April 22, 2025 • 14 mins
Let’s be real: the market is messy right now. Buyers are stalling, sellers are nervous, rates are up, and confusion is everywhere. But guess what? You can still grow, still serve, and still win—even when things feel uncertain. In this episode, Lindsay gives you the ultimate pep talk and tactical game plan for staying grounded, strategic, and successful in any market cycle.
You’ll learn how to step fully into your CEO energy and lead with clarity, calm, and confidence—because messy markets don’t break great agents, they build them.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why predicting the market is not your job (and what is)
- The mindset shift that builds your confidence
- How to talk to clients when you’re not sure what’s coming next
- What to say in market updates that builds trust and authority
- Simple questions to pull you out of a spiral and back into action
- Why messy markets are the perfect time to refine your systems
- How to double down on strategy, not stress
This episode is your reminder that you are the constant in a messy market—and your clients are counting on that.
Let's stay connected!
💼 Coaching with Lindsay – happyagent.co/coaching
Get personalized strategy, support, and mindset shifts to scale your real estate business without sacrificing your joy.
🎓 Happy Agent Academy – happyagent.co/academy
Your go-to resource for freebies, on-demand courses, templates, and tools to help you grow a thriving real estate business.
📩 Join the Happy Hustle Newsletter – happyagent.co/subscribe
Weekly insights, strategies, and real talk to help you build wealth, lead boldly, and create a business you love.
📲 Let's Connect on Instagram or Facebook – instagram.com/happyagentco
Daily tips, inspiration, and behind-the-scenes of what it really takes to create success with joy.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, hey, it's Lindsay, and today we are diving
into something a lot of agentsare thinking about, but not
enough people are talking aboutwith honesty, which is what do
you do when the market feelsmessy?
We are 100% in the mess rightnow, and we are talking about
when buyers are pausing theirsearches, sellers are hesitating
(00:22):
, listings are sitting on, themarket Rates are up and down
roller coaster, the stock marketis super scary.
Add on top of that the battlebetween all of the players with
clear cooperation, andeverything is feeling a little
uncertain.
But here's the thing At first,I want you to know you are not
(00:42):
alone, and second, you are notpowerless.
There are still things that wecan do.
So today I'm going to breakdown how to lead your business
like the CEO that you are,because we are all about
stepping into your CEO era atHappy Agent Co.
When the economy feels like agiant question mark, what do we
do?
We're going to talk about whatactually matters when the market
(01:03):
is messy how to talk to yourclients without sounding unsure
or shaky, and how to focus onwhat you can actually control.
The first point I want to diveinto is that you do not need to
predict.
You do not have to have acrystal ball, you just need to
be prepared.
No one knows exactly what'sgoing to happen with this market
(01:25):
Not the experts, not theeconomists, not even your broker
.
So let's just take thatpressure off of our shoulders.
We are not real estate psychicsas much as I would love to be
one, that would be incredible.
Your job is not to predict themarket.
Your job is to guide yourclients through the market, and
(01:47):
that starts with getting calm,clear and confident in yourself.
You probably know that realestate is always cyclical.
I have been in the real estateindustry since 2004.
And it is always going throughsomething.
It is like always dealing withsome kind of upset or downturn
(02:11):
or upswing.
So it isn't new, it is justuncomfortable.
I really think one of thebiggest strengths of top
producing real estate agents isthat they are resilient and that
they embrace change and theyembrace the chaos.
So just keep that in mind.
It is never going to stay thesame, because as soon as you
(02:32):
feel stable, something's goingto change.
So you really need to get usedto playing through all of the
change that's happening.
Keep in mind people buy and sellin all markets hot markets,
down markets, I know in 2008.
When the mortgage marketsabsolutely collapsed,
(02:52):
affordability came back to theWashington DC area and
first-time buyers were back infull swing and I built a
business completely off of that.
So people are buying andselling in all markets.
You just need to figure out whothose people are.
The other thing is you need toknow your market inside and out.
This is where previewingproperty, knowing market data,
(03:15):
really knowing what's going onis so crucial.
I don't know about you, but themarkets that I'm active in it
is very pocket by pocketdependent, so we have sub
markets and then sub sub markets.
So maybe it's condominiums in acertain price point versus
single family homes in a certainprice point versus single
family homes in a certain pricepoint.
(03:35):
Those can be wildly differentin terms of market data.
So really knowing your marketinside and out can help you
build a resilient business andnot just a reactive one, Not
only because you have goodinformation, but it's also
because you can chase where theactivity is.
Here's the thing Fear lovesvagueness, so the more specific
(03:59):
you can get, the more informedyou are, the more clear you are,
and from clarity comesconfidence.
Point number two to do when themarket is messy is talk to your
people.
Don't hide from them.
The worst thing you can do whenthings are feeling uncertain is
to go quiet.
Your clients think you are theexpert, so they want to hear
(04:24):
from you.
They want the real talk, theywant your take on the market.
They want your leadership, andthe best definition I have ever
heard of leadership is your jobis to remove fear and confusion.
Whether you lead people,whether you are leading your
clients, removing that fear andremoving confusion is the best
(04:45):
thing you can do.
So how do you do that?
The number one thing is to bethe voice of facts and strategy,
not panic.
And this goes back to pointnumber one, which is know your
shit.
People need concreteinformation to make good
decisions.
So in removing that fear andconfusion, you need to know
(05:08):
what's going on and you need tobe able to advise on strategies
that are best for your clients.
Example here's what we're seeingin the market.
Here's what this means for you.
Here's what we can do about it.
I love using Real Talk weeklymarket updates.
This is not just days on marketpercent price increase, no,
(05:29):
it's really breaking it downinto plain talk language about
what it means for you.
So an example in the DC market,the months of inventory are
going up in the condo market.
So that is a very interestingstat that we can break down to
our client.
For example, a balanced marketis six months of inventory.
(05:51):
That means buyers and sellershave equal standing position in
the market.
So right now, the condo marketis at six months of inventory.
So that means that it's neithera buyer or a seller market.
But that means that ourstrategy for listing a condo
needs to be on point.
We need to be priced properly,we need to be prepped properly,
we need to be staged and we needto market this appropriately to
(06:13):
our target markets.
So that's an example of takingsome market stats and then
breaking it down into.
Here's what we're seeing.
Here's what it means for you.
Here's what we can actually doabout it.
You can also do this in clientstories.
You can tell stories of yourclient's experience in the
market.
Or you can do short videos,which are always great.
Not only can we use those onsocial media Instagram, YouTube
(06:36):
shorts but you can use those inyour email newsletters as well.
You can repurpose all thatinformation but really being a
translator of what's going on inthe news, the media, the market
statistics, to remove that fearand confusion goes a long way.
I like to say that I'm not hereto sugarcoat anything, but I'm
here to guide you in this marketand I've got your back.
(06:58):
And that's really what clientswant from us.
They don't want to be lied to.
They just want to be told thetruth and they want honest facts
and strategy on how they can besuccessful in this market.
My third tip for surviving amessy market is focus on what
you can actually control.
There is so much we don'tcontrol as real estate agents.
(07:21):
We can't control interest rates, unfortunately oh my gosh, I
wish I could.
Can we go back to 3%?
You cannot control the Fed.
You can't control the federalgovernment.
You can't control the stockmarket.
What you can control your dailyhabits, how you are showing up
in your business.
You can control your marketingand your messaging.
(07:41):
You can control your follow-up.
You can control your content.
You can control your mindsetand you can control your offers
that you are submitting.
These are things that you canactually control.
So the next time you findyourself spiraling, ask yourself
is this something that I can doanything about?
(08:02):
And if it is not, it probablyisn't worth your energy because
it is just messing with yourmindset.
So if you're feeling stuck,here's a question I like to ask
myself what is one thing I cantake action on today that
supports my business long term Ican take action on today that
supports my business long term.
It can be anything, but this ishow you build resilience, this
(08:25):
is how you protect your peaceand this is how you get through
a messy market by controllingwhat you can control and really
just putting the rest aside.
Yes, we have to pay attentionto what's going on to some
extent.
We need to know marketstatistics, we need to know
unemployment trends, we need toknow what's going on with the
federal government, the stockmarket.
(08:47):
Yes, you generally need to knowthat information.
But there's a differencebetween being informed and being
a doom scroller.
And when you find yourselfgetting into that mindset of
negative doom scrolling, take apause, breathe and then focus on
one thing that supports yourbusiness in the long term.
My fourth tip is double down onyour strategies and your systems
(09:10):
.
Uncertainty or slow times ormessy times are the best times
to get organized.
And why is that?
Because when things feelunstable externally, stability
internally becomes yoursuperpower.
It becomes something that youcan actually lean on.
So this is your moment to dosome cleanup, do some systems,
(09:32):
get some strategy in order.
We're going to clean up yourfollow-up systems.
So review all of those dripcampaigns to clean up your
follow-up systems.
So review all of those dripcampaigns.
Clean up your CRM.
Figure out if people have moved.
I know you have some people inthere that need their contact
record updated.
It happens.
Get updated mailing addressesfor people.
Revamp your listing or buyerpackets.
(09:53):
This is a really greatopportunity to maybe add some
information about the currentmarket.
Maybe you need to update someof your slides or your templates
.
Also, it might be time torethink your messaging, because
I know so many of us had hotmarket, limited inventory and
things are possibly shifting inyour market, so maybe we need to
(10:16):
figure out how you're updatingyour messaging for this new
messy market that we're in.
The other thing is potentiallyautomating your market, so maybe
we need to figure out howyou're updating your messaging
for this new messy market thatwe're in.
The other thing is potentiallyautomating your marketing.
This might be a fun time todive into AI and see how it can
help your business.
Here's the thing Stability isbuilt in your back end and slow
times are perfect for working onyour business, because you are
(10:38):
not putting out fires all thetime necessarily.
You are able to build calm intoyour business when you are
working on your systems and yourstrategy.
So let's recap when the marketis feeling messy, here are my
tips to stay sane.
You do not need to predict.
You need to be prepared becauseyour clients are relying on you
(10:59):
.
Tip two talk to your people.
Do not hide from them.
They want your guidance becausethey are also scared and
confused.
So the best thing you can do isremove that fear and confusion
by using your brain, by usingthose market stats, by using
your marketing, by getting outthere and controlling the
narrative.
(11:24):
My third tip focus on what youcan actually control, and this
is a big one, because there's somuch that we cannot control.
Yes, we are on that rollercoaster ride of real estate, but
you absolutely have controlover things and you need to make
sure that you are focusing onthe things that are going to
support your business for thelong term.
The fourth tip is double downon your systems and your
strategy.
So this is a great time to getorganized.
(11:45):
Also, just revisit all of thepieces of your business your
messaging, your marketing, yoursystems, your buyer packets,
your templates.
Get in there, Build some calminto your business, Because when
you're working on something youactually can control, it builds
calm and it builds thatconfidence.
So if you have been feelingwobbly, let me just say that is
(12:07):
completely understandable,because we are in a very messy
time and a very messy marketright now.
But I want you to hear thisloud and clear you are the
constant for your clients inthis messy market.
Your presence, your energy,your leadership that is what
your clients are going toremember and that is what they
(12:29):
are going to be leaning on.
So get focused on what matters,simplify what doesn't and show
up daily Work on your business.
Get in there, make yourselfbetter, because this is the best
time to become a master of yourreal estate craft.
(12:50):
Messy markets make great agents,because we all know the market
will shift.
It will never stay the same.
There's always going to besomething that is messing with
you, whether it's high interestrates, the economy, unemployment
but you, you are groundedbecause you know what you can
(13:10):
control and you are there toremove fear and confusion.
And you're also a happy agentand happy agents are resilient.
They outlast the other agentsbecause they know how to focus
on what matters when the marketis a mess.
So I hope that this was alittle pep talk that you needed.
(13:30):
It is easy to feel defeated.
It is easy to feel like you area victim of the market, but I
want you to know that you arenot.
People buy and sell in allmarkets and you just need to
find them and you need to takegood care of them.
So if you have an agent thatyou know who needs this pep talk
, please feel free to share itwith them and until next time,
(13:51):
stay happy.
Hey, hey, it's Lindsay, and today we are diving
into something a lot of agentsare thinking about, but not
enough people are talking aboutwith honesty, which is what do
you do when the market feelsmessy?
We are 100% in the mess rightnow, and we are talking about
when buyers are pausing theirsearches, sellers are hesitating
(00:22):
, listings are sitting on, themarket Rates are up and down
roller coaster, the stock marketis super scary.
Add on top of that the battlebetween all of the players with
clear cooperation, andeverything is feeling a little
uncertain.
But here's the thing At first,I want you to know you are not
(00:42):
alone, and second, you are notpowerless.
There are still things that wecan do.
So today I'm going to breakdown how to lead your business
like the CEO that you are,because we are all about
stepping into your CEO era atHappy Agent Co.
When the economy feels like agiant question mark, what do we
do?
We're going to talk about whatactually matters when the market
(01:03):
is messy how to talk to yourclients without sounding unsure
or shaky, and how to focus onwhat you can actually control.
The first point I want to diveinto is that you do not need to
predict.
You do not have to have acrystal ball, you just need to
be prepared.
No one knows exactly what'sgoing to happen with this market
(01:25):
Not the experts, not theeconomists, not even your broker
.
So let's just take thatpressure off of our shoulders.
We are not real estate psychicsas much as I would love to be
one, that would be incredible.
Your job is not to predict themarket.
Your job is to guide yourclients through the market, and
(01:47):
that starts with getting calm,clear and confident in yourself.
You probably know that realestate is always cyclical.
I have been in the real estateindustry since 2004.
And it is always going throughsomething.
It is like always dealing withsome kind of upset or downturn
(02:11):
or upswing.
So it isn't new, it is justuncomfortable.
I really think one of thebiggest strengths of top
producing real estate agents isthat they are resilient and that
they embrace change and theyembrace the chaos.
So just keep that in mind.
It is never going to stay thesame, because as soon as you
(02:32):
feel stable, something's goingto change.
So you really need to get usedto playing through all of the
change that's happening.
Keep in mind people buy and sellin all markets hot markets,
down markets, I know in 2008.
When the mortgage marketsabsolutely collapsed,
(02:52):
affordability came back to theWashington DC area and
first-time buyers were back infull swing and I built a
business completely off of that.
So people are buying andselling in all markets.
You just need to figure out whothose people are.
The other thing is you need toknow your market inside and out.
This is where previewingproperty, knowing market data,
(03:15):
really knowing what's going onis so crucial.
I don't know about you, but themarkets that I'm active in it
is very pocket by pocketdependent, so we have sub
markets and then sub sub markets.
So maybe it's condominiums in acertain price point versus
single family homes in a certainprice point versus single
family homes in a certain pricepoint.
(03:35):
Those can be wildly differentin terms of market data.
So really knowing your marketinside and out can help you
build a resilient business andnot just a reactive one, Not
only because you have goodinformation, but it's also
because you can chase where theactivity is.
Here's the thing Fear lovesvagueness, so the more specific
(03:59):
you can get, the more informedyou are, the more clear you are,
and from clarity comesconfidence.
Point number two to do when themarket is messy is talk to your
people.
Don't hide from them.
The worst thing you can do whenthings are feeling uncertain is
to go quiet.
Your clients think you are theexpert, so they want to hear
(04:24):
from you.
They want the real talk, theywant your take on the market.
They want your leadership, andthe best definition I have ever
heard of leadership is your jobis to remove fear and confusion.
Whether you lead people,whether you are leading your
clients, removing that fear andremoving confusion is the best
(04:45):
thing you can do.
So how do you do that?
The number one thing is to bethe voice of facts and strategy,
not panic.
And this goes back to pointnumber one, which is know your
shit.
People need concreteinformation to make good
decisions.
So in removing that fear andconfusion, you need to know
(05:08):
what's going on and you need tobe able to advise on strategies
that are best for your clients.
Example here's what we're seeingin the market.
Here's what this means for you.
Here's what we can do about it.
I love using Real Talk weeklymarket updates.
This is not just days on marketpercent price increase, no,
(05:29):
it's really breaking it downinto plain talk language about
what it means for you.
So an example in the DC market,the months of inventory are
going up in the condo market.
So that is a very interestingstat that we can break down to
our client.
For example, a balanced marketis six months of inventory.
(05:51):
That means buyers and sellershave equal standing position in
the market.
So right now, the condo marketis at six months of inventory.
So that means that it's neithera buyer or a seller market.
But that means that ourstrategy for listing a condo
needs to be on point.
We need to be priced properly,we need to be prepped properly,
we need to be staged and we needto market this appropriately to
(06:13):
our target markets.
So that's an example of takingsome market stats and then
breaking it down into.
Here's what we're seeing.
Here's what it means for you.
Here's what we can actually doabout it.
You can also do this in clientstories.
You can tell stories of yourclient's experience in the
market.
Or you can do short videos,which are always great.
Not only can we use those onsocial media Instagram, YouTube
(06:36):
shorts but you can use those inyour email newsletters as well.
You can repurpose all thatinformation but really being a
translator of what's going on inthe news, the media, the market
statistics, to remove that fearand confusion goes a long way.
I like to say that I'm not hereto sugarcoat anything, but I'm
here to guide you in this marketand I've got your back.
(06:58):
And that's really what clientswant from us.
They don't want to be lied to.
They just want to be told thetruth and they want honest facts
and strategy on how they can besuccessful in this market.
My third tip for surviving amessy market is focus on what
you can actually control.
There is so much we don'tcontrol as real estate agents.
(07:21):
We can't control interest rates, unfortunately oh my gosh, I
wish I could.
Can we go back to 3%?
You cannot control the Fed.
You can't control the federalgovernment.
You can't control the stockmarket.
What you can control your dailyhabits, how you are showing up
in your business.
You can control your marketingand your messaging.
(07:41):
You can control your follow-up.
You can control your content.
You can control your mindsetand you can control your offers
that you are submitting.
These are things that you canactually control.
So the next time you findyourself spiraling, ask yourself
is this something that I can doanything about?
(08:02):
And if it is not, it probablyisn't worth your energy because
it is just messing with yourmindset.
So if you're feeling stuck,here's a question I like to ask
myself what is one thing I cantake action on today that
supports my business long term Ican take action on today that
supports my business long term.
It can be anything, but this ishow you build resilience, this
(08:25):
is how you protect your peaceand this is how you get through
a messy market by controllingwhat you can control and really
just putting the rest aside.
Yes, we have to pay attentionto what's going on to some
extent.
We need to know marketstatistics, we need to know
unemployment trends, we need toknow what's going on with the
federal government, the stockmarket.
(08:47):
Yes, you generally need to knowthat information.
But there's a differencebetween being informed and being
a doom scroller.
And when you find yourselfgetting into that mindset of
negative doom scrolling, take apause, breathe and then focus on
one thing that supports yourbusiness in the long term.
My fourth tip is double down onyour strategies and your systems
(09:10):
.
Uncertainty or slow times ormessy times are the best times
to get organized.
And why is that?
Because when things feelunstable externally, stability
internally becomes yoursuperpower.
It becomes something that youcan actually lean on.
So this is your moment to dosome cleanup, do some systems,
(09:32):
get some strategy in order.
We're going to clean up yourfollow-up systems.
So review all of those dripcampaigns to clean up your
follow-up systems.
So review all of those dripcampaigns.
Clean up your CRM.
Figure out if people have moved.
I know you have some people inthere that need their contact
record updated.
It happens.
Get updated mailing addressesfor people.
Revamp your listing or buyerpackets.
(09:53):
This is a really greatopportunity to maybe add some
information about the currentmarket.
Maybe you need to update someof your slides or your templates
.
Also, it might be time torethink your messaging, because
I know so many of us had hotmarket, limited inventory and
things are possibly shifting inyour market, so maybe we need to
(10:16):
figure out how you're updatingyour messaging for this new
messy market that we're in.
The other thing is potentiallyautomating your market, so maybe
we need to figure out howyou're updating your messaging
for this new messy market thatwe're in.
The other thing is potentiallyautomating your marketing.
This might be a fun time todive into AI and see how it can
help your business.
Here's the thing Stability isbuilt in your back end and slow
times are perfect for working onyour business, because you are
(10:38):
not putting out fires all thetime necessarily.
You are able to build calm intoyour business when you are
working on your systems and yourstrategy.
So let's recap when the marketis feeling messy, here are my
tips to stay sane.
You do not need to predict.
You need to be prepared becauseyour clients are relying on you
(10:59):
.
Tip two talk to your people.
Do not hide from them.
They want your guidance becausethey are also scared and
confused.
So the best thing you can do isremove that fear and confusion
by using your brain, by usingthose market stats, by using
your marketing, by getting outthere and controlling the
narrative.
(11:24):
My third tip focus on what youcan actually control, and this
is a big one, because there's somuch that we cannot control.
Yes, we are on that rollercoaster ride of real estate, but
you absolutely have controlover things and you need to make
sure that you are focusing onthe things that are going to
support your business for thelong term.
The fourth tip is double downon your systems and your
strategy.
So this is a great time to getorganized.
(11:45):
Also, just revisit all of thepieces of your business your
messaging, your marketing, yoursystems, your buyer packets,
your templates.
Get in there, Build some calminto your business, Because when
you're working on something youactually can control, it builds
calm and it builds thatconfidence.
So if you have been feelingwobbly, let me just say that is
(12:07):
completely understandable,because we are in a very messy
time and a very messy marketright now.
But I want you to hear thisloud and clear you are the
constant for your clients inthis messy market.
Your presence, your energy,your leadership that is what
your clients are going toremember and that is what they
(12:29):
are going to be leaning on.
So get focused on what matters,simplify what doesn't and show
up daily Work on your business.
Get in there, make yourselfbetter, because this is the best
time to become a master of yourreal estate craft.
(12:50):
Messy markets make great agents,because we all know the market
will shift.
It will never stay the same.
There's always going to besomething that is messing with
you, whether it's high interestrates, the economy, unemployment
but you, you are groundedbecause you know what you can
(13:10):
control and you are there toremove fear and confusion.
And you're also a happy agentand happy agents are resilient.
They outlast the other agentsbecause they know how to focus
on what matters when the marketis a mess.
So I hope that this was alittle pep talk that you needed.
(13:30):
It is easy to feel defeated.
It is easy to feel like you area victim of the market, but I
want you to know that you arenot.
People buy and sell in allmarkets and you just need to
find them and you need to takegood care of them.
So if you have an agent thatyou know who needs this pep talk
, please feel free to share itwith them and until next time,
(13:51):
stay happy.
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