Take It and RunThe Blog
One specific move professionals can implement today.
Get the email every WednesdayThe real reason your pipeline isn’t full
The agent whose signs are all over your farm might not be more talented than you. What they have is a system — and a system is the only thing that closes the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
Is there an agent in your market that seems to have all the listings? You drive around and see their signs everywhere, even in your own farm or neighborhood.
Frustrating, right?
Here’s what I want you to consider. That agent might not be more talented than you. They might not be working harder. They might not even be that much further ahead.
What they have is a system. And a system is the only thing that closes the gap between where you are right now and where you want to be. Coach Valarie Johnson broke SYSTEM down into an acronym that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about — because every letter is something agents get wrong.
S — Specific
No vagueness. “I’m going to prospect more” is not a system. “I’m going to make 10 contacts before noon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday” is a system.
Y — Yours
Built for your life and your capacity. There’s no magic in 5am if 5am doesn’t work for you. Stop borrowing someone else’s routine and build one you’ll actually follow.
S — Schedule
If it’s not on the calendar, it’s optional. And optional means it disappears the moment life gets busy. Which it always does.
T — Trackable
What doesn’t get measured seldom improves. You need a number. Contacts made. Appointments set. Messages sent. Pick one and track it every single week.
E — Easy to execute
Tiny goes a long way. You don’t need a two-hour power block to move the needle. Ten calls is a system. Five texts is a system. Don’t sleep on tiny.
M — Maintain
Consistently. Not perfectly. You already know this one — recovery speed beats perfection every time.
Here’s the thing nobody talks about. Your system tells you what to do. Your brain tells you why you can’t do it today. And your results depend entirely on which one you follow. Every time you follow the system over the feeling, you get a little stronger. That’s not motivation. That’s identity.
Where do agents need systems most?
Prospecting. This is the big one. If you’re opening your CRM and staring at it wondering who to call, you don’t have a system. You have a list. A system tells you exactly who, exactly what to say, and exactly how many contacts you’re making before you close the laptop.
Lead follow-up. Most deals die in the follow-up. Not because agents don’t care — because they don’t have a repeatable sequence. When’s the last time you sent message 6 in your rotation? Do you even have a rotation?
Database maintenance. Your database is only as good as the notes inside it. A system for logging every conversation — even a quick voicemail — is what turns a contact list into a pipeline.
Content and marketing. Posting when you feel inspired is not a system. Deciding on Monday what goes out Wednesday and Friday — that’s a system.
Morning routine. Not 5am. Just a sequence. Same order, every day, that gets you into production mode without burning decision-making energy before you’ve made a single call.
You don’t need all of these at once. Pick one. Build it right. Then add the next.
Pick a gap and build your SYSTEM.
Write it down. All six letters. What specifically will you do? Is it actually yours — built for your schedule and capacity? Is it on the calendar? What number will you track? Is it small enough to execute on your worst day? Will you commit to maintaining it — not perfectly, just consistently?
Commit to following the system for one week and watch the difference between you and your goal get smaller.
This exercise is designed to do one thing: set appointments. Track your progress and pay attention to what is converting.
Want the next one in your inbox instead of finding it here later?
One practical challenge a week, plus every new Claude build delivered before anyone asks.
Subscribe to Take It and RunTell Google you want Kristi’s articles first
Add kristijencks.com as a preferred source and Google highlights new Take It and Run posts in your Top Stories and AI results.
Want one of these built for your business instead of building it yourself?
A working session with Kristi or Merrill ends with a system running, not a list of notes.