#32 RE Prospecting - Your Weekly Edge A Note from Tristan Ahumada

Hi ,

Ok…another long newsletter, but I promise it’s a great one! So get a cup of coffee first or just get cozy, because it’s one you want to read slowly and highlight. You may even want to print this one out.

I had a conversation with an agent last week that I can't stop thinking about. She told me, "I know what I need to do, I just can't seem to do it." So I asked her a simple question: "What's the story you're telling yourself about why that is?" She paused for a long time. Then she said, "I guess I've always believed I'm not disciplined enough." And there it was. Not a skill problem. A story problem. 

The narrative running in your head isn't just background noise—it's the script you perform every single day. Here's what most people don't realize: you didn't even write most of that story. Someone else did. A parent, a broker, a colleague who made an offhand comment ten years ago. And you just kept repeating it until it felt like truth. But familiar isn't the same as true. This week, start catching yourself when you say things like "I always" or "I never" or "that's just how I am." That last one is the most dangerous sentence in the English language because it closes the door on growth. When you hear it, stop. That's your narrator talking. And your narrator might be lying to you. Put the old story in past tense: "I used to struggle with consistency." Then write the new one in present tense: "I'm becoming someone who shows up every day." You don't have to be there yet. You just have to be becoming.

And once you start believing a different story about yourself, something interesting happens, you actually start doing the things you've been avoiding. Which brings me to goals. Everyone has them. Very few people break them into steps they can actually execute. I talk to agents almost weekly who write down "$100,000 by December" and then wonder why nothing changes by March. Writing down a goal accomplishes nothing by itself. What moves the needle is turning that goal into a strategy, and then turning that strategy into scheduled action steps. 

Pick one approach you're genuinely good at, maybe it's working your sphere, maybe it's open houses, maybe it's social media, and break it into three specific actions. Not ideas floating around in your head. Actions with time blocks on your calendar. Friday at 10am, you're reviewing your CRM. Wednesday at 4pm, you're writing your newsletter. Real times, real commitments. And when one action is complete, you replace it immediately with the next improvement. The three slots always stay full. That's how goals stop being wishes and start becoming your actual life.

Now, here's where most agents get stuck. And this is where consistency becomes a key lever to growth. I use a simple system called the Daily 5-5-5 that changed the trajectory of my business. Every single day, I reach out to five people I already know, past clients, sphere, friends and family. No pitch. Just checking in. "Hey, thinking of you. How's everything going?" Then five people I'm getting to know, newer connections, recent open house visitors, people who've been engaging with my content online. And finally, five people I don't know yet, expired listings, FSBOs, my geographic farm. That's 15 conversations a day. Over 300 a month. 

But here's what makes it work: you're not reaching out to get something. You're reaching out to give something, attention, care, a genuine moment of connection. Some days it's phone calls, some days it's texts, some days it's handwritten notes or quick video messages. Mix up the medium to keep it fresh. After a year of this, you'll have touched thousands of people. Some will become clients. Many will send referrals. All of them will remember that you actually showed up when nobody else did.

The same principle applies to your content. You don't need to post ten times a day or become some kind of social media machine. You just need a rhythm you can sustain. I use something I call the Content Triangle, three pillars that I rotate through so I never run out of ideas and I never burn out. First, Answer Specific Questions. What are buyers and sellers actually asking right now? Address those directly. This establishes your expertise. Second, Trend Hacking. Take what's happening in the news, in the market, in culture, and interpret it for your audience. This shows you're paying attention and thinking critically. Third, Behind the Curtain. Share the real, unpolished moments of your life, wins, lessons learned, funny stories, the human side of your day. This is what builds trust and likability. When you look at your content from the past week, ask yourself which pillar you've been neglecting. Then post something in that category today. One post. One pillar. The rotation builds itself from there.

I want to leave you with something that ties all of this together. The compound effect is real, but only if you commit to consistency long enough for it to actually compound. Most agents never do. They start strong, fade by week three, and convince themselves the strategy didn't work. But the strategy was never the problem. The follow-through was. You don't need more tactics, more courses, more information. You need more reps. You need to show up tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, even when you don't feel like it. Especially when you don't feel like it. Because that's when the separation happens. That's when you become the agent others talk about, the one who actually cares, the one who doesn't disappear when things get hard. This isn't complicated. It's just consistent. And you're capable of far more consistency than you've ever given yourself credit for. So pick one thing from this letter, just one, and commit to it for the next 30 days. Not perfectly. Just persistently. That's how you build the career you actually want. That's how the story changes.

If you need to reach out I’m here for you. I’ve been doing this part for free to give back to the industry for 12 years now. So, just reach out… .