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Help your agents finish Q4 strong and start the new year stronger by focusing on clarity, recognition, resilience, and purpose.  

“Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success and then standing back and letting them shine.” – Chris Hadfield  

The fourth quarter of the year is a unique crossroads for real estate leaders. On one hand, the holidays and seasonal slowdowns can tempt agents to take their foot off the gas. On the other hand, what they do now will echo well into the first quarter of next year. For leaders, Q4 is less about demanding a sprint to the finish line and more about guiding agents with clarity, energy, and vision so they cross it strong – and already facing the right direction for what’s next.  

Think of Q4 like a relay race: the baton handoff between years. If your agents stumble in these last laps, they won’t just lose momentum in December—they’ll enter January panicking and scrambling to catch up. But if you can help them run with focus, stamina, and support now, you’ll set the stage for big breakthroughs when the market gears up again.  

Related reading: Stand for Something Special: Unconventional Leadership in Real Estate  

Here’s how to lead with impact: 

1. Reframe the Finish Line

Many agents view Q4 as the “end of the year.” Transactions feel harder to come by, clients go quiet during the holidays, and fatigue sets in. But the best leaders reframe this mindset: Q4 is not an ending, it’s a runway.  

The prospecting, networking, and follow-ups agents do in October, November, and December often blossom into closings in January, February, and March. In other words, Q4 is less about harvesting and more about planting.  

As a leader, your role is to shift the conversation from scarcity (“it’s slow right now”) to strategy (“this is the season to get ready for the spring market”). Inspire your agents to see the work they’re doing now as an investment in their future income and stability.  

Practical Move: Host a short “Vision into 2026” workshop. Have your agents jot down three big goals for the next 12 months—personal or professional. Then help them identify one tangible step they can take right now in Q4 to get closer to those goals. Suddenly, year-end activities feel less like busywork and more like forward momentum.  

2. Recognize and Celebrate Effort

Recognition is fuel. While it’s natural to celebrate closings and numbers, don’t underestimate the power of spotlighting effort, resilience, and growth. Agents are often pushing through objections, long hours, and a shifting market. When you, as their leader, pause to say, “I see the work you’re doing,” you validate the whole journey, not just the results.  

Remember: not all wins show up on the scoreboard right away. The agent who made 50 calls today but didn’t land an appointment is still doing the work that will create next quarter’s closings.  

Practical Move: Create a “Finish Strong” board in your office (or a digital version for remote teams). Encourage each agent to post one win every week—whether it’s setting an appointment, trying a new dialogue or analogy, or reactivating an old lead. Watching those wins pile up creates contagious momentum and keeps spirits high, even when the market feels quiet.  

Related reading: Housing Wire – Build a real estate team that withstands market volatility  

3. Provide Tools and Clarity

In times of uncertainty, agents don’t need more noise—they need clarity. They need things simplified. Leaders can serve their teams by demystifying the path forward and removing obstacles. Think checklists, dialogues, systems, and targeted training.  

Instead of overwhelming your agents with new initiatives, ask: “What’s the simplest action they can take right now that will produce results?” Maybe it’s a 10-10-10 prospecting routine. (10 phone calls, 10 emails, 10 social touches before 10 AM.) Maybe it’s roleplaying how to handle buyers’ questioning commissions. Maybe it’s re-engaging their sphere before the holidays.  

Agents thrive when they feel prepared. The more you can anticipate the objections, challenges, and fears they’ll face, the more you position yourself as the steady hand that helps them navigate the storm.  

Practical Move: Launch a weekly “Power Hour.” Dedicate one focused hour each week where your team comes together (in person or virtually) to roleplay, share what’s working, and sharpen a specific skill. Keep it tight, focused, and high-energy. It’s amazing how quickly confidence grows when agents know they’re not facing challenges alone.  

4. Encourage Self-Care and Resilience

Let’s be real: by the time Q4 rolls around, many agents are exhausted. Transactions have fallen apart, markets have shifted, and life outside real estate adds its own demands, often overwhelming agents to the point of burnout. The temptation is to grind harder—but what agents often need most is balance.  

As a leader, you set the tone. If you glorify burnout or pushing yourself to the brink, your team will follow suit. If you model healthy boundaries, they’ll feel permission to recharge. Agents who end the year depleted will start the new year in recovery mode. Agents who pace themselves and take care of their energy will start January ready to run.  

Practical Move: Send out a simple “Agent Energy Checklist” with reminders like:  

• Take a 15-minute walk between appointments.  

• Schedule at least one unplugged day each week.  

• Connect with a hobby outside real estate.  

• Set clear stop times for calls in the evenings.  

You’ll be surprised how much gratitude you’ll get for acknowledging that success isn’t just about production—it’s about sustainability.  

5. Lead with Hope and Service

Finally, never forget the deeper “why.” Real estate isn’t just about contracts and commissions—it’s about people. Families moving into their first homes. Seniors downsizing with dignity. Investors securing their futures. Communities are becoming stronger because of the work your agents do.  

When the market feels tough, agents can slip into survival mode. Your job is to shift their perspective. Remind them that they are not just selling houses—they are changing lives. When agents reconnect to service, hope replaces fear, and motivation becomes intrinsic.  

Practical Move: At your next meeting, share a client success story from one of your agents. Highlight the emotional impact: the family who cried with joy at closing, or the single mom who finally had a place to call home. Stories like these re-center your team’s sense of purpose.  

Related reading: Empowering Real Estate Leadership: Practical Steps to Motivating Your Team  

A Final Thought for Leaders  

Supporting your agents in Q4 is not about cracking the whip or demanding one last push for numbers. It’s about vision, recognition, clarity, resilience, and purpose. When you nurture these five pillars, you don’t just help your team finish strong—you set them up to thrive in the year ahead.  

Leadership is less about driving people forward and more about walking beside them, shining a light on the path ahead, and reminding them why they chose this journey in the first place. Do that, and your team won’t just survive Q4—they’ll finish it energized, hopeful, and ready for their best year yet.  

Related reading: Dotloop – 7 Habits of Highly Performing Real Estate Mega Teams  

For Your Agents…  

As we head into the last quarter of the year, I want you to remember this: Q4 isn’t the finish line—it’s the runway for next year. The calls you make, the relationships you nurture, and the effort you put in now will determine your momentum when the spring market hits.  

I see the work you’re doing, and I’m proud of the persistence, creativity, and heart you bring to the table every day. Even when the results aren’t immediate, know that you’re building something powerful.  

Let’s finish strong—not by burning out, but by staying focused, balanced, and connected to our purpose. Real estate isn’t just about transactions—it’s about the lives we touch and the communities we shape.  

Together, we’ll cross this year’s finish line not just standing but sprinting into the next. You’ve got this—and I’ve got your back.  

Darryl Davis is an award-winning international speaker, real estate and business coach, and best-selling author of three books, all published by McGraw Hill Publishers.   

For more than 35 years, Darryl has spoken to and trained more than 600,000 sales professionals around the globe to more than double their production year after year. His book, How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate, tops Amazon’s charts for one of the most sold books to real estate agents.   

He was awarded the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation by the National Speaker’s Association, which is given to less than 2% of all speakers worldwide.   

Whether from a stage or Zooming into a virtual room, Darryl’s extraordinary humor, relatability, and natural gift for teaching real-world, results-producing skills and mindsets to audiences have made him a client favorite throughout his career.   

Audiences will laugh, learn, and ultimately walk away better prepared for a changing world, with the tools, skills, and training they need to build their businesses with more ease and less stress and to design lives and careers worth smiling about.  

Bring One of Darryl’s W.O.R.K. Topics to Your Organization!    

By providing your agents with the knowledge and insights they need to stay ahead of the game, you can ensure that they are equipped to handle any situation that comes their way! 

Contact us here to learn more!