In this motivational talk, Leigh Thomas Brown advises newcomers to a crowded market—especially real‑estate agents—to build a recognizable business by first embedding themselves in the community and local civic life, then leveraging underused, old‑school outreach tactics to stand out. He suggests volunteering at causes that align with personal passions (e.g., a battered‑women’s shelter) to meet people organically, and then sharing a brief, story‑driven personal pitch that sparks interest. He urges attendance at planning, zoning, city‑council, and county‑commission meetings, positioning oneself as a knowledgeable REALTOR® who asks thoughtful questions, which quickly earns the attention of elected officials and expands one’s network. Brown frames this approach within a “Blue Ocean” mindset: identify what competitors aren’t doing and fill that gap. While most agents focus on social media, he recommends reviving direct‑mail postcards, door‑knocking, answering the phone promptly, and sending handwritten thank‑you notes—tactics that are largely abandoned but still effective. By combining community involvement, civic engagement, and these traditional outreach methods, a newcomer can become a “new star” in the town rather than an anonymous newcomer.
Chapters
What happens if you are establishing your business in a crowded marketplace and you're new to town, you're new to the game, and nobody knows you? Oh no, how do we survive? You know what? Social media has created a new environment where you can be new to town and appear that you've been there forever. What you want to think about is where are people that you want to build into your network? So let's go back to how you spend your time. What are your hobbies? Well, if you spend time volunteering at the battered women's shelter. Wherever you've landed, go find the battered women's shelter, find those ministries, and raise your hand to volunteer. Don't ask for anything in return. Just say, "How can I serve? How can I help? Where can I fill gaps for you?" Now, when you start plugging yourself into somewhere that means something to you, people are going to ask you, "We're so glad to have you. Now, what do you do for a living?" Remember, you're not going to say, I do X, why do I? You're going to tell a little story. You're going to help them become interested in you. And they're going to turn into friends. Because we become friends with people with whom we share story. So I want you to start thinking about those passion places when you're new to town. Now, I already mentioned elected officials, town staff, understanding local political issues, zoning, planning, development, roads, water, sewer. You can start showing up at planning and zoning meetings, start showing up at county commission and city council meetings and reading the agenda in advance, and even if you can't go in person, watch online. See what the issues are and start asking questions. If you're the one who raises your hand and says, "I'm a local REALTOR®. I have a question about this neighborhood. Where could I direct my question?" You'll be amazed at how excited our elected officials are to hear from you because they certainly have opinions and they love hearing from their constituents. They're not going to ask you how long you've lived here and how many times you voted. They might look it up online, let's be honest, but they're going to be so excited that you're engaged. They're going to want to talk to you. That's where your network really starts to expand. Now let's talk about your business. You want your business to grow in a new area or in a very crowded marketplace? You have to do what no one else does. You can call it that Blue Ocean Strategy, go fish where nobody else is fishing. And if you haven't read that book, you got to read it. But I want you to ask yourself, what is nobody doing right now in my field? I can tell you right now, in real estate in specific, most agents spend all of their energy on social media. That's where you're watching this video, after all. However, if everybody's on social media, what's nobody doing? Well, when I talk to the other seasoned old guard like me, we discuss that very many agents have walked away from mailings, from postcards, from door knocking, from the old school hand-to-hand and face-to-face opportunities. You know what that means? You can go do those things. They still work. The old methods aren't necessarily out of fashion. They're just not being used. So if you want to start growing in your marketplace, do what nobody else does. And in today's world, it's so easy to stand out. One of the easiest ways, answer your phone. Yes, your phone number's from out of town, but I'm going to find out very quickly if you're a scammer because you're not going to talk to me or I'll hear that little beep in the background, then I'll hang up. But the people who make phone calls, they really stand out. Sending thank you notes. I got a whole stack of stationery here. My friend Barbette's even sent me some to send out. Start sending some handwritten thank you notes again. You won't be new in town for long. In fact, you'll be the new star that everybody is just delighted showed up.
