Real estate broker Dave Hutchinson (aka Dave Hutch), founder of Real Estate Money, posted a reel sharing a stack of books he credits with helping him build his real estate brand.
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Every agent wants to build a brand people recognize and close more deals along the way.
Fewer agents know which books are worth reading and adding to their “How I figured out this real estate thing” library.
This list starts with Hutch’s six picks straight from his reel. Then it rounds out to ten with four more books pulled from a Knowledge Brokers Podcast episode, where Byron Lazine, Lisa Chinatti and Tom Toole put together their own reading list for agents.
Which one will you read first?
10 Books Every Real Estate Agent Should Read
Here are Hutch’s book recommendations for real estate agents and business owners, each with a brief explanation in his own words.
Dave Hutch’s Top Picks
- Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini — “It explains what you say before you ask is what makes people say yes.”
- The Four Conversations: A New Model for Selling Expertise by Blair Enns — “It teaches you to lead like the expert, not chase like the salesperson.”
- $100 Million Leads: How to Get Strangers To Want To Buy Your Stuff by Alex Hormozi — “I love all of Alex Hormozi’s books, but I think this is most relevant for Realtors.”
- Wealthy and Well-known: Build Your Personal Brand and Turn Your Reputation into Revenue by AJ and Rory Vaden — “This book teaches you how to niche down and not just be another generic realtor.”
- Expert Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Converting Your Online Visitors into Lifelong Customers by Russell Brunson — “Russell Brunson is a GOAT and he teaches you in this book how to go from salesperson to guide. You’ll learn how to get better at telling a story so people don’t just hire you, they follow you.”
- Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire by Dan Martell — “He teaches the 80-20 rule. 20% of what you do earns 80% of your income.”
Top Picks from the Knowledge Brokers Podcast
These are classics that belong in every real estate business owner’s library, as the KBP trio would tell you even now. None of these will ever be outdated.
1. The Agent’s Edge: Secret Strategies to Win Listings and Make Your Fortune Selling Real Estate by Jordan Cohen
Byron Lazine recommended this one as an engaging book with proven strategies for winning listings, written by the #1 REMAX agent worldwide.
“…He goes through from how he started [with] $400K homes, and the same principles apply on these multi-million dollar homes on how to win listing appointments. He could have written this book ten years ago or ten years forward, and these principles are going to be relatable if you want to actually win listings.”
2. Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization on the Growth Track-And Keeping It There by Les McKeown
Here’s why Lisa Chinatti chose this as one of her top three recommendations:
“It talks through the cycles of business. Every single time I’ve read it, I’ve been like, ‘Holy shit! That happened to me!’…It’s one of my favorite, favorite books.”
3. Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
This one breaks down the Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS), which is the foundation of both Byron’s real estate business and BAM, which he co-founded with The Broke Agent.
“I think the one that can be most impactful for the most people would be Traction by Gino Wickman. I’m such a big believer in EOS. Both BAM and the real estate team are running off of EOS. It’s game-changing. If you’re a leader, and you’re feeling, to some degree, like you’re floundering or you’re not organized, you’re not getting anything done at meetings, or you don’t have a structure on how to set and accomplish goals, this book kind of packages it all together for you.”
4. Exactly What to Say for Real Estate Agents by Phil Jones, Jimmy Mackin, & Chris Smith
Tom Toole recommended this one. Whether you’re familiar with the author names or not, this is one to check out if you’ve ever put off difficult real estate conversations because you didn’t know what to say.
“I’m a big script guy. I find that NLP confuses people if you don’t really study it. Phil and Jimmy and Chris broke it down in easy ways to use the strategies that are gonna take the pressure out of having difficult conversations for people. And I think that skill is more important than ever right now in 2023.”
Start with One
Ten books is a lot to take on right away. Start with one that takes on a real gap in your business right now.
- Freezing before the ask? Start with Pre-Suasion.
- Team feels chaotic? Start with Traction.
- Still look like every other agent in the market? Start with Wealthy and Well-Known.
Read one, and run what it teaches for a month. Then move to the next.
