For Every Agent Who Checks Their Phone at the Barbecue

My wife, Carolina, has been building her real estate business for a two years now.

Last Fourth of July, she was at a barbecue with our family. She was present for most of it. But at some point, her phone lit up, and she stepped away. The people around her understood because they always do. She came back, and she was there again, but part of her was still somewhere else.

I’ve watched that happen to her, and I’ve watched it happen to every agent I’ve ever spent real time with. A text that needs a quick response. A client who saw something and wants to know what you think. A deal that’s close enough that you’re afraid to look away. And so you don’t. 

You’re at the barbecue, and somewhere in the back of your mind the business is still running.

Agents want to put the phone down and play a game of horseshoes. But the business they’ve built requires them to stay attached to their apps. The phone-checking comes from love for the job, and from that quiet voice that says you could always be doing more.

I’ve spent 10 years in this industry, talking to agents from every market, every price point, every stage of their career. The ones who can’t put the phone down are almost always the most client-focused, the most serious about their work, the ones who got into this business because they genuinely care about the people they serve. The hustle is real, but maybe more importantly, the care behind it is real. 

What’s missing is a business that can hold its own weight when they step away.

Most agents are, functionally, running a one-person operation. Nothing surfaces itself. The follow-ups, the signals, the relationships. None of it moves unless they move it. So every holiday becomes a quiet negotiation between the life they want to be present for and the business that requires their attention to stay alive. The business wins because stepping away feels like a risk they can’t afford to take.

I’ve had some version of this conversation with agents across the country, in every market, at every level. And what strikes me, every time, is how much these people carry. The midnight texts from nervous buyers. The sellers who need reassurance the week before close. The past clients who are starting to think about moving again and just want to talk it through. Agents hold all of that. They hold it constantly, because no one else in their business is holding it for them.

What they’re doing is extraordinary. The infrastructure behind them has never matched it.

These are some of the most driven, emotionally intelligent, relationship-focused people I know. They’re built for the human side of this job. What they’ve been missing is a platform that keeps working when they step back, one that watches the signals in their sphere, surfaces the right conversations at the right time, and gives them the confidence to actually put the phone down.

This weekend, Carolina will be at a barbecue with our family. She’s on our Presence Platform now. And I think her phone will stay in her pocket a little longer this year. That the negotiation between family and work can tilt toward family.

The platform makes it possible. New inquiries will get nurtured, social posts will go out, and opportunities in her database will be identified. Monday morning, she’ll have a clear list of who’s ready to talk. 

That’s what I keep coming back to when I think about the agents who trust us with their business. I don’t take this lightly. It’s one of the things that gets me up in the morning.

Go be with your people. The follow-ups, the clients who are starting to stir, the deals that are close. We’ll keep at it while you’re gone. You just focus on the fireworks.

Happy Fourth.

Malte Kramer is the founder and CEO of Luxury Presence.