October Opportunities: Don’t Slow Down

Hello, contract crushers. October showed up with cooler mornings, school routines in full swing, and postseason baseball on every TV in the break room. It is the perfect backdrop for a strong Q4.

This week we are getting practical. You will audit cash flow before holiday calendars take over, refresh prospecting to uncover motivated sellers, and install simple inspiration habits that keep your energy steady when daylight gets scarce.

Think of today’s issue as a tidy locker-room reset. Ten minutes of planning now saves hours of scrambling in December. Grab a warm mug, open your dashboard, and let’s turn the next 90 days into a highlight reel rather than a “wish we’d started sooner” story.

Game on.

— Steve

ACCOUNTANT ANGLE

 Audit Your Cash Flow Before Year-End

Cash flow tells the truth, so read it closely. Start with a rolling 13-week forecast. List expected closings, average net per deal, fixed costs, and one-off items like client gifts or lockbox replacements.

Create two operating buckets in your accounting software. Core covers MLS, E&O, CRM, fuel. Flex covers ads, staging, photography, and video. Fund Core automatically each Friday. Release Flex in smaller biweekly tranches tied to signed agreements or leading indicators such as five new appointments.

Build a cushion equal to one month of Core. Set an auto-transfer rule that sweeps 8 to 12 percent of every commission into a reserve until you hit the target. Move your annual renewals list into November so you can negotiate before auto-renew dates. Finally, run a quick tax estimate on year-to-date net and top up your tax account, so gift season does not raid savings. Calm cash beats holiday chaos.

BUSINESS BOOSTER

Prospecting for New Listings

Motivated sellers leave clues. Go high-level with outreach that meets life events, not just addresses. Create a short “Move-Smart” email for estate attorneys, divorce attorneys, financial advisors, and HR relocation leads. Offer a one-page market brief and a fast valuation link they can pass along.

Circle prospect around your wins. Call the 50 homes nearest your last “Just Sold” and share a two-line stat: days on market and sale-to-list. End with a micro-ask: “Would a private valuation help your planning?” For absentee owners, send a three-option letter: renew, renovate, or sell, with estimated net sheets for each path.

Host a 20-minute quarterly webinar with a lender and a contractor. Keep it simple: rates, renovations, resale math. Require registration to capture warm names. Log every conversation in your CRM with a clear next step. You are not chasing listings. You are surfacing timing, then being present when timing turns into action.

COACHES CORNER

Staying Inspired in the Home Stretch

Inspiration fades when the calendar gets crowded. Install three small anchors.

First, a Q4 vision board that fits on one page. Include a photo of a client you helped, two financial targets, and one personal reward you will actually schedule. Keep it within arm’s reach of your laptop.

Second, an accountability partner with a five-minute Friday call. Share one win, one wobble, and one promise for next week. Put it on recurring. Short and honest beats long and inconsistent.

Third, create a “wins file.” Screenshots of happy texts, handwritten notes, before-and-after photos. Skim it for 60 seconds before tough calls. It reminds you that skill compounds and hard days pass.

None of this is fluff. Clear pictures, small promises, and quick proof loops keep you steady when daylight shrinks and inboxes grow loud. Consistency does not need drama. It needs reminders.

BOOK OF THE MONTH

“Fanatical Prospecting” by Jeb Blount

Blount’s message is blunt for a reason. A full pipeline solves most sales problems. The book argues for disciplined, mixed-channel outreach and for protecting “Golden Hours” when you do your highest-impact prospecting without interruption.

High-impact methods for Realtors start with a balanced mix: phone, text, email, video, social, and in-person. Try a 3-by-3-by-3 rule. Three new conversations before 10 a.m., three follow-ups before lunch, three handwritten notes before shutdown. Use “neighbor circle” calls around listings, quick video DMs to open house visitors, and short value emails to sphere contacts who asked market questions but never booked a consult.

Remember the 30-day rule. The work you do this month fills next month’s calendar. Block two 50-minute Golden Hours on your calendar, silence notifications, and put a simple script in front of you. Prospecting gets easier when it becomes routine rather than a mood.

☝️ Go ahead and click the image to order the book from Amazon ☝️ 

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Why Has Housing Inventory Growth Slowed? — HousingWire

Why You Should Read: Understand supply friction so you can set seller and buyer expectations.

How Teams Burn Money—and the Key to Profitability — Real Estate News

Why You Should Read: Avoid common cost traps as you scale support and agents.

One in Three Homes Sold for All Cash in H1 2025 — Weekly Real Estate News

Why You Should Read: Cash activity changes offer strategies and appraisal risk.

TO-DO LIST

Your Next Move — Turn Insights into Action

✅ Build a 13-week cash forecast and set an auto-transfer to reserves.

✅ Schedule two Golden Hours for prospecting this week and protect them.

✅ Send a Move-Smart email to three adjacent pros and invite a 15-minute intro call.

✅ Create a one-page Q4 vision board and book your accountability call.

✅ Share one article above with your take and invite clients to request a private valuation.