October Opportunities: Don’t Slow Down

Let’s huddle up, team. It’s Halloween week, which means tiny superheroes at your door and pumpkin everything in your coffee. Fun fact: Illinois grows more pumpkins than any other state, so if your porch looks like a gourd showroom, blame the Midwest.

Now, back to business. We are forecasting year-end revenue with clear eyes, turning simple holiday touchpoints into referral fuel, and sharpening your cold outreach so it sounds confident, not canned. Our book this month, Fanatical Prospecting, will help you track the numbers that actually move the needle.

Take a breath, sip something warm, and let’s wrap October with intent.

— Steve

ACCOUNTANT ANGLE

 Forecasting Your Year-End Revenues

Start with a weighted pipeline. List every file with stage probability: 90 percent for clear-to-close, 70 for passed inspections, 40 for active negotiations, 20 for verbal interest. Multiply each projected commission by its probability to find your likely revenue.

Now build ranges. Base equals only the 70s and 90s. Likely adds half of the 40s. Stretch includes a slice of the 20s if timelines fit. Layer in closing calendars. Many lenders need ten business days from final approval, so mark a practical “closes by December 20” cutoff.

Subtract fallouts using last year’s Q4 averages. Add line items for client gifts, signage refresh, and a small reserve for unexpected repairs credits. Move 15 to 20 percent of your likely number into a tax set-aside account now, not later. Finish with a two-page dashboard: revenue base, likely, stretch, plus a weekly check date. Forecasts guide behavior, and behavior closes gaps.

BUSINESS BOOSTER

Boosting Referral Business

Referrals thrive on timing and warmth. Send holiday cards the week after Thanksgiving when mailboxes are less crowded. Handwrite a two-line note and include a QR code to a simple homeowner guide, winter prep checklist, or equity snapshot request.

Run a three-touch gratitude cadence. Touch one is the card. Touch two is a 30-second thank-you voice text with one quick tip, such as a furnace filter reminder. Touch three is a short email featuring your favorite local charity and an invite to a fifteen-minute end-of-year check-in.

Segment your past clients by neighborhood and life stage so your message feels personal. Track responses in your CRM with a “Holiday 2025” tag and set a follow-up task for anyone who clicks the QR code. Keep the tone light, useful, and human. You are not pitching. You are showing up. Consistency earns the next introduction.

COACHES CORNER

Mastering Cold Outreach

Confidence comes from a plan you can execute on a Tuesday at 4 p.m. Use a simple cadence: call, then email, then text, all within 24 hours, then repeat in three business days.

Before you dial, write a one-line reason and a one-line benefit. Example: “I help neighbors track real prices, not headlines. Would a one-page update for your street help your planning?” Breathe in for four, out for six, then smile before you speak. It softens your tone.

If you hit voicemail, keep it short. “Quick resource for you, subject line ‘Two blocks, real numbers.’ I will email it now.” Your email echoes the voicemail, includes the one-page resource, and ends with a micro-ask: “Reply with your street name if you want it tailored.”

Close the loop with a friendly text: “Sent a one-pager you might like. Worth a look?” Calm, clear, and consistent wins.

BOOK OF THE MONTH

“Fanatical Prospecting” by Jeb Blount

Blount’s core idea is simple. What you measure improves. Build a tiny scoreboard and review it every Friday.

Track five numbers. Attempts per day, real conversations, conversation-to-appointment rate, appointment-to-listing or buyer-agreement rate, and average talk time. Add one quality metric such as “helpful assets shared” so you reward value, not noise.

Protect two Golden Hours for pure outreach and record outcomes immediately. If conversation-to-appointment is low, test a new opener for one week only and compare. If appointments are strong but agreements lag, review your offer of value and your next step clarity.

Plot a 30-day trend line. You want steady attempts, rising conversations, and a slowly improving conversion rate. Small tweaks, measured honestly, make scripts sharper and calendars fuller. Prospecting gets less scary when the data tells you what to fix.

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

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Existing-Home Sales Up 1.5 percent in September — National Association of Realtors

Why You Should Read: A modest uptick provides talking points for cautious sellers.

Volatile Housing Data in 2025 — HousingWire

Why You Should Read: Use this overview to frame client expectations about bumpy month-to-month stats.

Rate Cut Still Likely, Even With Hotter Inflation — Real Estate News

Why You Should Read: Policy signals influence buyer urgency and lock strategies.

TO-DO LIST

Your Next Move — Turn Insights into Action

✅ Build your weighted Q4 forecast and set a weekly review on your calendar.

✅ Order holiday cards and create a QR code that links to your winter homeowner guide.

✅ Script a 30-second voicemail and matching email, then run the call-email-text cadence for five days.

✅ Create a simple Friday prospecting scoreboard and log five metrics.

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