If you listen to economists talk, you’ve probably heard our current economy described as “K-shaped”.
Some people climb.
Some people sink.
And the distance between them becomes less.
Here’s my spicy take for real estate:
We’re moving into a K-shaped agency.
Not the market. Not the interest rate cycle. The agents.
And I think it’s going to force a decision a lot of people have been delaying—because the comfortable middle model isn’t sustainable.
That middle model is what most people call “relational.”
And here’s the line that might sting:
Relational is increasingly an excuse not to choose.
Because you can’t build a business forever on vibes, closeness, and goodwill—without deciding what you’re actually optimizing for.
So let’s name the three models clearly.
The 3 business models (and what they really optimize for)
There are lots of ways to slice a real estate business, but these three cover almost everything I see in the wild.
Transactional
Relational
Identity-based
You can borrow tactics across models, sure. But you can’t avoid the underlying mandate to make a decision and own it.
You’ve heard me talk through the models before, but let’s do a quick review.
First up? Transactional: count contacts
A transactional business is built on volume. It’s math-forward.
How many conversations?
How many appointments?
How many nurtures?
How many offers?
How many closed units?
This model wins when you have the stomach for repetition and the discipline for consistency.
It can feel soulless, but simple: scale the inputs.
The cost?
You will be living inside activity metrics. You will need systems. You will need lead flow. You will need to tolerate the fact that a lot of people won’t choose you.
In other words: you’ll need to be OK being a call center.
The second model: Relational: connection as strategy
Relational businesses are built on being liked, trusted, remembered, and referred.
It’s human-forward. This is the model most agents are taught and claim.
And to be fair, relationships matter. Always.
But here’s the trap:
Relational becomes a kind of professional procrastination.
If your strategy is “I’m just going to be a good person, and people will send me business,” that’s not a model.
That’s hope. That may feel like:
You’re “networking” but not asking.
You’re “staying in touch” but not directing.
You’re “building community” but not building a business.
Relational is powerful… when it’s attached to something.
Whether you’ve been told this or not, know this;
Your “relational” is skewing one of two ways - transactional or truth.
The people on the other side of you can feel the difference. They can tell when you’re with them to generate business, versus with them because you genuinely care. They already know which one it is.
Identity-based: where contacts count
Identity-based businesses are built on meaning, language, and reputational gravity.
This model wins when:
your work is distinctive
your point of view is clear
your standards are visible
your message is repeatable
It’s not “branding” in the cute-font sense.
It’s the ability to make someone think:
“Oh. You’re that person.” They’ll either identify with you or not.
In an identity-based model, you don’t just stay in touch.
You become someone’s obvious choice.
The cost?
You have to choose.
You have to be specific.
You have to risk not being for everyone.
And you have to build the operational discipline to deliver on what you claim.
Lately, our economy has been described as K-shaped - the haves and the have-nots.
A K-shaped economy is what happens when the middle can’t hold.
A K-shaped agency is what happens when the “middle model” becomes unstable.
Here’s what I mean.
Our value to consumers hasn’t lessened - but it has shifted.
AI will continue to shift the narrative.
And the old, vague promise—“I’m a great agent, I work hard, I care”—is no longer enough to get hired.
So the split becomes clearer:
On one side, agents who run transactional machines.
On the other, agents who build identity gravity.
And the middle… will sit relational agents who are actually just avoiding the decision.
Because relational without a choice becomes:
a calendar full of coffee
a head full of anxiety
a pipeline full of “maybes”
You end up busy, but not knowing if any of it’s one step closer to building a business.
The line I want you to sit with
You either count contacts… or you make contacts count.
That’s either:
Transactional (count contacts)
Identity-based (make contacts count)
And yes, both have a “hard.”
Choose your hard.
Transactional hard: metrics, rejection, systemic/robotic repetition.
Identity hard: specificity, standards, visibility, discomfort, leadership.
But the relational “hard” is sneaky.
It’s the hard of never knowing.
Never knowing if this will work.
Never knowing why deals are inconsistent.
Never knowing what to say when someone asks, “So… what makes you different?”
A quick diagnostic (for agents and brokers)
If you’re an agent, ask:
If I disappeared for 30 days, would my lead flow continue?
If someone referred me today, could they clearly say why?
Do I have a repeatable way of generating opportunities—or am I relying on being remembered?
If you’re a broker/team leader, ask:
Do my agents have a model—or just a list of activities?
Are we cheerleading contacts… or building conviction and standards?
Are we producing consistency… or hoping culture will carry performance?
The answer isn’t that one model is morally superior.
The answer is: clarity creates power.
So I hope you’ll sit with this, mull it over and when ready, have a refreshingly candid conversation.
Forward this to three people:
One agent you respect
One agent you worry about
Your broker or team leader
Ask one question:
“What model do you think I’m actually running?”
Then ask the harder one:
“What model should I commit to for the next 12 months?”
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Well… I do a bit of everything,” that’s normal, but understand that stance creates ambiguity and dilutes results.
The future belongs to agents who choose a model and build the discipline to live inside it.
Because in a K-shaped agency, the relational-middle isn’t neutral or harmless.
It’s a trap.
