Two factors consistently have the greatest impact on a real estate career:
Reach and relationships.
Both are commercial levers that influence how often you are considered, referred, and ultimately appointed.
Too much advice often leads to indecision.
Agents are exposed to a wide range of opinions on what they should be focusing on, and that can dilute effort.
In practice, narrowing attention to a small number of fundamentals is usually more effective than trying to do everything at once.
Reach determines how frequently your name enters conversations before a property decision is made. It is not a measure of social media followers.
It is a measure of visibility among the people who influence transactions and referrals.
This includes business owners, local operators, professionals involved in deals, and community figures who are active in the area long before an agent is formally engaged.
When these people know who you are and see you regularly, you are more likely to be mentioned when an opportunity comes up.
Social media can support this, but follower count is often misleading at a local level.
Many real estate accounts attract a high proportion of other agents. Being visible within your own community is far more valuable than being visible within the industry.
In practical terms, reach comes from being present in the places your community already spends time.
That often looks like regular visits to local shopping strips, knowing café owners by name, using the same bottle shop, florist, or gift store, and being recognised rather than reintroduced.
I would rather my team be familiar faces in those environments than simply visible online because those business owners are constantly speaking with locals and are often asked for recommendations.
Reach also needs to be organised.
Adding contacts to a database, noting where relationships exist, and maintaining consistent contact helps ensure visibility does not fade once initial introductions are made.
Relationships convert reach into revenue when that familiarity is built over time.
Showing up consistently removes friction.
Conversations start with context, referrals feel more natural, and opportunities tend to come through without needing to be forced.
These relationships extend beyond traditional referral sources.
They include conveyancers, mortgage brokers, trades, and local service providers who are involved across transactions.
When those connections are established, work tends to flow more steadily, and businesses are less reliant on isolated wins.
Appraisals and face-to-face appointments still matter and should always be tracked.
However, they are often the outcome of earlier work done through reach and relationship building.
Strong local presence and referral depth frequently shape what an agent’s pipeline looks like several months ahead.
If the start of 2026 has felt slower than expected, or if local presence dropped over December and early January, this period provides an opportunity to reset.
Spending time back in your marketplace and rebuilding visibility can have a direct impact on future listings and results.
