their database and even their online presence and they just got systems and structure and order around it. And those systems, the automations, the delegations, the, you know, even the deletions, things to stop doing are the thing that allowed them to scale. So the mindset shift that I ask agents to have is to think, is it possible that there are 50 people in your market?

If you set out to really work at identifying the right people to add to your database and adding massive value to those people expecting nothing in return, is it possible that 50 people could each or each of those 50 people could send you one closing in a year? Is it possible? For me, it's for sure it's possible. I live in a big enough market. I may not know those people today, but is it possible for me to meet someone

and add enough value, either a vendor, an affiliate, a contractor, or people that are influential or people that I know, my past clients, it's possible. So we just don't do the work to add those contacts to the database. We don't have a commitment daily, you know, that every day, Monday through Friday, I'm going to add one person to the database

that I think will be able to support me my business growth if I treat them the right way with a mindset of adding value in every way that I possibly can to them. And that's the essence of database. And the bottom line is that you're looking for a group of people that either they're past clients or they're in your sphere, center of influence, or their vendors or affiliates, or local business owners, right? But the mindset is that I'm going to find people that I can help. And as a result, through reciprocity, the book by Chaldini influence, the reciprocity is that you're adding so much value that the byproduct is they're going to stop people when they hear their word real estate and they're going to pull out their phone and say, hey, listen, I need to put you on a three-way text with my boy, Ian.

He is going to take really good care of you. But it's slow. It's not a quick fix. It's not an easy button in the business. But you will build a business that can do multiple six figures of GCI just from the digital. database if you take this approach on the daily to add a little bit every day. The other thing that the go-to agent doesn't give our generic answers. When someone asks them, how's the market, they bring clarity. They bring specifics and they bring confidence. That is

what makes them the trusted voice. I'm going to give you two examples of what it sounds like when somebody asks an agent what's going on in business right now. So Ian, ask me, how's the real estate business. How's it going on in real estate? Oh, you know, it's really good right now. There's more inventory with the new administration. I think that we're looking to more house sells. And I'm really optimistic about that. And I think that prices are still, you know, pretty high, but there's a few more homes coming out. So there's some deals to be had. And I think it's good overall, you know? So they give that kind of generic version of all things, right? Now, ask me the question again. How's it going on in real estate? Ian, thanks for asking. So it really

depends. Are you a buyer, a seller, an investor, or a renter? Well, Randy, I'm always looking for the next investment buy, but truth be told, we're getting a little cramped over here. Awesome. So let's talk on the investment point first, right? And then I go through the investment highlights, right? If you're talking about a new home for the family, are you upgrading, you're downgrading, all the things, right? But now I could talk specifically to you. The problem is agents try to assume and talk to the whole market. The conversation to a seller is completely different than a buyer. And it's not that it's out of integrity. It's just a different conversation. If you're a seller, there's an opportunity. Rates are still high, so that's adding pressure to the relationship, but there's less inventory because there's a low inventory. Some's coming on the market, but the reality is you're going to be able to stand out very easily because of the lack of inventory.

As a buyer, you can't say the same thing, right? It's a frustrating time because of the low inventory. So it really depends who they are. And so the first thing I do is teach them to have those kind of dialogue understandings. So they can really talk to the client specifically to their needs. And then secondly, find out, be a master of the market. You know, one of the things I say is, you know, business intelligence. You really want to understand what's going on in the market because what I just said could

have been said in any market. But if I say, Ian, it's interesting you ask, you know, as a seller, the valuations are up 7.8% last year in 2024. And they're already up 1% this year. So we're seeing even a bigger trend towards increasing valuations. Now, the issue for you as a seller is we have low sales. We only had 386 sales in the MLS last year or in January as opposed to 450 last year, which is 27% lower. So I'm given specifics.

I'm an industry expert in this moment. So I'm speaking with business intelligence to that particular category. That's when you'll set yourself apart. Then the agent just goes, oh, yeah, the business is great. I am so busy right now. And, you know, it's just crazy what's going on. Ever since Trump was elected, it's just been busy, busy, busy. You know, that's just general terms of maybe their impression of the market.

That is not a tactical position of you becoming the expert in the conversation. But expertise alone isn't enough. To be that go-to, you got to lead with value, giving people answers and insights before they ever ask. Randy explains to us how. Most agents are shooting a shotgun at the market and they're trying to hit everything. And that is the challenge. So what I really recommend to backtrack a little bit is finding niche, a specialty that you're passionate about, right? It could be anything.

It could be single moms. It could be brand new homes. It could be mobile homes or floating homes. Literally, it doesn't matter. You just want to find a market that's got some substance to it in terms of size and availability and then dominate that. market. You could do everything from mailers to door knocking. You can be the dominant force in that, but you've got to pick something in my opinion. So let's just say that you chose buyers as your specialty, right? Buyer seminars, but you're always talking about phone calls that leading up to

these things, right? So all of your attention through your daily prospecting could be building to an event that is educational. It could be building to a newsletter that is providing great buyer information. So when I talk about my day, I still look at daily prospecting has been the number one thing, right? We still have to have these conversations that are measurable on real estate related topics, adding people to our database or servicing our database. Some days you might just have 25 phone calls to make because your automation or your timeline said it's been two weeks as time to talk to them again, or three or four, whatever it is. So that's first, is doing your follow-up systems and all that. But the process,

prospecting's got to be part of the daily activity. So let's say that I'm focused on sellers. Like I have a lot of people that, especially with the buyer broker agreements and all the noise that's been in the space, is like, I need, you know, I talked to somebody that did 12 deals, 10 were buyers, two were listings, and they're like, I need to balance my business. And I said, let's keep doing what you're doing.

So we maintain, but let's focus on a new conduit of lead generation, which is seller focused. Right. So when I have that conversation, my hour or two hours of power hour, daily dials, prospecting, whatever you want to call it, that becomes a specific seller-focused conversation. And I'll tell you, one of my low-hanging fruits, one of my secrets for getting listings right now are unsolicited CMAs. Mastering your language around an unsolicited CMA can be really game-changing for your business.

You're speaking to, there's two types of contacts. met and have met, right? So have not met. It could be a loose where they were in a club. They were in the rotary with you, but you haven't met them yet. And then a met is somebody that you've had a conversation with and they would recognize your name, at least with a little reminding, right? So as we're going through this on a daily basis, unsolicited CMAs can be an opportunity because everybody wants to know what's going on with their house value, especially in a market of rapid appreciation. Everybody wants to know that. You're Your job is to get through that so you're not a salesperson, right?

You're circled by a moat nowadays, caller ID. You got do not disturb. You got no solicitation on your door. All this is because we're being bombarded with this stuff. Now, when you come from an active contribution or a place of contribution without an attachment, it sounds like this. Hey, ring, ring. Hey, Ian, Randy Bird over EXP Realty here.

And listen, you didn't ask me to call, but I have. something I've prepared for your home. And it's called a comparative market analysis, a CMA. And I did it, I did it on your home without asking, but I did it because we're doing it as part of a bigger CMA in the neighborhood. So you know, one, two, three, Banana Street recently sold. So we were doing a CMA on that property and we included yours, which is normal. We take, you know, the 100 or 200 homes around it. But I've got this report done already. I was just curious. Would you like a copy or would you like me to throw it away? Now here's the next level. People hire the go-to agent because they stand out, not by copying others, but by owning their brand and speaking directly to their dream client. Holly Kitchens nails this point for us.

People get so focused on maybe the aesthetics because we're going to say, oh, what's a brand? Oh, it's a logo. It's colors. Okay, cool. Let's see what that looks like. What looks good together. What feels good together. But they really miss the key element of what makes me different and unique as an individual.

And then also, who is it that I am trying to reach and serve that I want to connect with? So it's like it's more than just logos. It's more than just color schemes. It's more than just a mood board. It is your brand personality. it's your avatar. It's so many things that you really need to consider when launching a brand because the key is is to nail it the first time, of course, brands will always be evolving in, you know, there's going to be a point where you might rebrand. But out the gate,

we want to be cohesive and consistent. And yeah, that's kind of a long answer to your question, but yeah, hopefully it answers it. So a lot of times the branding trap that I see a lot of agents falling into is they either find somebody that they like the branded look and feel and they just try to be them. So they almost try to take an identity that's not theirs and especially a well-known person, a public figure that everyone else knows, right? So then they do the whole, like, they portray themselves as a wannabe instead of actually being themselves online and maybe taking some inspiration versus, you know, mimicking that person directly. So that's one mistake. And then another mistake is, you know, the agents don't ever really dive into the mind of who their dream

client is. So they're just kind of all over the board and they're putting out content or they're putting out messages that aren't necessarily aligned with who they like to work with. And therefore, they're not going to be known as an expert for their ideal client. Now, once your brand is clear, the go-to agent shows up where people live their lives in the community from the local restaurants to small businesses and Hallie McCrory shows us how hyper local content makes you that familiar face that people turn to. I see other agents doing well with are highlighting other local businesses related to your market and then also like getting even more specific in that highlighting local restaurants and like foody type of deals because that's

something almost everybody can relate to right like we all we all like food. in some different way or form of fashion, whether it's healthy, not healthy, you know, Chinese, Indian pizza, I think every human likes food at this point. So that's kind of my tactic. And I think what a lot of other people are, are, you know, leaning towards this kind of going a direction of getting this broad audience related to food,

because that's something that is always going viral on short form video and then pulling them in with the caption or with your profile to show that you're a local expert in real estate. Right. So it's almost like a pull in little track there. And finally, that go-to agent, they aren't picture perfect. They're real. They're relatable. They're authentic. And Lars Heidenborg's back one more time to explain to us why showing your true self online is what makes people trust you most. Let's say you can build a database of 250, legit people that know like and trust you. There's a 10 to 20x opportunity when you expand your digital footprint.

So there's 2,500 to 5,000 people that you can sort of, they sort of know like and trust you because you're putting out content consistently and you're adding value, albeit a little different than the database, you're still adding value. But the goal is to bring those contacts or those relationships to bring them into the actual database. So the database is the thing you own. You do not own Instagram. I mean, if Instagram changed their algorithm or did they decide to get rid of DMs and

all your contact, like who knows what they could do, right? But you don't own that contact. You don't have their email address. You don't have their cell phone number, their physical address, you know, to think you're actually in a relationship with them when you're not doing the actual touch system. So that's a little bit different. But it also includes social proof. Like if someone were to, you're in your Instagram.

Syracuse, New York, right? So if somebody, you know, typed in your name, your market, real estate, what comes up, right? That's your digital footprint. On the right hand side, if there's not a Google business page with 177 five-star reviews, you're going to lose more business than you ever even know. Because everyone is going to Google or some sort of tool and doing a little bit of research on agents that they're going to work with, whether it says a buyer agent or a listing agent. So your digital footprint is making you business if it's legit and it's losing your you business if it's not. But then it's just the rhythm and the daily cadence. Same thing with the database. It's one meaningful post per day. So not, you know, canned content, not I check the box

and I have some service doing it for me. We had a member. This was just yesterday in our Slack community, put a comment in there, does anyone know a social media manager I can hire to take care of all my social media? And I instantly chimed in. I'm like, that is not the system we teach. Like you paid all this money to get us to teach you the actual thing. And it's a meaningful post every day in addition to maybe some short form that you're doing or property tours or whatever, but it's a meaningful post every day. And then you're also doing the five five, five which is you're having you're commenting on posts of others at least five posts of other people on your different let's say facebook for example so you're putting your commenting your direct messaging's

you're going into messenger and you're messaging five people and then i think the other one is that there's another five there but you're actually using social media to be social and connect with people and have meaningful conversations online now so and five is like the bearman minimum. Like if you were to spend, you know, an hour every day just connecting and adding value with people online, with the sole intention, just like the database, I'm just going to add value. You would absolutely win the game of turning that into meaningful conversations. And then if I were doing it, and it also has to be authentic to you are. So we call it, you know, building your building uh build authority through authenticity so you know if you're if you have five

dimensions to who you are say it's uh you know my faith my fitness my family financial matters and then real estate it's the only one not an f how can you make that into an f i don't know um so there are five things you could talk about and the the four have nothing to do with real estate so they're just getting to know you and what you stand for and you become this attractive character. And then every once in a while, you're going to have a direct like, man, this was a tough closing. We got through it. This was like, you know, this issue came up and like, hey, if you're in a position where you're wondering what's going on in the market, go to, you know, Ian HomeEval.com, right?

So that's a direct call to action versus the other things are more like, you know, hey, I did this. You know, I fail to almost, you know, I fail to get my workout in today. Do you struggle like sort of more relatable topics? But you also don't want to become a me monster. Like everything is about you, like just listed, just sold, you know, all the stuff that nobody cares about. Nobody cares about any of that stuff. You're better off instead of like acting like things are going great and you're taking a

picture of your latte and like your laptop. and you're at a coffee shop, you know, put in something like this morning was a complete crap show. I don't even think my kids had shoes on when they got to school. And I barely made it to sit down for a minute to grab a cup of coffee before I got to get into negotiating this deal. Yeah. So it had nothing to do with like the picture perfect, you know, sort of everyone wants to come off as picture perfect.

My wife actually wrote a book literally called Picture Perfect. And it was that, you know, everything, everything. Everyone wants to appear like they've got it all together, and very few people do. Like if everyone knew what everyone has going on, we'd be way more compassionate, way more gracious toward each other. And letting people in on who you are, I think is the way to win the game of expanding your digital footprint. So there it is.

From structuring systems to sounding like the expert to delivering clarity and value, and finally showing up authentically in your community. That's the difference between being just another day. in the MLS and being the go-to agent that people are going to call first. So let's break this down into those top five takeaways that you can put into play this week here on Real Estate on Air Live. At number one, freedom without structure is the Achilles heel for most agents. The go-to agents are consistent, accountable, and they run on systems, not vibes, okay?

So what I want you to do is I want you to audit your calendar. Do you have time blocked for prospecting, follow-ups, and database building? If not, I want you to block three non-negotiable prospecting, sessions this week and protect them like it's a listing appointment. All right. Number two, sound like the expert, not the echo. Generic, the market's good answers aren't going to cut it. The go-to agent gives specifics tailored to buyers, tailored to sellers, tailored to investors,

but they're backing it all with real data. So go pull the fresh market stats out of your MLS. Look at what would impact buyers, what would impact sellers, what would impact investors in your area and craft one clear talking point for each of them and then use that in your conversations this week. I want no more of the market's good or the market's bad. All right. Number three, lead with value, not a sales pitch.

Scripts and unsolicited CMAs work when they come from contribution, not commission breath. The go-to agent is out there earning trust by providing clarity before a client or a customer ever asks for it. So run a CMA for someone in your database who didn't ask for one. Call them up and say, hey, I put this together. Your house was included. You want me to send it or should I toss it? Make a note of that response.

Number four, your brand is who you are, not who you're copying. Go-to agents don't mimic others. They align their brand with their personality and their dream client. Then they show up in their community in ways that feel authentic. So we do this in radio a lot. write down three traits that people actually say about you and if you're having a hard time with that go ask your partner all right and now post one piece of content this week that reflects you not a template not a copycat and a number five authenticity beats perfection 100 times out of a hundred okay

stop trying to curate the picture perfect agent life show the mess show the reality because Because people hire the human that they trust, not the published profile picks. So share a real moment, something messy, funny, and something human with your audience. So post one authentic story this week on social, no filters, no polish, just you being real. And that right there's the roadmap. Five actions, five challenges, all designed to move you one step closer to being that go-to agent in your community. So now your turn, pick one, pick two, pick three. pick them all try them out and let us know how it goes and if this is moving the needle with you

good make sure that you're if you're watching this on youtube or if you're listening on an apple podcast Spotify iHeart or wherever make sure that you're subscribed we've got more coming your way this week for our weekly Friday focus all right but what i want to do first right now is i want to lighten it up all right it's time for real estate confessions this is your moment this is where we take your secret DMs and share them with the world All right. Give us a follow on Facebook and Instagram. Send us that moment that maybe you wish you could have had back, but before we dive in, we do need to get one thing straight.

Real estate confessions features stories from the wild world of real estate. Names and details may have been changed to protect the innocent, and occasionally the not so innocent. All confessions are shared in good humor and do not reflect the opinions of KGCI Real Estate on air, its hosts, or affiliates. No agent's licenses were harmed in the making of this segment. Enjoy responsibly. All right, here we go.

It's time for real estate confessions because in real estate, truth is stranger than fiction. Tried to look local and relatable on Instagram, tagged the wrong taco shop. Turns out it was in another state. Guess I'm a national influencer now. Ever had one of those showings where the house decides it doesn't want you to leave?

I unlocked the front door, pop the key back in the lockbox, no problem. We tour the place clients are loving. it. Then, time to leave. Door won't budge. Dead bolts locked. And guess where the only key is? Yep, back in the lockbox. Outside. So now we're stuck. I find a window, push it open, and crawl out like I'm in a bad home invasion movie. I scramble around to the front porch, grab the key, and finally unlock the door to let my buyers out. Nothing says I'm your go-to agent like leaving your clients trapped inside and then having to rescue them from the very house.

you just showed. Sent a CMA to the wrong client. They called to thank me for telling their neighbor exactly how much their house was worth. Guess I'm a community service agent now. That was pretty good. That's going to do it for us this week on Real Estate on air live. We've had some fun with confessions, but don't lose sight of today's thing. Becoming that go-to-agent in your community, it's not about postcards or perfection. It's about discipline, expertise, value and authenticity. So join us this Friday at real estate onair.com for our weekly Friday focus where we will be going even deeper on this on the go-to-agent playbook with Hallie McCrory, Lars Hedenborg,

will be back for it and even more of the top producing voices you hear streaming all day, every day on KGCI, Real Estate on air. And don't forget, you can always download that free Real Estate on Air mobile app for iPhone and Android. Stream us live all day every day and even catch up on demand over the weekend. I'm Ian Wheatley. This is Real Estate on Air Live. Be good.