The fight for the future of real estate isn’t coming. It’s already here.
If you’re still operating like it’s 2019 (or 2021), you’re already behind. Consumer expectations are shifting. Transparency has become a non-negotiable. And tech platforms aren’t just knocking on the door—they’re breaking it down.
At BAM Fest, Byron Lazine sat down with Veronica Figueroa for a brutally honest fireside chat about where the industry is headed and what real estate agents need to do right now to win. Here are eight moves every agent should be making before it’s too late.
1. Pivot Fast or Get Left Behind
The agents who survive the next wave aren’t the ones clinging to the “good old days.” They’re the ones who see the shift coming and move.
Veronica Figueroa’s career is living proof. When the market turned to short sales and REOs, she didn’t freeze. She bet her last $5,000 to pivot into REO listings—and it paid off.
I said, I am going to be the best. I am going to pivot in any market and I’m going to do this. I’m going all in. And that’s when I learned short sales. That’s when I hopped on a plane to Five Star. That’s when I gambled my last $5,000 to become an REO agent.
She recognized early that change is the only constant in real estate. Rather than retreat, she invested in new skills and opportunities to stay ahead.
2. Prioritize Transparency
The days of gatekeeping information are dead. Today’s consumers expect transparency, and they’re not going to forgive agents who keep them in the dark.
Veronica warned that markets with low transparency (like Puerto Rico’s Craigslist-style system) leave consumers “in the dark,” and that’s not a future we want for U.S. real estate.
She shared that in places without transparency, sellers suffer from slower sales and missed opportunities. Real estate agents who lead with clarity and openness will be the ones buyers and sellers trust most.
I truly take the position that transparency is the right thing to do for the consumer. It’s the right thing to do for us as colleagues… it’s a fair, transparent way of doing business. And other countries actually look at us as the North Star.
3. Stop Outsourcing Your Brand to Portals
Portals are a tool, not a lifeline. If your business relies entirely on Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com leads, you’re at risk. Veronica’s team is aggressively investing in content creation to take ownership of their brand and reduce their reliance on third-party leads.
Listen, I know the risk of my business. When any lead source is more than 20%, I’m at risk. It is a danger zone. And as a team that I looked at, what does our YouTube look like? What is this? So what did I do? I flew out the best YouTube specialist. I was like, okay, break it down for me. What do we need to do as a team?
She admitted her own team had grown “fragile” by relying too much on portals and is now rebuilding by focusing on video, YouTube, and direct-to-consumer branding to create a sustainable business.
Because while we were building supposedly this big old Zillow team or whatever it was that we’re doing, what were we not doing, and what were the areas of our business that we neglected? But now, how do we take action to get to basically start building to protect our business?
Start building your own media machine now. You need to be seen everywhere—YouTube, Instagram, open houses, and your community—not just when a portal sends you a lead.
4. Operate on 90-Day Business Cycles
Forget 12-month business plans. They’re dead before you finish writing them.
Veronica and Byron both operate their businesses on 90-day (or 12-week) cycles, constantly measuring and adjusting. Veronica’s goal this year? Becoming the most video-centric team while reducing portal margins.
Each quarter we have a very specific plan on how are we aligned with that goal? How many videos are we doing per week? What are our new standards for our agents doing videos?
These types of things are just so easy to measure versus thinking of this whole big old project of ‘this year needs to look like this.’ What about if, this quarter, we just do it in bite size wins. And I think if you’re a solo agent, you could apply that to your business as well as a team. And I just think we need to not be so hard on ourselves and just celebrate the little wins.
And the best way to really see it compound is to just break it up. Break it up and see what you can pivot and change.
Here’s how to get started:
- Define one big priority for the next 90 days.
- Break it into weekly actions.
- Celebrate wins, adjust fast, and stay accountable.
Whether it’s tracking weekly video uploads or open houses hosted, Veronica stressed the importance of setting quarterly milestones instead of overwhelming year-long targets.
5. Embrace Options, Not Absolutes
In a changing market, giving sellers real choices, rather than rigid rules, creates trust and better outcomes.
Byron and Veronica highlighted the importance of open-sourcing tools like eXp’s Seller Advisory form, giving agents and clients clear options when deciding whether to go public, exclusive, or test a coming soon status.
I think eXp’s done a great job of extending the free line and just showing, ‘Look, take our forms. Copy them. I send them to my independent broker friends. I send them to other brokerages and be like, ‘Hey, take it. Take your position.’ But I really think we’re leading from the front. We’re willing to take some bullets…
I’m very pro options. I think it’s a great form to use even with these cash offer portals….if you’re presenting an Opendoor offer or you’re presenting an off market solution, I think this form covers that.
Agents who present multiple strategies, transparently outlining risks and rewards, will win more listings and earn deeper trust.
6. Understand That Every Strategy Costs Something
Nothing is free in real estate. Not portal leads, not content creation, not building a brand.
Byron made it clear: Whether you’re paying portals on the backend or experts on the frontend, you’re making an investment. The question is: Are you investing in something that builds equity for you long-term?
Everything’s an investment. Some of it you pay on the backend of a closing. Some of it you pay upfront like Veronica’s doing and building out that brand and building YouTube…it’s all going to cost an investment.
What did Alex* tell us? Hey, the best hire you can make is paying somebody to be fast on conversations, picking up the phone and getting on the call. So, the investments are everywhere around us. Do you want to pay it on the back end? Do you want to pay it on the front end? What builds longer term value for you? Obviously, that’s the brand…
Veronica backed this up by sharing how her team is investing in top YouTube experts to build brand authority that drives organic leads, reducing reliance on paid sources over time.
Choose wisely. Invest in strategies that create long-term equity, not just short-term wins.
(*Note: Byron is referencing the fireside chat with Alex Hormozi and Sharran Srivatsaa.)
7. Focus on Relationship Building and Community Engagement
Technology is powerful. But nothing replaces belly-to-belly relationships.
Veronica’s team is doing 5,000 dials, 50 open houses, and 50 videos over 60 days to reconnect with their community and build deep local trust.
Relationships matter. So, it is a balance. And we love our third-party relationships. We love when the phone rings—but we also know the power of the agent brand and the local penetration you could do with being involved in your community. So, it’s all a balancing act.
Portals may generate leads, but lasting success comes from real conversations, in-person events, and building a name inside your community
Real estate is still a relationship business. Never forget it.
8. Build Partnerships, But Own Your Future
Veronica’s visit to Rocket Mortgage’s headquarters made it clear: companies are looking to partner with top teams, not replace them.
She emphasized that agents who build strong brands and strong conversion systems will have the upper hand when forming partnerships with portals and lead sources.
I’m always going out there and building relationships: Invitation Homes, Rocket, Zillow, Realty.com, [Realtor.com]. I always want to know what’s happening… I’m following these portals, understanding what they’re doing.
So, it’s my job as a lead opportunity dealer for this team to create more opportunities. But the agent brand still matters most.
Veronica’s visit to Rocket Mortgage’s headquarters made it clear: companies are looking to partner with top teams, not replace them.
She emphasized that agents who build strong brands and strong conversion systems will have the upper hand when forming partnerships with portals and lead sources.
Final Thoughts
If you’re serious about playing the long game—and winning—now’s the time to move.
BAMx members can catch the full fireside chat with Veronica Figueroa and Byron Lazine, plus every other BAM Fest session, inside our Skool community. See you there.
