The industry is obsessed with “scaling,” but the term has become a vague placeholder. Instead, Zac Kennedy writes, we should embrace the “stacking” method.
If you walk into any real estate conference or brokerage sales meeting today, you will inevitably hear one phrase repeated until it loses all meaning: “You need to scale your business.”
We nod our heads. We take notes. But if we are being honest, “scale your business” has become the junk food of real estate advice. It tastes good in the moment, but offers very little nutritional value.
For most agents, “scale” is an abstract concept that lacks visual clarity. Often, when agents say they want to scale, what they really mean is, “I want to make more money while doing less work.” That is a nice dream, but it is not a strategy.
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Instead, agents must concentrate their energy on a concept that is concrete, visual and highly actionable: Stacking.
Here’s how to stop chasing volume and start building density.
1. Recognize the ’empty calorie’ nature of scale
Telling an agent to “scale” implies a linear trajectory — simply adding more leads to the top of the funnel to get more deals out of the bottom. It suggests volume is the only metric that matters.
“Stacking,” however, implies depth. It is about layering your efforts so that a single action serves multiple purposes. When you stack, you aren’t just doing more marketing; you are doing smarter marketing.
2. Master the 5 essential pillars
Most agents view marketing as a chaotic to-do list. In reality, every successful move falls into one of five essential categories.
To stack effectively, you must master the raw materials:
- Traditional: The “tried and true.” Signage, door knocking, branded swag, billboards, open houses and events.
- Relationship: The industry bedrock. Leveraging existing relationships, conversations, gifting, “pop-bys” and client appreciation events.
- Content: The brand builder. Social media, press releases, magazine articles and drip campaigns.
- Digital: The tech layer. Websites, home valuation landing pages, PDF downloads, relocation guides and lead capture mechanisms.
- Direct: The hunter’s mindset. Circle prospecting, cold calling FSBOs/expireds and direct mail.
3. Stop working in silos
The mistake most agents make is treating these five types as separate buckets.
They think, “I did my cold calling (direct) this morning, now I need to post on Instagram (content), and later I’ll drop off a gift (relationship).”
This is the “scaling” trap — trying to do more of everything separately. It leads to burnout.
“Stacking” argues that the most powerful campaigns hit multiple pillars simultaneously. You aren’t juggling five balls; you are throwing one rock that creates five ripples.
4. Execute a ‘stacked’ campaign
For the visual learners, imagine “stacking” transparent layers on top of one another to create a complete picture. Here are three examples of what a “stacked” campaign looks like in the real world:
Example A: The monthly database email
- Traditional: You email your database — a fundamental practice.
- Direct: It targets a specific list of people (not the general public).
- Relationship: You nurture past clients, reminding them you are their trusted advisor.
- Content: You provide narrative value and market stats rather than just a sales pitch.
- Digital: You include a link to a landing page for an instant home valuation.
Example B: The ‘mega’ open house
- Traditional: You place directional signs and host the physical event.
- Direct: You circle prospect the neighborhood to invite neighbors to a “VIP preview.”
- Digital: You run a geo-targeted ad with a link to an RSVP landing page.
- Content: You film a “live” video tour 30 minutes before doors open.
- Relationship: You personally call your active buyers to invite them for a private look.
Example C: The ‘smart’ geographic farm
- Traditional: You send a physical postcard to a target neighborhood.
- Direct: It lands in the mailboxes of specific homeowners.
- Content: The card features a “Market Snapshot” infographic showing recent sold data.
- Digital: The card includes a QR code linking to a “Download the Neighborhood Report” page.
- Relationship: You follow up the mailer with a “pop-by” to homeowners you have already connected with.
5. The stacking score: Grade your efforts
To maximize leverage, you must audit your calendar.
Before you launch any campaign, grade it based on how many layers of the stack it hits.
- Score 1-2 (low leverage): This is “busy work.” If you are cold calling (direct) without sending a follow-up email (content) or adding them to a drip (digital), you are burning fuel, not building an engine.
- Score 3-4 (high leverage): This is where professionals operate. You are combining a physical action (traditional) with a tech component (digital) and a value-add (content).
- Score 5 (maximum density): The gold standard. Every ounce of energy you expend is multiplied across all five channels. This is how you dominate a market without working 80 hours a week.
The bottom line
“Scale” is a buzzword that leads to paralysis. “Stacking” is a blueprint for action. Stop trying to make your business bigger by spreading yourself thinner. Start making your business stronger by stacking your impact.
Zac Kennedy is a qualifying broker with RealtySouth, serving buyers, sellers and agents across the Birmingham–Hoover, Alabama, metro. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.