Why Agents Stop Performing and How Leaders Can Rebuild Their Mindset: A Coaching Deep Dive for Brokers and Team Leaders
If there’s one conversation that has surfaced more than any other in my coaching sessions with brokers and team leaders this year, it’s this:
“My agents know exactly what to do, but they’re not doing it.”
When a leader starts a call with that sentence, I already know the real issue. It’s rarely lack of training. It’s rarely a lack of opportunity. It’s rarely the market. The problem almost always traces back to something deeper—something most brokerages don’t have the tools or language to address.
Mindset.
After more than a decade coaching agents and leaders across the country, and now as the #1 Real Estate Coach and Speaker at Tom Ferry, I’ve learned that performance issues almost always begin as mindset issues long before they show up on a scoreboard or P&L statement.
Team leaders usually become aware of the problem when the symptoms surface:
A drop in production.
Calls avoided.
Leads ignored.
Inconsistent activity.
Reluctance to prospect.
Lost confidence in listing appointments.
But these visible symptoms are never the starting point. They are the end result of a mindset decline that went unaddressed.
And as the market becomes more demanding, as commission transparency reshapes the value conversation, and as consumers expect stronger expertise than ever, these mindset gaps become performance killers if leaders don’t intervene early.
This article is your playbook for doing exactly that.
The Performance Crisis No One Talks About Honestly
Let’s acknowledge something the industry tends to dance around.
Real estate is emotionally exhausting, psychologically demanding, and uniquely vulnerable to mindset erosion. The business blends rejection, uncertainty, delayed gratification, and identity pressure in a way few careers do. That’s why the numbers look the way they do:
Almost half of the agents who achieved their first closing in 2022 did not secure a single transaction in 2023.
Turnover among new and mid-level agents continues to rise.
Production plateaus are more common than production breakthroughs.
Brokers rank recruiting and retention as their number-one challenge, surpassing market concerns.
If you are leading a team in 2025, you are not just coaching salespeople. You are coaching nervous systems. You are coaching confidence. You are a coaching belief.
The mistake many leaders make is trying to solve psychological problems with tactical solutions. They add training. They add scripts. They add accountability pressure. They add more reminders, more expectations, more meetings.
But none of those work when the agent is quietly thinking:
I don’t know if I’m good enough.
I don’t want to be rejected again.
I’m overwhelmed and embarrassed to admit it.
I’m afraid my best days are behind me.
When you address the mindset, activity returns.
When you ignore mindset, performance collapses.
What I Hear Inside Coaching Calls: The Hidden Issues Behind Declining Production
Because I coach so many brokers and their teams, I hear the unfiltered version of what agents won’t say out loud in meetings or on performance reviews. When you understand these patterns, you understand why your coaching may not be landing.
Here are the four dominant mindset themes affecting performance today.
Imposter Syndrome
This one is far more common than leaders realize. Even experienced producers admit things like:
“I still feel like I’m not the real deal.”
“I’m terrified a client will ask something I can’t answer.”
“I’m afraid other agents can see right through me.”
Fear of inadequacy creates hesitation. Hesitation creates inactivity. Inactivity creates performance decline.
Fear of Rejection
Real estate exposes agents to rejection daily, and without strong coping frameworks, that emotional weight becomes paralyzing. It often sounds like:
“I don’t want to bother people.”
“What if I say the wrong thing?”
“I don’t want another no today.”
Agents start avoiding anything with even minimal emotional risk. Prospecting drops first. Then follow-up. Then consistency. Then confidence.
Loss of Purpose or Identity
This often shows up in mid-level agents who have weathered a few tough years:
“I used to love this work. Lately it feels heavy.”
“I don’t know where I fit in this new market.”
“I’m not sure I still want this lifestyle.”
Without identity alignment, discipline evaporates.
Burnout From Hidden Pressure
Because agents rarely want to appear weak, they hide the early stages of burnout. Leaders typically notice only when the agent is already disengaged.
These four issues account for the majority of performance declines I see—yet none can be fixed with scripts, more leads, or motivational speeches.
They require a different kind of leadership.
Diagnosing What Your Agent Actually Needs
When I teach leaders how to diagnose performance issues, I give them a simple but powerful rule:
If an agent knows what to do but doesn’t do it, the problem is mindset.
If an agent is doing the work but not getting results, the problem is skill.
If an agent is willing but disorganized, the problem is systems.
If an agent seems capable but unmotivated, the problem is alignment.
This diagnostic process alone transforms leadership conversations.
Because once you identify the real issue, the path forward becomes clear.
Here is the framework I use inside professional coaching relationships, brokerage leadership meetings, and team development sessions.
The Six-Stage Mindset Repair System for Brokers and Team Leaders
This is the system I use with organizations across the country. It blends psychology, performance frameworks, AI-enabled operational clarity, and leadership coaching. Every successful brokerage I’ve consulted with installs some version of this.
Each stage builds on the next and is meant to be implemented in order.
Stage 1: Remove Shame and Normalize the Struggle
The agent cannot improve until they feel safe to admit what’s actually happening.
The fastest way to accelerate improvement is to remove the emotional charge.
Instead of meeting underperformance with pressure or disappointment, try:
“I’ve seen this before, and it’s absolutely fixable.”
“You’re not the only one experiencing this.”
“This dip doesn’t define you. It just means we’re going to adjust the plan.”
Once shame is off the table, coachability returns.
Stage 2: Introduce a Growth-Based Interpretation of Challenges
Mindset is not about optimism. It’s about interpretation.
Agents with fixed-mindset interpretations see challenges as proof of inadequacy.
Agents with growth interpretations see challenges as data.
You can teach this in real time:
“What did this experience teach you about your clients?”
“What went better this time?”
“What part of this is actually progress?”
Your job as a leader is to help agents reinterpret difficulty so they don’t internalize it as identity.
Stage 3: Build Competence Through Exposure, Not Encouragement
One of the biggest misconceptions in leadership is believing confidence must come before action.
It doesn’t.
Action creates competence.
Competence creates confidence.
Confidence creates results.
If an agent avoids prospecting, presenting, negotiating, or following up, increase controlled exposure:
Shadowing
Co-hosting
Role-play
Micro-practice
Guided reps
Smaller targets
Confidence comes from repetition, not reassurance.
Stage 4: Replace Outcome-Based Accountability with Activity-Based Accountability
Most teams track results.
Results tell you where an agent has been.
Activities tell you where they are going.
When you hold an agent accountable only to closings, pendings, and listings, you reinforce feelings of failure. But when you shift accountability to controllable, measurable activities, the agent regains agency over their progress.
Examples include:
Outbound conversations
Videos published
Follow-ups completed
Open houses hosted
CMAs delivered
Database touches
This rebuilds momentum quickly because the agent feels in control again.
Stage 5: Coach to Motivation Style, Not Leadership Preference
Most leaders coach based on what motivates them, not what motivates the agent.
This is the single biggest reason coaching fails.
Agents typically fall into one of four motivation patterns:
Competitive
Influence and visibility
Stability and service
Mastery and precision
Each requires a different coaching approach.
Misalignment creates hidden resistance.
Alignment creates acceleration.
If an agent is unresponsive to your coaching, mismatched motivation is almost always the reason.
Stage 6: Rebuild Identity With a 30-60-90 Day Turnaround Plan
Agents don’t burn out from work.
They burn out from lack of clarity, lack of progress, and lack of identity alignment.
A 30-60-90 plan restores all three.
In the first 30 days, you rebuild habits.
On days 31–60, you rebuild the pipeline.
In days 61–90, you rebuild performance and identity.
This format works universally because it is long enough to create meaningful change and short enough to feel achievable.
After decades of coaching agents, I’ve learned that identity—not ability—is what determines whether the turnaround sticks.
How AI Helps Correct Mindset Issues Faster
Because I am also the Top AI Coach in Real Estate, I want to highlight a surprising but powerful truth:
When you remove operational friction, mindset improves.
When agents have:
Automated follow-up
AI-powered content drafts
Lead prioritization tools
Market insights delivered instantly
CRM-complete reminders
Daily scorecards
Script and objection support
Time-blocking automation
They stop feeling behind.
They stop feeling overwhelmed.
They stop procrastinating out of fear.
They regain confidence in their competence.
AI stabilizes mindset by stabilizing structure.
What Happened When I Implemented This With Real Teams
In one brokerage, a mid-level agent who had been stuck at 14 deals for eighteen months regained confidence simply through activity-based accountability and AI-enabled follow-up. Within sixty days, their pipeline expanded so rapidly the leader joked about giving them an assistant.
A new agent with chronic call reluctance went from zero outbound calls to consistent ten-per-day activity after shadowing and micro-rehearsal exercises. Her words were, “I don’t freeze anymore. I actually know what to say.”
A veteran agent who had lost passion after a brutal year rebuilt their identity through a 30-60-90 plan focused on reconnecting to purpose. Ninety days later, they were one of the happiest and most consistent producers on the team.
None of these were tactical problems.
They were mindset and identity problems.
And once addressed correctly, performance returned rapidly.
FAQs for Brokers and Team Leaders
How do I know whether my agent’s problem is mindset or skill?
If they know what to do and are not doing it, it’s mindset. If they are doing the work but not converting, it’s skill.
How do I introduce accountability without causing friction?
Shift accountability to controllable activities. Measure what the agent can influence, not what the market dictates.
What if an agent resists coaching?
Find their motivation type. Resistance is almost always misaligned motivation, not defiance.
How quickly can an agent turn around performance?
With the right systems, most agents regain momentum within thirty days and reclaim full performance within ninety.
Does AI really help agents with mindset?
Yes. When overwhelm decreases and clarity increases, confidence rises. AI reduces cognitive load, which directly supports mindset stability.
Additional Resources
To continue strengthening your leadership, explore:
How to Motivate Struggling Agents
Real Estate Performance Accountability Frameworks
The 30-60-90 Agent Turnaround Plan
AI Tools Every Real Estate Team Should Implement
Leadership Coaching and Broker Development Workshops
More articles at www.coachemilyterrell.com
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