Consistency Beats Creativity Real Estate Conference Takeaways
What I Learned at a National Real Estate Conference Last Week
Last week I had the chance to speak at the Royal LePage Atlantic Kickoff Conference in Halifax. Nikki and I also turned it into a short getaway together, which was a bonus. It was cold, windy, and very Canadian, but overall a great event with some really strong takeaways.
Here are a few of the biggest lessons that stood out to me…
1. YouTube can be a serious lead source (when done right)
Tom Storey from Royal LePage Signature in Toronto shared how he did 40+ deals last year from YouTube alone. Not social in general. Just YouTube.
He generated 100+ leads from his videos, which turned into 40+ deals. An amazing feat!
What stood out most was not the platform, but the structure. He rotates between 4 to 5 simple video types:
News and market headlines with his take
List style videos like top condo buildings, best neighbourhoods for “X”, favorite spots for “X”
Ongoing market updates
Educational evergreen videos like things to know before moving, buyer and seller info
He is not trying to go viral, it just happens as a byproduct.
He shows up consistently, provides value, and gives people a simple way to book time with him through a Calendly link. Most people choose a low pressure discovery call, which then naturally turns into real business.
Big takeaway: consistency plus clear next steps beats fancy production every time.
2. Your database is still the biggest asset in your business
Jas Takhar runs a team in Toronto doing 600+ deals a year.
His philosophy is simple.
Everyone goes into the database. Everyone.
Taxi drivers, bartenders, people you meet at events. No exceptions.
His team timeblocks three hours a day, three days a week where the only focus is follow up and conversations. No admin. No distractions. Just staying in touch and building relationships.
At one point he asked the room to:
Stand up if you have a CRM.
Now sit down if you do not send something weekly.
Sit down if you do not call your people a few times a year.
By the end, almost no one was standing.
Hard truth, but a good reminder. Most agents do not fail because of lack of tools. They fail because of lack of consistent follow up.
3. Market perspective from the top
Phil Soper, CEO and President of Royal LePage Canada, shared a high-level view of what is happening across the Canadian market. Royal LePage has over 21,000 agents, so it was a true state-of-the-union type of talk.
The biggest thing I took from his session was not specific stats, but the importance of understanding the broader picture. Interest rates, consumer confidence, migration patterns, and how long-term trends matter more than short-term headlines.
It was a good reminder that we are still in a relationship business, but operating inside much bigger economic cycles than we often think about.
4. Technology, mortgages, and the ecosystem around you
There was also a mortgage panel with several top brokers sharing what they are seeing on the ground, and how closely aligned agents and lenders need to be right now.
Caroline Baile, Vice-President of Network Success and Support for Royal LePage Canada, also walked us through the tools and systems Royal LePage is investing in to support agents.
Even if you are not with Royal LePage, (which I’m not) the takeaway was clear.
The brokerages that win long-term are the ones building real systems around their agents, not just offering branding.
The common thread across both sessions was collaboration. Strong partnerships and good systems matter more than ever.
5. My session: If I only had $100/month to farm
This was my session, and I had a lot of great feedback afterward. Many agents came up to chat, ask questions, and share how much it shifted the way they think about farming.
The core idea is simple.
Most agents either overcomplicate farming or think they need massive budgets. Neither is true.
What I shared was a 12 month, community-first plan built around three principles:
Momentum over intensity
Systems over random tactics
Relationships over transactions
Instead of spending $100 on one thing and hoping it works, the strategy layers small, repeatable actions that build on each other. Things like:
Connecting with local businesses
Starting a simple community Facebook group
Running food drives or community causes
Creating a COMMUNITY FOCUSED newsletter
Offering local guides and surveys
Hosting small community events
Each month adds one new piece, but you never abandon the old ones. Over time, your presence compounds and you build something awesome! For little to no money.
But the truth is that the real problem most agents have isn’t their budget.
It is fear, no plan, overwhelm, inconsistency, and procrastination. The real solution is a simple system you can actually stick to.
One agent came up to me afterward and said, “I love that your session was about farming… but it wasn’t all about sending postcards.” That is when I knew it really resonated.
The biggest mindset shift I wanted agents to take away:
Consistency beats creativity.
And community beats marketing.
Overall theme of the event
Every top producer I listened to, no matter the channel, had three things in common:
They show up consistently
They make it easy for people to take the next step
They focus on relationships, not tactics
Different tools. Same fundamentals.
Final thought
If there was one message that kept repeating across every speaker, it is this:
Long-term success in real estate is not about hacks.
It is about systems, consistency, and genuinely caring about people.
Everything else is just noise.
Ryan “exhausted, caffeinated, and happy to be back” Smith
(P.S. If this kind of approach resonates with you, this is exactly what we build inside the Local Expert Academy. It is not about tactics or trends. It is about creating simple, repeatable systems around visibility, relationships, and community so your business actually compounds instead of constantly resetting.
If you want a framework you can actually stick to instead of another strategy to test, you can check it out here: www.LocalExpertAcademy.com )
