Starting Hot in A Cold Market: Advice from Stacy Kellner

In our recent /RealEstate episode, we sat down with Stacy Kellner, marketing expert and realtor for Let's Move Austin. 

To put it plainly, Stacy had a hot start in a very cold market. 

With just three years in the business and a background in tech marketing, she's been able to build a thriving, referral-driven business in one of the most competitive—and recently, most unpredictable—real estate markets in the country: Austin, Texas.

In this article we break down her approach, characterized by guerrilla marketing, deep client relationships, and an unshakable hustle.

From Director of Marketing to Realtor in Austin

Before diving into real estate, Stacy was a Director of Marketing at a software company. 

When COVID came, Stacy had a lot of time to reflect on her career, and most importantly, what her long-term life goals were.

One of these mid-pandemic reflections happened at brunch with a friend of hers who was already a successful realtor in Austin. This friend immediately suggested Stacy should jump into real estate.

Not because the market was booming (it wasn't)—but because her friend believed Stacy had the right mindset to make the lifestyle work.

The idea stuck. And after a few more conversations, she walked away from a high-level marketing position and took a leap of faith.

Learning the Ropes Before Selling

Stacy’s first step wasn’t to immediately start selling homes. She started as an assistant on a busy real estate team.

“I was writing contracts for them…" she shares,  "I was their grunt worker. But I enjoyed it and I was learning a ton.”

This hands-on experience gave her insight into the systems, tactics, and workflows behind a productive team.

“They had a lot of checklists. It was like boom boom boom boom boom. Very regimented.”

Once licensed, she became their buyer’s agent for a while… until she realized it wasn’t the best long-term fit.

Switching Teams Just as the Market Cooled

So Stacy made another bold decision: she joined a brand new team (Let's Move Austin) right as the market turned ice cold. 

"My timing couldn't have been worse." she notes, laughing.

Interest rates climbed, inventory shrank, and buyer hesitation grew.

“Buyers were just waiting for interest rates to come down again… but the truth is, none of us thought they'd come down to the twos and threes again.”

She had to make a choice: pivot again and return to marketing, or stick it out and shift her mindset toward a more long-term philosophy.

She chose the latter. 

Consistent Action, Even When It’s Quiet

Stacy was a hustler.

“I started doing open houses every weekend without fail." She notes, "A lot of people hate them, but I really believe in them. Even if you have nothing going on, go to the open houses.”

This mindset fueled her early wins. Open houses gave her consistent exposure and real face time with potential buyers. Combined with aggressive follow-up and leveraging her network, the opportunities started to grow.

“I was hustling..." she remembers, "if I didn’t have anything to do on a weekend, I would be doing open houses…"

Constant movement was a staple of her early days, but so was creative movement.

"I would email agents that had lease listings and say ‘I would love to show your lease listings,’ because lease people end up becoming buyers.”

How many times have you or any of your colleagues done something like that when looking for new leads? Probably not many. And yet, it's a great way to cover extra ground when the market is slow.

The Referral Engine

To this day, Stacy believes referrals are the backbone of her business. 

“I would say all of my clients have recommended me…" she says as she starts to laugh, "except for maybe one."

The word 'relational agent' sometimes gets thrown around, but Stacy is the prime example of it. And that's when referral magic happens.

Because Stacy's leads know, truly, that she doesn't care about how fast they transact. As long as she's able to help them make one of the most important decisions they will make wisely, then she's happy. 

“Some of the people I get referred to haven’t bought or sold yet, but they’re thinking about doing it in the future, and I’ve started those relationships now.”

Truth is, if you can be there for your leads throughout their entire journey, and not just when they've got their wallet out, they'll remember it.

"It's been kind of fantastic. All of my clients have referred me to at least one person.”

Stacy knows these people's families, their jobs, their favorite restaurants in the area, where they'll be vacationing this year, and she's been invited to countless birthdays and school presentations. 

Marketing Like a Tech Pro

Stacy’s background in tech marketing is woven into every part of her real estate business. “I was always more of a guerilla marketer in that field too... a small little niche and we had to get outside of the box.”

From Google Ads to location-targeted campaigns, she’s looking beyond Austin. 

“I’m also not just doing it here in my niche... I’m also doing the research of where other people are coming from and I’m advertising in those locations.”

She’s also built a landing page for weekly open houses and posts it across Facebook groups. “I post on different Facebook groups... ‘Hey here are the open house listings for this weekend in case you guys want to know what’s going on.’”

Educating Clients, Not Just Selling

When rates went up, Stacy didn’t shy away. She walked clients through buy-downs, negotiation strategies, and the long-term benefits of buying now. 

Meeting them in the middle was crucial:

“I'd say, 'Let me take a few steps further and see if we can get you to someplace that you feel comfortable with.'”

And so was transparency. Stacy would show clients the numbers and what the predictions were for the future. She educated them on why it made sense to move quickly, and sometimes, why it didn't.

Clients remember when you tell them something that they know goes against your best interests. And that's when they know you're truly on their side, and don't see them as just another number.

Creative Listing Strategies

When listing a property, Stacy goes far beyond the MLS.

"The one thing I never do," she notes, "Is just list the property on the MLS and forget about it."

For example, at the time of our interview, Stacy's working with this one high-end listing with a huge backyard and space for animals.

So what did she decide to do? Well, she went to all of the local stables that do training to drop off flyers asking people to share the property with their horse-loving friends.

She’s also intentional with how she writes ads for this property. She likes to paint a picture: “It’s like Hill Country luxury right outside of the city."

Closing Thoughts

During the final minutes of our chat, Stacy reflects: “I probably do need a little bit more work-life balance."

But she then instantly admits: "...but you know, whatever. I do it because I like it. I really do like it.”

For Stacy, real estate is a blend of discipline and joy. “I love helping people get a home... price doesn’t matter to me. I will help anybody.”

With a strong foundation in marketing, a relentless work ethic, and a sincere care for people, Stacy Kellner has proven that success doesn’t require a hot market—just a smart plan, and a lot of heart.