Most agents think leadership starts when they build a team, open a brokerage, or finally have people reporting to them. But leadership starts much earlier than that.

It starts when a buyer is scared, the inspection gets messy, the lender needs one more thing, the client does not understand what is happening, and the agent has to decide whether they are going to panic with them or lead them through it.

For real estate agents, leadership is not just about managing people. It is about how you show up when people are looking to you for steadiness, clarity, and direction. Clients are making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives, and many of them are terrified, even when they do not say it out loud.

In this episode, we unpack what leadership really looks like before, during, and after the title. We talk about influence, presence, fear, emotional responsibility, feedback, team dynamics, and the shift from being a producer to becoming the kind of leader other people can actually trust.

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

In 2026, real estate agents have more brokerage options than ever.

Nice problem to have, but that doesn't make the decision less confusing.

There are different split structures, flat fees, 100% commission models, rev share, teams, virtual brokerages, boutique brands, mergers, and acquisitions.

So it's getting harder to answer the question: what brokerage should I grow my business in?

Do you choose the best split, brand, leads, community, or training?

The answer is…it depends. With so many brokerage options, the real deciding factor is if that model matches the season of business you are actually in.

The wrong environment can make this business feel heavier than it already is. You can have the license, the ambition, and the work ethic, but still end up isolated, unsupported, or surrounded by a model that does not fit what you actually need right now.

So what should you be looking for in your next brokerage?

In this episode, we unpack this with real estate leader and president of HomeSmart, Stacey Onnen.

Stacey has seen brokerages from almost every angle, so she understands how you can make the right choice. We talk about why the brokerage decision should really be about the season you're in, and how that can change the choice you make.

Guest Bio

Stacey Onnen is the President of HomeSmart and an experienced real estate executive known for driving growth, operational excellence, and innovation across startups, scaling companies, and mature organizations. She has led large-scale virtual teams and overseen operations for major real estate organizations, including eXp Realty LLC, one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry. Throughout her career, Stacey has built a reputation for helping companies scale in competitive markets while strengthening systems, team leadership, agent experience, and operational performance. Her work spans operations, sales, project management, public relations, employee development, and virtual workforce leadership, giving her a broad view of what brokerages need to grow and what agents need to succeed. With experience across national real estate brands and high-growth environments, Stacey brings a practical, behind-the-scenes perspective on brokerage models, agent support, leadership, culture, and the changing value proposition in real estate. Connect with Stacey on LinkedIn.

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

Real estate agents are always chasing a new marketing idea, trend or platform - and in the era of AI - another content prompt.

But you don't need that in this market, what you need is a system.

The agents who grow consistently aren't just posting more. They're building a repeatable way to attract new people, keep those people engaged, and turn attention into actual conversations.

That's the part many agents miss. They treat marketing like a collection of isolated activities, instead of one connected engine that moves people from awareness to response.

The real opportunity is not just creating content. It's learning how to use timely market information to stay relevant, give people a reason to pay attention, and then follow up when that attention creates an opening.

In this segment, we revisit a practical conversation with Jimmy Mackin, entrepreneur, real estate marketing expert, and founder of ListingLeads.

Jimmy lays out the three activities that drive growth for agents: attracting new people, engaging them with timely and relevant content, and converting that engagement through one-to-one follow-up.

He also shares a simple follow-up message agents can use to turn market interest into real conversations with potential sellers.

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

In real estate, agents are constantly searching for the next lead source, marketing tactic, or prospecting strategy.

But sometimes the biggest opportunities aren't new at all. They're tools and strategies agents already have access to, but don't fully understand how to use.

From pricing strategies that build credibility, to industry changes many agents resist, to referral systems that eliminate the need for cold calling, small shifts in how you approach the business can completely change how your pipeline grows.

The challenge is that many agents either overlook these opportunities or misunderstand how powerful they can be.

So how do you turn everyday parts of the business into real competitive advantages?

In this episode, three real estate leaders break down strategies that can help agents work smarter, build stronger relationships, and create more consistent business.

In this episode;

• Tom Canale on using CMAs as a competitive advantage vs. guessing and hoping you're right

• Debra E-Leon on treating iBuyers as a value-add, not the enemy

• Michael Maher on a strategy better than cold calling

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

Building a real estate team can be a growth engine or your own personal prison.

It can lift the lid on your business and create leverage and momentum. Or it can trap you in a structure where you're working more, earning less, and carrying everyone else on your back.

We've seen this play out over and over again. An agent starts doing well, gains some traction, and people naturally gravitate toward them. So they think, "It's time to build a team." But instead of creating leverage, they just add responsibility.

What separates the teams that scale from the ones that stall?

Ruben Luna is running one of the top teams in eXp, with 140+ agents, and growing 60% year over year.

How did he scale without becoming the bottleneck? How do you build a team that actually frees you instead of depending on you?

In this episode, CEO of The Luna Team, Ruben, joins us to break down what it actually takes to build a team that scales, and why most agents get stuck.

Guest Bio

Ruben Luna is the CEO of The Luna Team, one of the top-performing teams at eXp Realty, with over 140 agents and 60% year-over-year growth. With more than 20 years of experience and thousands of transactions closed, Ruben has built a reputation as both a top-producing agent and a high-level team leader in the Phoenix market. He is a multi-year recipient of the Top Producer Presidential Roundtable Award from the West Maricopa Association of Realtors. He has consistently led one of the region's top real estate teams. Known for his consistency, discipline, and commitment to both his clients and agents, Ruben has built his business around one core principle: creating structure and leverage that drives long-term, sustainable growth. To learn more, go to https://www.homesbytlt.com/.

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

In early 2026, the real estate market has split into two. Some agents are up 20-70%, while other agents feel like nothing has changed from last year's slower market.

The agents who are winning right now aren't reacting to conditions. They're compounding conversations, and treating every rate drop, headline, and industry shift as valuable opportunities.

Shifts like private equity circling real estate and new portals fighting for consumer attention are also creating new leverage points for prepared agents.

And at the same time, AI isn't just helping with the work; it's starting to do the work. The agents pulling ahead aren't dabbling. They're locking in on a few high-leverage uses.

So the real question isn't if the market is good or if you should be using AI. It's: where are you compounding effort, and where are you leaving leverage on the table?

In this episode, we unpack why some agents are accelerating while others stall, how the industry power structure is quietly shifting, and how to actually think about AI in a way that creates a real advantage.

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

When we hear that 87% of agents don't make it, it's easy to blame a bad market, a lack of leads, or the agents not being skilled or hardworking enough.

The truth is: even talented, motivated, and well-connected agents can find themselves exiting the industry.

Here's the truth: you can have the best intentions, but still fail.

Some of the things you do on a daily basis could be secretly sabotaging you. Being a jack of all trades, taking advice from the wrong people, or not committing to long-term consistency. These feel like smart, reasonable decisions in the moment, but they can quietly stall your growth and drain your momentum.

So how do you stop operating like the 87% and start thinking like the 13%?

In this episode, three real estate leaders share surprising reasons agents leave the business, and what the top performers do instead.

In this episode;

• Todd Conklin on wanting success vs. doing the work

• Keith Carl Anderson on mastery vs. dabbling

• Jason Pantana on building long-term authority

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

In real estate, we're taught that people need to know, like, and trust us, so we invest in our image and brand.

While there's nothing wrong with this, that focus can drift a little too far away from what the consumer really needs.

Because here's the thing: this job isn't about us.

When we're so focused on ourselves, we miss gaps in the experience, opportunities to create certainty, and solutions that actually add value to the consumer.

And when we focus on that, we get chosen more often and trusted more deeply.

So how do we shift from visibility to value?

In this special episode of The 13%, leaders from brokerage, education, and regulation each share how to turn that shift into more listings, smoother deals, and higher income.

In This Episode;

• Susan Nicolson on what consumers expect from a professional today and where agents fall short.

• Greg Hague on turning your service into a defined, in-demand product

• Jenny Hogan-Lizarraga on the power of picking a lane instead of trying to work with everyone

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

For the last few years, this industry has been hoping for things to "go back to normal."

We've been waiting for rates to drop, inventory to come back, and transactions to pick up.

Agents want this business to feel the way it used to.

And now that it's a new year, a lot of that hope has reset again. People believe that this will be the year things finally turn around.

But what if what's happening isn't just a bad stretch? What if uncertainty really is the new normal?

How do we stop asking if the market will get better and start focusing on succeeding if things stay exactly the same?

In this episode of The 13%, three real estate leaders talk about why hoping the market gets better isn't a strategy, and what to do instead.

In This Episode:

• Leigh Brown on accepting reality without becoming cynical or disengaged.

• Kimberly Ryan on how to stop outsourcing your mindset to the market.

• Jason Waugh on staying focused when uncertainty is part of the job.

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!

Most of us spent 2025 focused on what got harder in real estate. But while everyone was focused on survival, a massive new opportunity was coming into focus.

Technology has evolved and stacked to remove the limits that agents, teams, and brokerages have faced for decades.

AI and new platforms now allow us to do things that used to be really hard, flat-out impossible, or took years to pull off.

In 2026, new capabilities will reshape market share for agents who are willing to adapt, test, and move early.

Scaling our businesses (even across states) is more affordable. We can use team leverage to double down on our strengths. We can grow visibility and market share faster and more efficiently than ever before.

So how do you take advantage of the age of acceleration? Are new lawsuits the latest threat to our business? What opportunities should agents and brokerages be going after?

In this episode, we're joined by Jack Miller, CEO of real estate consulting firm T3 Sixty.

We talk about the new era of real estate success, where the real opportunity is hiding, and how to capitalize on it before everyone else does.

About our Guest

Jack Miller is the president and CEO of T3 Sixty, a trusted advisor and management consultancy in the residential real estate brokerage industry. Clients include franchisors, brokerages, Realtor associations, MLS organizations, technology companies and brokerage industry investors, and market analysts. Jack brings more than two decades of hands-on real estate experience, blending strategic leadership with deep technology expertise. With a background in electrical and computer engineering, he has leveraged his tech-savvy approach to drive innovation across franchising, brokerage operations, and proptech. At Keller Williams Realty International, Jack led technology development during the company's expansion from 9,000 to nearly 60,000 agents, shaping its technology strategy. A key contributor to the Swanepoel Trends Report and Real Estate Almanac, Jack remains at the forefront of industry trends, making him a sought-after speaker known for delivering actionable insights on the future of real estate. Connect with Jack on LinkedIn.

Get a copy of the 2026 Swanepoel Trends Report at https://www.t3trends.com/.

About Your Hosts

Lance Billingsley is a seasoned real estate professional with over a decade of experience in agent development and business coaching. Since January 2021, he has served as the Vice President of Agent Development at Navi Title Agency, where he leverages his extensive industry knowledge to mentor and support real estate agents. Before his tenure at Navi Title, Lance co-owned a top-performing real estate team at Realty ONE Group, achieving recognition as one of the company's top five teams. He also served as a business coach for Tom Ferry.

Dave Richards is a well-respected business coach working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, mortgage and real estate professionals, and others. With over 25+ years of executive leadership experience, he coaches and consults with the top professionals and organizations in their respective industries. Capitalizing on his certifications in Human Behavior, he specializes in building and optimizing high-performance teams and tackling difficult decisions that hold his clients back. He easily connects with entrepreneurs to help identify and communicate their vision, define their culture, and increase their profits and growth in today's dynamic marketplace.

Check out this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!