Our approach
Real estate agents need to go back to basics.
Why do all of the tools designed for real estate agents look like they came from 1995? Why does every agent use the same marketing tactics and send the same newsletters? Years of sales seminars and guru influencers have steered the industry toward increasingly generic practices. Just think about the prevalence of newsletters promoting “10 Ways to Winterize Your Home”, or out-of-the-box AI bots that call up (and annoy) inbound leads.
“Get in front of each contact 33 times per year.”
Industry gurus tell you to push, to sell, to be a shark, to “touch each contact 33 times per year”. But according to who? Did anyone actually ask their clients and leads if they wanted this? Rooted in hustle culture and “the more touchpoints the better” thinking, these tactics do nothing to advance the real estate agent’s reputation or increase the likelihood of repeat transactions. They are also difficult to sustain over the long term. An agent with hundreds, possibly thousands, of contacts cannot meaningfully engage with each of them every year and certainly not in a way that feels genuine. This is why they turn to generic, high-touch tools like email drips, mass newsletters, fliers, and other marketing material that is the exact same as every other agent.
This approach is not working
If all this marketing was working, agents would see the effect in high rates of repeat clients. According to NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 91% of buyers say they would use their real estate agent again, or recommend them to friends and family. Great, that means clients are having a good experience. But only 18% of repeat buyers actually went back to the same agent. This tells us that clients see real estate agents as replaceable. Any real estate agent is roughly the same as any other.
of buyers say they would use their agent again, or recommend them to friends and family
of repeat buyers actually went back to the same agent
This problem persists because of the generic mass marketing we just discussed. Agents are failing to provide unique value to their clients outside of an active transaction. It takes dedication and consistency from the real estate agent to meaningfully stay in touch with a client year over year and most agents don’t have the time or discipline to maintain that type of regular, useful contact.
It’s the same story with leads. Agents trying to grow their business often generate plenty of leads, can’t manage them all, then end up with a large pool that’s gone cold. Those leads land in a drip campaign of canned messages sent at set intervals, or get chased by retargeting ads or AI calling bots after they look at a property portal one time. Nothing in these approaches shows the lead why they should trust this real estate agent over others.
More touch points are not the solution. Clients want professionalism and relevance. They want their real estate agent to be a trusted advisor over the long term.
Reframe the goal: from “top of mind” to trusted advisor
Real estate agents and their brokerage leaders should reframe their objective from staying in front of clients at all costs to becoming long-term trusted advisors. To establish their personal brand as a trusted advisor, agents need to embody three things:
They are knowledgeable.
Not just about the market, but about each client, including their home, neighbourhood, and future plans.
They are proactive.
They reach out before the client has to ask, like when a comparable home sells down the street.
They maintain a professional relationship over the long term.
They stay in touch between transactions and they stay in their lane while doing it. Warm, relevant, and professional.
Achieving these three things is not rocket science, but it does take consistent effort over a years-long time horizon. Doing the right things doesn’t sound challenging, but multiply them by hundreds of contacts and they become impossible.
Practices of a trusted advisor
- Remember every client’s story. Why they bought, what’s next for them, what they’ve told you about their plans.
- Send tailored messages. One personally relevant note beats four check-ins that could have gone to anyone.
- Make every touchpoint relevant. Reference their neighbourhood, not national headlines.
- Reach out on their schedule, not yours. Connect because a comparable home sold down the street, not because it’s day 8 of your drip campaign.
Imagine doing all of this, regularly, for hundreds of clients plus trying to convert new leads. Even without managing active deals, this high quality nurturing would be a full time job. Agents and brokerages need new tools that will enable them to function as trusted advisors at scale. These tools should handle anything the agent is able to review and approve, like tracking follow-ups, drafting emails, and strategizing ways to stay connected to past clients. This frees up agents to spend their time where their professional judgment and expertise counts most: providing exceptional service to clients in active transactions.
Fill the gap with Worthington’s relationship intelligence
We have built a tool that accomplishes this: a new client management approach for real estate agents called Worthington. Worthington uses relationship intelligence technology to keep you personally in touch with all of your clients and leads over time. Worthington turns the quiet periods between transactions into meaningful connection points and helps build your brand as a trusted advisor for your clients.
Worthington’s relationship intelligence model connects to your email, and CRM if you have one, to continuously monitor your contacts and strategize the next steps. Are there any clients you need to follow up with? Who should you proactively reach out to today? Why is now the right time? And what should you say to them? All of this is synthesized by Worthington into five minutes of actions you should take every day.
Sarah SantosYou sent her a roofer in September; ask how it went.
David CampbellMentioned listing in spring 2027; nothing since April.A few minutes over your morning coffee is all it takes to start establishing your brand as a trusted real estate advisor. You can watch our demo to learn more.
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