If you’re looking for ways to work more professional development time into your busy schedule, a good real estate podcast (or six) might be an option for you.

Why?

• Podcasts are typically free or available at no additional cost through popular streaming services.
• Unlike audiobooks or audio courses, podcasts don’t require a big time commitment.  
• You can get high-level exposure to a variety of topics, then choose to do a deeper dive if there’s something that particularly interests you.
• Fresh content is created regularly, so a real estate podcast that’s currently in production may be more up to date on industry trends and best practices than some other types of media.   
• Listening to different industry perspectives could give you new ideas and tools to try in your own business.

With the huge range of podcasts available, it could be a challenge picking a place to start. That’s why we’ve rounded up half a dozen suggestions and created a handy playlist to help! Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Market Proof Marketing: Home Builder Marketing Insights

Created by the Do You Convert consulting agency, the Market Proof Marketing podcast explores a range of real estate marketing topics from online sales and social media to best practices and homebuilding industry news.

Where to start:   

The podcast’s 250^th episode, “Focus on What is Never Going to Change,” would make a great intro to the series. At approximately 37 minutes, it’s shorter than many other episodes, so you can get a feel for whether it will be valuable for you without investing a lot of time. Highlights include:  

• Benefits of blocking off your time in a purposeful way so you can get more done and have fewer lingering projects
• Tips for surrounding yourself with insightful, positive people and how you can apply that to social media
• How to reduce market uncertainty by focusing on the things that don’t change or that you can control, instead of dwelling on things you can’t
• Social media trends, including an emerging Twitter alternative
• Industry news, including a story on key home buyer/seller misconceptions about today’s changing housing market
• Book and technology recommendations from the podcast team, including one podcast app that can save listeners hours (or days!) of listening time by skipping pauses in audio content

Also interesting: “How Do You Promote Rate Locks & Other FAQs” may help you speak to the value of an extended rate lock for new-construction buyers.

2. The Buyer’s Mind with Jeff Shore

Author, professional speaker and founder of a popular new-home sales training company, Jeff Shore, hosted this podcast series until 2020. Though it’s a couple of years old, it has some evergreen insights and tips for real estate pros looking to level-up their sales skills. Episodes range from 5 to 40 minutes, with many of them sitting at half an hour.   

Where to start:  

A wonderful thing about this series is that Shore keeps each episode focused on a specific sales lesson, rather than presenting a digest of various ideas. That makes it easy to pick and choose the messages that apply to your needs and interests, just by looking at the list.

• Not sure you’re bringing your best energy into every sale? Check out “The Best Energy Sales Professional.”
• Looking to improve your sales call skills? Try “Making a Great Sales Call with Art Sobczak.”
• Want to “Conquer Sales Fears”? There’s an episode for that!
• Several episodes focus on follow up, like “When the Client Goes Silent” and “Dealing with Discomfort.”

Also interesting: Jeff Shore’s active Facebook page has additional videos, blog articles and other training info.

3. The Real Estate Unsalesperson

Still looking to find your true sales voice? The Real Estate Unsalesperson may help you explore that. Host Barry Karch aims his podcasts toward “unsalesy” listeners who might not feel that they’re natural-born salespeople, but still have a passion to succeed in the industry. A self-professed introvert, Karch claims that his years of success were made possible by his ability to listen and build trust with his buyers, rather than leveraging any innate sales talent.

Where to start:

Many episodes are very short—from 2-minute motivational messages to 5- or 6-minute stories you can easily digest over lunch or while you’re in the car. The longer pieces run about 30 minutes and go into greater depth about a variety of topics. One of these is “How can you WOW your out-of-town buyers?” The episode has some advice about how you can genuinely connect with clients who may be struggling with the challenges of house hunting remotely.

Also interesting: “Unleash Your Showing Superpower with Roseann Galvan” offers tips from the guest co-host’s book, Showing Superpower. It emphasizes the importance of empathy in the sales process and suggests ways to help buyers “mentally move in” during a home showing. 

4. Sales Gravy

Ok, we have to confess this one isn’t technically a real estate podcast. It earned a spot on our list because the skills, tools, strategies and themes it explores are valuable for sales professionals across a variety of industries. Host Jeb Blount has written over a dozen books on sales prospecting, sales EQ, negotiating tactics, selling virtually and more, and his podcast touches on many of the same topics.

Where to start:

“How to Become a LinkedIn Selling Machine” is an episode co-hosted by Daniel Disney, author of The Ultimate LinkedIn Sales Guide. Over the episode’s 46 minutes, the discussion delves into ways salespeople can leverage their LinkedIn community more effectively in the sales process. Highlights include:

• Mistakes salespeople make on social media
• Mixing communication channels to most effectively reach prospects without alienating them
• Ways to be persistent without being pushy
• Encouraging prospects to engage genuinely
• Layering contact to build familiarity
• Tips for building a consistent LinkedIn routine
• Curation strategies (finding and sharing relevant content for the audience)
• Keeping compliant with brand/marketing guidelines
• Differentiating personal and professional personas

Also interesting: The Sales Gravy blog has an email subscription option if you want to get updates in your inbox.

5. Sell or Die

Hosted by husband and wife duo, Jeffrey and Jen Gitomer, the Sell or Die podcast is geared toward helping sales professionals develop their skills across a range of categories, from networking and social selling to earning loyalty, taking a leadership role and fostering good business habits.  

Where to start:

In preparation for the new year, many of the podcast’s recent episodes have centered around honestly assessing one’s own attitude and state of mind, and then working toward real improvement where it’s needed. A few of these include:

• “The Three Sales Mindsets: The Groove, The Rut & The Grave” can help you identify what mindset you’re currently in and how to move out of it if you’re not where you want to be.
• “How to Have Your Best DECADE Ever” outlines incremental changes you can implement today that can make a real impact on your career in the long term.
• “What to Do When You Are in a Sales Slump” explores things to do (and things to avoid) when you’re feeling like you’re in a rut.

Also interesting: Both hosts have websites with additional resources, including the Gitomer.com blog and the JenGitomer.com blog. Jen Gitomer also has a solo podcast called Your Success Frequency.

6. BiggerPockets® Real Estate Podcast

Part of being a successful agent is understanding the real estate industry and keeping current with market trends, both local and national. One way you can do that is tuning in to real estate investor podcasts like BiggerPockets®. Through interviews, listener coaching calls, news analysis and thought-provoking discussions, this series explores the ups and downs of real estate sales, investment and management. The topics they cover may align with your clients’ interests and goals, giving you greater insight in how to best serve them and potentially increasing your credibility as a trusted expert in your field.  

Where to start:

With nearly 700 episodes to choose from, there’s bound to be a topic that piques your interest, but one that’s particularly relevant to agents in today’s market is #647: “Got a Need for Leads? Use this Opener to Earn Trust in 5 Seconds.” It explores:

• Ways to get more real estate leads
• How to adjust the tone of your pitch to fit your audience
• Making business connections
• Why it’s important to examine your own emotional intelligence and look for ways to improve it
• The role empathy plays in the sales relationship
• Keeping a bigger-picture, entrepreneurial mindset
• Being open to coaching; benefits of having a business mentor and of mentoring others
• Focusing more on the relationship than the transaction
• Using the psychology of sales to improve first impressions and ongoing communications
• Learning useful lessons from our mistakes
• Real estate and business book recommendations  

Also interesting: “4 Podcasts for New & Aspiring Homebuyers” on our homebuyer blog, Homeward™, has some additional real estate podcast suggestions you may find useful. Share your favorites with your clients!

At a time when the industry is getting more competitive, it’s important to devote time to personal and professional growth. We hope this list will help you toward that goal. For more home-selling tips and tools, download our free Selling New Homes Guide now!

A final word from our legal team: This Spotify® playlist is intended for entertainment purposes only. None of these programs should be used as a substitute for professional financial or business advice. They provide general information only, which may not apply to your individual circumstances. The opinions and ideas presented belong solely to the show creators and publishers. Neither Spotify® nor any of the artists featured on this playlist are affiliated with, sponsoring or endorsing Richmond American Homes or M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. or this playlist. Spotify® is a registered trademark of Spotify USA Inc. or its affiliates.