In a changing industry it’s important to weed out the noise from the substance.

New agents dive headfirst into our own racquet, confused where they fit in. It doesn’t help that real estate industry types obsess over every new buzzword, becoming instant experts in whatever they are: ‘disruption’ or ‘Facebook Live’ or ‘boosted content’. It’s in our daily emails, it’s driven by influencers, it comes from our leaders.

At a recent industry conference, up-and-comers were looking to star agents and industry bigwigs for inspiration. So what was the offering? Sadly, 50 pushups.

Flex some muscle and kick off the morning, they said. (And women were encouraged to do their pushups on their knees, you know, so as to keep up. That’s another topic in itself).

These events are always misrepresentative of real life: ‘Agents should be tweeting more’ and ‘Marketing yourself via video’. We don’t want more of that. We need more of the basics.

There are no silver bullets. Only: the more you help people, the more successful you will be.

That starts with buyers. They’re the ones who benefit from agents who offer them more, amplified in today’s cooler market.

A marketplace might have one seller for every 50 buyers. Focus on other sellers and you’re serving yourself. Focus on buyers, and you’re adding value for everyone, current vendors, future vendors, while making yourself a more powerful agent.

Before the Internet did it all, agents were at every open home, and every competitor’s listing. That was the best way of knowing what’s around, what’s better, what’s worse, and where value lies. Active buyers would see this, and take note of that professionalism.

Don’t phone to ‘check in’. Come armed with quality updates tailored to people’s own micromarket. They want the ‘who, what, when, why, how’ that sold stickers don’t provide.

If upcoming agents want to fast-track some skill, focusing on buyers is where that’s done. In a sales team environment, they quickly find themselves in the middle of negotiations and getting properties sold. That is, if the culture allows it.

They should be encouraged to fail, make mistakes, and become keener as a result. Senior agents should be mentoring their proteges into high-pressure environments, not just offering up admin roles.

That team could be two switched-on agents, actively seeking out opportunities between sellers and pre-qualified buyers. Meanwhile, your potential sellers, current and future, are right there.

Let’s get back to opening doors and listening to people. ‘Customer’ and ‘service’ might not by among our 2018 buzzwords, but perhaps they should be.

Remember, somewhere in Sydney, an auditorium full of agents is willing to do 50 push ups and talk about Facebook because they don’t have any better ideas.