Ep. 135: What's The Future of Real Estate Marketing?

Chris Smith breaks down why mortgage and real estate professionals keep losing ground to Zillow, Quicken, and iBuyers — and exactly how to fight back with local content, diversified lead sources, and sharper phone sales. Best for LOs who feel outgunned by big platforms but haven't taken concrete action yet.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Write a hyperlocal article about the hidden costs of iBuyer offers in your market (Chris's team titled theirs 'The Hidden Cost of Selling Your Home the Silicon Valley Way') and put paid budget behind it on Facebook — don't just post it organically.
• Diversify your lead pipeline so no single source exceeds roughly 20% of volume: aim for a mix of Zillow/paid leads, SEO/blog, email nurture, past-client referrals, Instagram organic, and agent partnerships running simultaneously.
• Apply the Quicken '20-20-20' phone framework on your next inbound call: spend 20 minutes asking deep discovery questions about the borrower, 20 minutes preparing your loan recommendation, then 20 minutes presenting and closing — do not skip the prep phase.
• Before calling a real estate agent or prospect, spend 20-30 minutes researching them online — find a genuine connection point (shared interest, recent listing, community involvement) so the conversation opens on common ground, not a cold pitch.
• Practice the ARP framework from The Conversion Code on rate-shopping calls: Acknowledge the question ('Totally get it, rates are the first thing everyone asks'), Respond briefly, then Pivot with a question ('Before I give you a number that means nothing without context, can I ask you a couple of quick questions?') to take control of the conversation.
• Record yourself on a sales call and audit your tone: if you don't sound excited, confident, and soothing, deliberately 'turn it on' like a performance — Chris credits tone as one of the three main reasons he outsold seasoned Quicken bankers in his first week.

The playbook

1. Step 1 — Generate leads: Use Facebook/Instagram ads, local blog content, and SEO to build inbound flow before touching the phone.
2. Step 2 — First 20 minutes on the call: Go all in on the borrower — ask deep discovery questions about their situation, goals, timeline, and concerns. Do not quote rates yet.
3. Step 3 — 20-minute internal prep: Put the call on a brief hold or schedule a callback; work with your team or manager to identify the best loan scenario to present.
4. Step 4 — Final 20 minutes: Present the loan, build excitement around the payment and terms, then ask for the credit pull or commitment. Either close or identify the objection to overcome.
5. Step 5 — Post-call follow-up: Use email and text sequences (CRM-driven) to re-engage any prospect who didn't close on the call.

Worth quoting

“If you can't get past your bitterness to get better, you've already started to lose.”

“The worst time to figure out what to say is while you're saying it.”

Best for

LOs who blame Zillow, Quicken, or the market for lost business but haven't yet built a multi-channel lead and conversion system to fight back.