Looking to set your business apart in the coming year? Yesterday’s Presence Panel event, titled, “Future-Proof Your Brokerage: Tools and Strategies to Stay Competitive Through 2025,” gathered industry leaders to discuss actionable steps you can take to achieve just that.
Hosted by Chris Linsell, director of content at Luxury Presence, and featuring insights from Sean Soderstrom, co-founder and CEO of Courted, and Tripti Kasal, senior vice president of member engagement at LeadingRE, the panel offered key strategies for preparing brokerages, teams, and individual agents for the changes coming to the real estate industry. Below, we’ve gathered top insights and actionable advice from the event, focusing on brand differentiation, recruitment strategies, and the pivotal role of technology in real estate.
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Level up your brand identity
Linsell opened the panel by underscoring the importance of outside perceptions of a real estate brand. “Your brand is not what you say it is — it’s what they say it is.” For those seeking a sustainable brand, Linsell recommended focusing on the “why” behind their work, adding, “The strongest brands aren’t built on what you do but why you do it.” He urged attendees to focus on what sets them apart and consistently communicate this with clients and agents.
As the panel turned to emerging trends, Linsell stressed the importance of differentiation in the crowded real estate market. “If you can’t — in a couple of sentences — demonstrate why there is something that you do better than anyone else, your growth will be limited in 2025,” he warned. While he noted that this is nothing new, he did insist that, in the next year, differentiation will become a necessity rather than a luxury.
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The corporate importance of individual branding
In 2025, brokerages need to be thinking about their agents’ brands as well as their own. After all, in a market where over 70% of real estate leads come from referrals, building a memorable brand identity is crucial to a full transaction pipeline.
Linsell stressed the difference between “brand mature” agents — who have a clear, recognizable identity — and “generic agents,” those whose services are limited to basic MLS access and property listings. Linsell shared compelling data from the National Association of Realtors: Brand-mature agents typically command 3% to 5% higher sales prices than generic agents, which translates into tangible value for clients.
Focus on targeted recruitment
Soderstrom, whose company specializes in agent recruitment and retention technology, urged brokerages to think deeply about how they attract new agents in the coming year. He revealed that “twice the number of top producers moved between companies in the last year versus the year prior.” Brokers who want to take advantage of this trend should conduct a “gap analysis” to establish their ideal recruitment goals and identify segments of agents most likely to move.
However, he noted that focusing on top-performing agents alone can be a strategic misstep. “Only 17 agents producing over $50 million in sales volume moved between companies in Southern California last year,” he said.
Instead, Soderstrom recommended that brokerages target the broader pool of agents who may not be top producers yet but show significant growth potential. Courted’s platform allows brokerages to pinpoint agents likely to move, using predictive analytics to forecast movement with an accuracy rate of 80%.
Use technology to build relationships
With years of leadership experience at Chicago-based Baird & Warner before joining brokerage network LeadingRE, Kasal spoke to the intersection of technology and relationships in recruiting and retention. “You absolutely cannot build those relationships without the technology behind it,” she said. With competition for agents intensifying, Kasal encouraged broker-owners to pursue tech tools that allow them to personalize agent communications effectively.
Kasal explained how technology helps recruiters “figure out where the right people are, how to reach out to them, and how to get their attention.” From data analytics to AI-driven personalization, using the right technology enables brokerages to stay competitive without compromising the human touch that relationships require. This aligns with LeadingRE’s philosophy of empowering local brands, a concept Kasal described as “being the engine behind the brands.”
Recruit through brand identity
Expanding on Linsell’s point about how crucial differentiation will be in 2025, Kasal noted that successful recruiting happens “through attraction,” where agents are drawn to a brand that aligns with their values.
“If your target audience is everybody, your target audience is nobody,” she said. “The biggest mistake companies make is thinking they’re going to attract everyone by making the brand generic, when in essence, they won’t attract anybody.” Kasal urged brokers to focus on who they want to attract based on a unique brand that reflects the brokerage’s mission, values, and strengths. This helps create a targeted message that resonates with the right agents, building stronger relationships and loyalty over time.
Pitfalls awaiting brands in the next year
Soderstrom echoed Kasal’s brokerage branding advice, emphasizing that effective recruiting strategies for the coming year must start with a brand’s core identity. “Focus on quality over quantity when it comes to agent recruiting,” he suggested, advising brokers to be selective and build relationships with those who align with their culture and values.
Finally, Linsell identified a change in the way real estate professionals use social media that will be critical for brokers to embrace in 2025: “Social media has shifted from being a communication channel to a place where clients go to see that you are who you say you are.” He encouraged brokers to use social platforms as proof of their credibility and track record, rather than pure marketing outlets.
How Luxury Presence can help prepare your business for 2025
To support real estate brokers in building a future-proof business, Luxury Presence offers a suite of digital tools and resources designed to strengthen brand presence and streamline operations.
For real estate agents and brokerages committed to growth, differentiation, and sustained success, Luxury Presence offers the branding, marketing, and technology solutions to empower their journey. Don’t wait to build a memorable brand for 2025 — partner with Luxury Presence to set your business apart.
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Learn how we can help take your real estate business to the next level. Schedule a time to speak with one of our branding experts today.
