1. Write an Actual Plan

This should be obvious, but it’s shocking how many agents do not write out a plan every year. Top-performing real estate agent and coach Wade Webb recently posted an excellent article about planning for 2025 that drives this point home. He writes:

FACT: less than 3% of real estate agents have a business plan. FACT: [an] estimated 3% of real estate agents in North America do 97% of the business.

We all know that a minority of agents list the majority of homes, and it’s easy to intuit that few agents write their own business plans. But I never considered those facts together until now. Sure, there are great planners out there that fail and great agents that have never written a plan in their life, but I imagine those are the exceptions.

Spend time creating a cohesive, actionable 12-month plan; it does not need to be formal or organized any particular way, it just needs to be specifically tailored to your business. Wade’s article offers a fantastic step-by-step guide.

2. Update Your Tools

The pace of tech innovation is dizzying, so it can feel overwhelming. Wading through every new thing a salesperson pitches can be enormously distracting to the point of becoming counterproductive. Instead, spend time proactively examining the tools you use and the new tools available, and then move forward until it’s time to re-examine.

In doing so, remember to use restraint. We have many highly successful agents that use a small variety of tech tools; they limit what they use to what’s effective and practical for them:

• Don’t fix what isn’t broken. Often, for example, CRMs will add capabilities as technology improves; it may be best to explore what’s new with your provider rather than jumping ship to get the hottest new system. Technology overhauls are disruptive; if you’re going to undertake one, make sure the payoff is tangible.
• Don’t be dazzled. That automated AI predictive email system may look amazing, but if you have an email list of 200 people, how helpful is it really? Wouldn’t that $500 be better spent growing your sphere or blanketing your geographic farm? Use critical thinking and consider what your greatest marketing and sales needs are before jumping on any bandwagons.

That said, sometimes technology updates are essential, and it’s important to examine that heading into 2025. Run through each of these areas and decide if it’s time to upgrade:

1. CRM/organization software. This is by far the most important tech for your business; the hub for your clients, contacts, transactions, and so on. Spend ample time researching yours and other options out there. Consider how well it works for you and with your other important systems. Beware of all-in-one tools that often do one thing well but lack in other areas. If your broker or team provides a CRM, see if there are integrations you can incorporate or if you can use a secondary system.
2. Website and SEO optimization. You should have your own site, in addition to whatever profile page or site your broker or team provides. Facebook doesn’t replace a website! Almost all of our clients have their own websites, often with blogs, videos, and IDX (listings from the MLS). Make this the year you build a strong web presence, and work with a professional who can optimize it for Google search (SEO). Blogging will help improve your SEO, which is something you can add to your marketing plan.
3. Marketing automation and emailing. You may not need a robust marketing or emailing system (or you may be able to use your team’s). However, if you have a sizeable sphere it’s worthwhile to have a good one. These systems typically integrate with your website and CRM, automating lead collection and emailing. They have advanced a lot in the last few years and may be worth a look.
4. Home photography, videography, and virtual tours. Upping your listing game will make a big difference in the year ahead, and that means examining how up-to-date your photography, videography, and/or tours are. I’ve now had at least three clients tell me they love Pivo, a new “smart” home tour robot that follows you around as you show a home, acts as a teleprompter, and edits and uploads to your socials with the push of a button. This is an example of tech that kills many birds with one stone.
5. Predictive analytics. Think “SmartZip.” These are tools that use algorithms to identify homeowners most likely to list, and they can trigger email or postcard campaigns. In our opinion, these are best as sales tools rather than marketing tools. They’ve become widely used, so homeowners now get a slew of postcards from agents when the algorithms flag them. Those have little value if you’re a stranger showing up at an opportune time. If you’re using one of these programs or are considering one for next year, make sure it’s on top of a strong foundation of tried-and-true farming. If you first become a familiar face, predictive analytics can help you stand out when a prospect is ready to sell.

3. Staff Wisely

While it’s true that most of our agents are high producers, it’s not true that they all have large teams. In fact, some of our most productive agents have small but mighty teams. What they’ve taught us is this: staff wisely.

In planning for 2025 consider your goals in light of you and your staff’s bandwidth:

• If your listings increase 10% (the amount NAR expects transactions to grow), will you be able to handle it?
• Are you ready to hire a part-time admin?
• Do you get a lot of buyer leads? Is it time for a Buyer’s Agent?
• How much more time would you be able to dedicate to marketing, learning, and providing excellent service to your sellers if you staff up?
• How would a staff change advance (or curtail) your 2025 plans?

These are questions to consider carefully, with a complete understanding of the costs. What will the wages or commission splits cost, and how much time and effort will be required?

For the vast majority of our agents, the very first hire they made was either a part-time assistant or a buyer’s agent. If you’re selling more than a few homes a month and finding it difficult to keep up, an aggressive growth plan will choke you if you don’t have leverage. On the other hand, if you aren’t yet to the point where you can comfortably afford to lose some commission or pay wages, it’s best to wait until you achieve your next benchmark first.

Wise staffing can also mean cutting. If you run a team and productivity has fallen, leaning up could be smart. That doesn’t mean you can’t grow in 2025—in fact, it may help you grow. You can redirect the time and money to marketing and education for your agents. Each member of your team should always be working to their maximum capacity, and top team leaders evaluate this every year.

4. Market More

It should go without saying that agents are planning to market more in 2025. As more listings hit the market, you’ll want to capture as many as possible with an aggressive marketing plan. Think through your marketing budget (how to maximize it), the time commitment for each initiative, and how you will schedule it out.

Here’s how our agents are beefing up their marketing in 2025:

• Video: Our clients are doing more video than ever these days, and they won’t be slowing down next year. They tell us many of their competitors don’t make videos because of the time and technical know-how required, making it even more lucrative for them. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are the three top ones, and Facebook can also be effective. YouTube is best for long-form videos, and your short-form videos can go on all the platforms. You can also embed your video on your blog to improve your SEO.
• Content-driven mail: Our clients are ramping up the volume and frequency of their 12-page publications, returning to markets they had previously scaled back from and adding new markets they’ve never mailed to before. They’re also planning to mail more often; for example, we have several agents moving from bi-monthly mailings to monthly, or from quarterly to bi-monthly.
• Digitally integrated mail: In addition to mailing more publications, our clients are doing more digital integrations within them. We’re including QR codes in almost every publication (they’re now widely used by consumers), and we’re also seeing agents put thumbnail images of their videos in their papers (see Dan Beer paper with video thumbnail). We’re seeing a lot more branding cohesion with our clients’ publications and their websites, as far as color scheme, calls to action, and so on, and our agents are using their Digital Editions (these are included with each mailing) in their social media and email campaigns.
• “Moving billboards”: One agent plans to add another moving truck to her fleet. She began with one, added another soon after, and next year plans to add a third. In addition to moving trucks, she has branded vehicles that her buyer agents drive. These vehicles are “moving billboards,” always driving around town advertising her business.
• Community events: The more experience our clients get, the more they seem to go back to the basics. Shiny technology is great, but you really do need to pound the pavement if you want to grow. Our clients are planning on increasing their community engagement in 2025, with more local sports sponsorships, booths at community events, food drives, parties, pie giveaways, ice cream trucks, coat and toy collections, and the like. They’re also doing more educational events like buyer and seller seminars. One of the core ways they advertise these events is their direct mail publications; here’s an example.

Of course there are infinite other ways top agents market, these are just a few of the specific things our clients are buzzing about for the year ahead.

5. Improve Your Value Proposition

Finally, take a good long look at your value proposition. While the market is looking good for 2025, changes in industry regulations and technology are making it tougher for “low value” agents to compete. To this end, you want to make sure you are offering more than any other agent in town.

You should already have a list of all the ways you add value for your clients. Spend some time on your competitors’ websites to see how you stack up. You want to enter 2025 with a remarkably compelling value proposition, and then you can use it (or aspects of it) in your marketing efforts. Many of our clients print entire lists of what they offer in every edition of their paper, and at listing appointments they have glossy materials showcasing all the benefits their clients receive.

In addition to excellent customer service, negotiation skills, attention to detail, thorough pricing, and everything else you ought to confidently advertise, think of ways you can go above and beyond to offer extraordinary value.

Here are a few from our agents:

• Staging service: We have several clients who keep a storage unit of furniture and accessories for staging. Offering true staging service can make a big difference for sellers.
• Cleaning service: A deep-clean isn’t necessarily that expensive, especially if you develop a relationship with a cleaning company or a competent solo cleaner. Some agents set limits for perks like these, like “up to $200.”
• Moving truck: An investment for sure, but a very appealing perk to both buyers and sellers (and it doubles as a “moving billboard”). If you can’t buy a truck, offering to cover the cost of a moving truck will be just as valuable to a seller.
• Concierge service: Our COMPASS agents are able to offer their clients a “concierge” service through their broker. The broker covers the costs of home improvements and the seller pays them at closing. You may not have the means to pay for the work up front, but you could offer your own “white glove” service by providing vetted referrals and helping coordinate the work.
• Professional photography/videography: This really sets agents apart in competitive markets, and is a must in higher-end markets. We’re seeing a lot more use of drone photography and many more listing videos from our agents. Virtual tours have also become easier, higher quality, and more affordable, so they’re not as daunting for our clients as in years past. Even if you’re great at taking photos, getting a professional isn’t super expensive, will save you time, and you’ll find that the images or videos look significantly better. Pros know how to use lighting, angles, focus, and perspective to bring a home to life.
• Pre-listing inspection: This is a great incentive if you serve a neighborhood with older homes. Some of our agents do this in order to get ahead of any problems that may arise later. But you have to explain the value to sellers; tell them this is how you avoid surprises and confidently command the best price.