How Stacy Kellner Built a Thriving Real Estate Business in a Slow Market

In our latest /RealEstate episode, we sat down with Stacy Kellner, who shared with us the journey of how she became a top agent in just three years amidst one of the most competitive and unpredictable markets: Austin, Texas.

We broke down Stacy's core principles in a different post, but today we're going straight to the most practical advice, so you know exactly how to apply them.

Step 1:  Learn Before You Earn

Stacy’s journey began before she had her license. She started out as an assistant on a busy team.

She was writing contracts, she was negotiating with software representatives, she was organizing files…

…basically, she was their grunt worker. But it allowed her to learn a lot not just about how a successful team operates, but about the real estate market overall.

So If you're new to real estate, finding a mentor or joining a team will help you learn all the hard lessons in a safe environment (instead of learning them the hard way as a completely solo agent).

Step 2:  Take the Leap

When the opportunity came to pursue real estate full-time, Stacy didn’t hesitate.

“I quit my job... a nice paying job... and took a leap of faith.”

Commitment is key. Many part-time agents never get momentum because they've already got one foot out the door. Stacy decided to go all in, because she knew if she didn't, she wouldn't be motivated enough to create a successful system.

Step 3:  Open Houses, Open Houses, Open Houses

“Even if you have nothing going on, go to the open houses... I met a ton of people through my open houses and had some of my first deals through them.”

A lot of agents hate open houses, but Stacy swears by them. So much so that she hosted one every weekend religiously. 

Stacy made open houses her #1 lead source. They cost nothing and offer valuable face time with serious buyers.

Step 4:  Work Every Angle

From showing lease listings to networking in-person, Stacy hustled.

“If I needed some more leads... I would even email agents that had lease listings... because lease people end up becoming buyers anyways!”

This reminds us of another conversation Stacy and Theresa had on /RealEstate, where they shared their viral Christmas Lights Contest to get more locals into their CRMs, and how they've both attended school plays and garage sales around their neighborhoods to build some connections.

Basically, there's always something you can do to generate prospects around your area. Stay flexible. Where others see dead ends, find doorways.

Step 5:  Focus on Relationships, Not Just Transactions

Stacy treats clients like family—and they return the favor.

“All of my clients have referred me to at least one person... some of them haven't been bought or sold yet, and I'm already working on those relationships.”

She attends birthdays, happy hours, even clients’ family events. “That’s just the way that I run my business.”

We're the first ones to admit that the term "relational agent" gets thrown around a lot. But Stacy truly is the poster child of a relationship-based business model.

Step 6:  Educate and Empower Buyers

In a tough market, she leaned into education.

“I would really listen to them... have those conversations... show them numbers and run different numbers.”

When buyers would say that they were waiting for interest rates to go down, she wouldn't lie to them, but she would explain the most likely scenario: that they wouldn't go back to what they were in the past, probably for many many years.

But she wouldn't stop there. She would explain to them why this was the case, and why there were many reasons to buy at high interest rates (and also many reasons not to!).

She explained concepts like seller-paid rate buydowns and lender incentives. She would see how they could find a solution they were actually comfortable with.

Step 7:  Build a Referral Machine

Referrals didn’t just happen—they were earned.

“I just helped the sweetest little couple that I’ve been working with for a year and a half... and they just referred me to somebody else too.”

How many times have you worked with someone for over a year? Most agents will say not many. This is because they're transaction-focused. And that's okay… but it's not the avenue to build referrals.

The reason why Stacy always has business is because people keep recommending her to friends and colleagues. And this is because she has the reputation of not caring about how fast people transact, but about getting people the best deal for their dream home.

When you start looking at your leads that way, yes, you might not convert as fast. But you'll be slowly developing a very sustainable business model that works for you.

Step 8: Market Effectively

The one thing Stacy doesn't do is post a listing in the MLS and leave it there.

Instead, she runs Google ads both in her niche and in nearby locations.

She creates landing pages for open house listings and posts them every Thursday in various local Facebook groups.

She tracks absolutely every metric imaginable, and she optimizes for the best-performing channels and content.

But also… she's creative.

There's a new listing she's working on that has a lot of space for a stable. So what did she do? She went to all the local stables that offer riding classes to post and spread flyers, asking people to share the listing with their horse-loving friends.

And she doesn't just list the characteristics of the property – she paints a story. This one, for example, is her "Hill Country luxury" listing.

Final Thoughts: How to Succeed Like Stacy

By now, you're fully aware that Stacy's success is not accidental. It's the inevitable result of:

—  Hustling hard when others retreated

—  Leveraging marketing skills with discipline

—  Treating clients like lifelong friends

—  Being creative and finding opportunities where others don't

—  Having the patience to see long-term strategies through

“I love it... I think it’s fun... I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think it was fun.”

We hope you can take at least a little nugget of gold away from this conversation and apply it to your business.

Who knows, you might become the Stacy of your market…