How to keep your sales pipeline warm

I’ve been in sales for nearly 20 years. I started selling houses in 2008. 

While I spend 80% of my time in the leadership/visionary seat (coaching my team of sales agents), I do still sell when needed. 

I do this not only to help plug revenue gaps, but also because I still have such a strong pipeline, after doing it for so long. I’ve written before about how getting good at sales is a secret weapon for business owners. You’re better off coming from a sales role where you know how to generate revenue vs. having all the business/management experience in the world. 

That stuff you can learn. 

Sales takes years to master. 

Here’s what I teach my team about their pipeline (and keeping it warm). 

Pipeline warmth comes back to one truth: 

You can never sell more homes than you list… you can never list more homes than you appraise… you can’t appraise more homes than the number of people you actually know in your area. 

In other words, it all comes down to relationships. Meet people, build trust, and stay present in your community. 

Building a warm pipeline isn’t about quick check-ins or ticking boxes. It’s about genuine support and interest in the person – their needs, plans, limitations, fears, current understanding etc. Your job is to remove your own needs from the conversation and place the client’s goals at the centre. 

In our case as real estate agents, it means giving relevant and timely information about the market, freely and authentically. It means asking better questions so you understand their real plans and what life might look like for them when they’re ready to make a move. It requires a long-term outlook, where you’re guiding them on their terms, not when it suits your month. 

Too many agents think following up is simply touching base. 

In the world we live in, people don’t respond to generic touches. Follow ups should feel genuine, much like the connection between two friends. 

When you do this consistently, your pipeline not only stays warm, but becomes something even more special. It’s about people, not prospects. 

Think of it like building relationship equity at every touchpoint. They’ll remember how you made them feel along the way. 

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