Why Most Real Estate Agents Are Stuck in Feast or Famine
Most real estate agents are stuck in feast or famine because they stop marketing the moment they get busy, then scramble when the pipeline dries up. It's not a talent problem. It's a systems problem. Without a consistent follow-up engine running in the background, your income will always be a rollercoaster. In this post, I'll break down exactly why this happens and what you can do about it.
Blake's Take
I've watched hundreds of agents go through this exact cycle. They close three deals in a month, feel unstoppable, and stop prospecting. Two months later they're staring at an empty calendar wondering what went wrong. I did it myself early in my career.
The agents who break out of this pattern aren't working harder. They aren't more talented. They've built a system that keeps their pipeline warm even when they're buried in transactions. That's it. That's the whole secret. And once I figured that out, everything changed, not just for me, but for the agents I recruit and coach at Pemberton Real Estate in Minnesota.
The Feast-or-Famine Cycle Explained
Here's how the cycle works for most agents. You hustle hard, make calls, knock doors, post on social media. Leads come in. You get busy with showings, contracts, and closings. Marketing stops. Two months later, you close your last deal and realize your pipeline is bone dry. So you panic-prospect again. Rinse and repeat.
The root cause is simple: your marketing and follow-up depend on you having free time. And when you're producing, you don't have free time. The system breaks every time you succeed.
Why "Working Harder" Makes It Worse
The natural instinct is to grind harder during the slow months. Wake up earlier, call more people, spend more on ads. But this just amplifies the cycle. You generate a burst of leads, get busy again, and the same pattern repeats at a higher stress level.
Blake Suddath's approach is different. Instead of adding more hours, you add a system. Something that runs your follow-up, nurtures your contacts, and keeps your name in front of people, whether you're closing five deals or zero.
The One Thing That Breaks the Pattern
Consistency. Not motivation, not hustle, not a bigger ad budget. Agents who produce consistently have one thing in common: their marketing and follow-up don't stop when they get busy.
That means automating the things that fall off first. Follow-up emails. Check-in texts. Social media touches. Birthday messages. The stuff that keeps your sphere warm. When AI handles this for you, your pipeline stays full even during your busiest months.
What a Systemized Agent's Month Looks Like
A systemized agent's calendar doesn't have feast months and famine months. It has consistent months. Here's the difference:
Week 1: AI-powered follow-up nurtures 300+ contacts automatically. Two past clients respond. One referral comes in.
Week 2: You're showing houses and writing offers. Meanwhile, your system sent 50 check-in messages you didn't have to think about.
Week 3: A lead from three months ago replies to an automated text. They're ready to list.
Week 4: You close two deals and your pipeline has six more in various stages, because the system never stopped working.
That's not a fantasy. That's what happens when you stop relying on manual effort and start relying on a system.
How to Start Breaking the Cycle Today
You don't need to overhaul your entire business overnight. Start with these three steps:
Audit your follow-up. How many of your past clients have heard from you in the last 90 days? If the answer is less than half, you've got a follow-up gap.
Pick one thing to automate. Whether it's email sequences, text check-ins, or social media posting, take one repetitive task off your plate.
Build a 30-day system. Block one afternoon to map out your ideal client journey from lead to close. Then set up automations to handle the touchpoints you always skip.
FAQ
Why do real estate agents have inconsistent income?
Because most agents rely on manual prospecting that stops when they get busy with active deals. Without automated follow-up, your pipeline empties every time you succeed.
How do I get consistent income as a real estate agent?
Build a follow-up system that runs whether you're busy or not. Automate your sphere-of-influence touches, lead nurturing, and check-ins so your pipeline stays warm year-round.
Is the feast-or-famine cycle normal in real estate?
It's common, but it's not inevitable. Agents who build systems and automate their follow-up break the cycle completely. The pattern is a symptom of missing infrastructure, not a feature of the industry.
Can AI help real estate agents stay consistent?
Absolutely. AI-powered follow-up tools can nurture hundreds of contacts simultaneously, sending personalized messages, reminders, and check-ins without you lifting a finger. It's the closest thing to cloning yourself.
What's the fastest way to fix an empty pipeline?
Start with your sphere of influence. Reach out to every past client and contact in your database with a genuine check-in. Then set up an automated system so you never go silent again.
Blake Suddath is the Director of Growth at Pemberton Real Estate in Minnesota. He's helped recruit and develop hundreds of agents using proven systems that combine AI-powered follow-up with hands-on mentorship. His approach: build the system, let AI run it, and focus on what matters — closing deals and growing your business.
Ready to stop guessing and start growing? Book a confidential call with Blake.