In the competitive real estate market of Southlake, TX, the dynamics of client acquisition are shifting. Buyers and sellers no longer wait for agents to find them; they conduct their own research, form opinions, and then decide who to contact. This change is why Justin Nimergood, leader of the Top Gun Team at Epique Realty, has made a media presence a mandatory component for his agents, not just an optional enhancement.
Nimergood has witnessed the impact firsthand. His own growing social media presence recently led to an inbound message from a former college roommate, who is now in the process of joining the Top Gun Team. This wasn’t a paid lead or a cold call; it’s what happens when the right person sees consistent, authentic content and reaches out on their own terms.
The modern real estate consumer does their own research before ever engaging with an agent. They start by searching online for market trends, neighborhood insights, or buying process questions. “They don’t want to be sold to anymore,” Nimergood said. “The new consumer of real estate is well educated and well informed, and they will find you. They don’t want to be found; they want to find you.” This changes the role of marketing from interruption to attraction. A media presence allows potential clients to perform due diligence at their own pace, building trust before they ever make a call. By the time they reach out, they are already comfortable with the agent.
One of the biggest barriers agents face is the misconception that a media presence requires flashy stunts or a professional film crew. Nimergood is quick to debunk this: “You don’t need to be doing TikTok dances and jumping out from behind pot plants,” he said. The bar is lower and more sustainable: be consistent and be an educator. An agent who regularly shares useful, local information builds more trust than one who tries to go viral and disappears. This approach is also easier to maintain in the long run, as a short, informative video about a market trend or common buyer mistake requires less effort than a heavily produced piece and does more to build genuine relationships.
A media presence also serves dual purposes in recruiting and closing deals. On the client side, someone who follows an agent’s content arrives already comfortable, having seen their philosophy and answers to questions. This comfort shortens the sales cycle and reduces time spent establishing credibility. On the recruiting side, the same content reaches agents evaluating team options. A recruit who watches a team leader consistently add value on camera gets a clearer picture of the working relationship than from a slide deck. This is exactly the problem Top Gun Team’s “Podcast in a Box” program aims to solve by handling production, editing, and publishing, so agents only need to show up and talk about what they know.
For agents interested in how Top Gun Team structures this support and their overall recruiting approach, more information is available on the team’s About page. A media presence is no longer a nice-to-have for agents competing in Southlake and the Dallas-Fort Worth area; it has become one of the clearest ways to be found by buyers, sellers, and future teammates who are already searching.
