Ep #87: How to Build an Audience and Grow Your Agent Referrals by Teaching Agent Classes

Wade Vanderbohen returns to share how teaching agent classes on YouTube, video marketing, social media, and business strategy has made him the go-to resource for real estate agents in his market — with classes now his #1 source of new business. LOs and affiliate partners who want to stop cold-calling and start attracting agents should listen. The episode is a practical blueprint for using education-based marketing to build inbound referral flow year over year.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Identify the #1 skill gap agents in your market want help with (YouTube setup, Instagram, farming, SEO) and build one 45-60 minute class around it. Pitch it to 3 local brokerages or Realtor associations as a free CE or lunch-and-learn.
• When a listing agent appears on the other side of your closed deal, email them a link to your YouTube channel or a relevant class and say: 'I help agents grow their online presence as part of how I partner with them — happy to show you what I've been doing for [referring agent].' Use this script on every non-directing agent from every closed file.
• After a prospect says they're loyal to someone else, ask: 'What happens to your marketing after that relationship closes a deal — do they call you to help you generate more clients?' If the answer is no, that's your opening. Wade used this exact question to flip a loyal agent the same day.
• Set up a TubeBuddy Chrome extension (free tier available at tubebuddy.com) on your YouTube account to manage custom thumbnails, keyword tags, and analytics — and teach agents to do the same in your class so you demonstrate hands-on value.
• Send a weekly email to your agent database in Q&A format: one question you heard from an agent that week, your answer, and a call-to-action to book a meeting. Keep it personal, not corporate. Wade does this every week and attributes it to staying top-of-mind between transactions.
• Time your class offerings strategically: run agent education classes in July–August (agents have breathing room) and October–November (agents are planning for next year). Avoid March–June in active markets when agents are ratifying contracts and won't show up.

The playbook

1. 1. Blast an email to your agent list offering a class on a specific skill they want (e.g., 'How to Set Up a Professional YouTube Channel for Real Estate').
2. 2. Host the class — in a mortgage office, brokerage, or Realtor association — and deliver genuine, actionable education.
3. 3. Collect attendee info; follow up by email if no immediate response, then call.
4. 4. When the agent says they're loyal to a competitor, stay on the phone and ask: 'What are they doing to help you generate more clients after close?' Identify the gap.
5. 5. Use their stated goals (video, farming, online presence) to position yourself as the solution — not your company's features.
6. 6. Set up a next-day in-person meeting; come prepared to walk through their specific marketing needs (channel setup, WordPress SEO, video scripts).
7. 7. When they send you a deal, thank them, follow up mid-transaction, and follow up again at close — then circle back asking about their video or marketing progress to keep the coaching relationship alive.

Worth quoting

“If you can create an interested audience, it's the greatest way to differentiate yourself.”

“It makes things a lot easier when it becomes their idea versus you making them feel like you made them do something.”

Best for

LOs who want agent referrals but hate cold-calling and are willing to build a teachable skill (video, social media, farming) to attract agents instead of chasing them.