Gaining Momentum in Real Estate | The DASHcast Podcast with Courtney LaMotte featuring Kristi Kirkland

Episode originally aired: June 09, 2026

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In this episode of the DASHcast Podcast, the DASH Carolina team dives into What does it take to launch a real estate career and gain momentum fast?In this episode of DASHCast, Courtney sits down with Kristi Kirkland to discuss how she secured 13 contracts within her first th…

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Episode Overview

What does it take to launch a real estate career and gain momentum fast?In this episode of DASHCast, Courtney sits down with Kristi Kirkland to discuss how she secured 13 contracts within her first three months at DASH.Kristi shares the realities of starting from scratch, managing multiple clients as a new agent, building confidence through mentorship, and creating systems that allow her to deliver exceptional service without sacrificing the personal touch.Whether you're considering a career in real estate, looking to grow your business, or searching for a brokerage that invests in agent success, this episode offers an honest look at what it takes to build a thriving career from day one.Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Full Episode Transcript

The following is a lightly edited transcript of this DASHcast episode. Some portions may be condensed for readability.

Foreign. If you like your standards high and your growth even faster, pull up a chair. This is the DASH Cast podcast. I am your hostess today, Courtney. I have Christy with us, who’s going to be talking a little bit about being a newer agent in the industry and. And how she went from, like, zero transactions to, like, 12, 10, 11. I don’t even remember the exact number in, like, three months, four months. So. Yeah. Buckle up

and join us. So you recently joined dash. You recently started real estate as a whole. Tell me a little bit about what made you get into real estate and kind of what has happened in your life and just since you joined. I was originally in clinical research. Okay. Very different. Yes. In public health. That’s where my bachelor’s lies. And I always knew, being the maternal kind of person, military wife. That my calling is people. Yeah. And

helping them and leaving something behind. I love that. And I don’t know exactly why I picked real estate after that. I know that the checks and boxes. Yes. I. I did the clinical research because I love that. And that was where my heart was at. Got a little too political in hospitals. So it was time to leave. Yeah. Time for something new. It was. So. And my husband and I, we do renovations sometimes, so we always

knew that we thought. Or thought we knew that we would want to buy and flip. Okay. So not really thinking about we could do that all by ourselves without a real estate license. I still wanted to do. I was like, well, let me get it. Let me see. Let’s get this license, and let’s see how it is a new career path. Sometimes, like, you do have to just, like, take a leap, though, and then try something

new. And for you, it’s been working out, which is great. Yes. Um, so when did you start DASH and then kind of. Tell me how many transactions you’ve had since then, and we’ll kind of talk a little bit more about that as we go. Well, I got my license in June. Okay. And then started Dash October 6th. And then within the three months, I had gotten 13 contracts. Yes. That’s awesome. That. I did interview a few

other real estate firms. It wasn’t. I didn’t like how they portrayed or lack of support. My. My sister does real estate. She works for another firm. Okay. And she’s like, come work with me. And she. She did. But we know that business and family does not mix well. And. And separation of even being in the type firm. Just seeing her in her mindset and not always happy about things. Yeah. Was not something that I thought I

wanted to do. And I had two really good referrals. One of them was my husband’s intern at RDU. It was Mr. Huddleson. And then he got me in touch with Marie Greer. I love her. Yes. That’s awesome. So she was my. My true referral. Love it. So, yeah. And she’s been with us for four or five years now, so I’m sure she had lots of all the things to say, which is awesome. So everybody kind of

talks about, like, wanting to get their first deal and then how getting out there can be hard, how to manage all of your deals at once and just really like everything that comes with beginning. So tell me a little bit about those first three months and what was your biggest, like, stress point or learning point in the beginning, because you were going through so many things fresh out the gate that you were like, okay, where do

I even start? So my first few deals were land. Okay. I would get a lot of land calls. Yes. A lot of land costs. So I learned a lot that I didn’t know. I. I lived in rural, so I knew about wells and septics, so that was a little bit of help. But knowing everything that comes into land was a big thing. Yeah. So those are my first deals. And had a great mentoring team. So because

I was brand new and other than, you know, what you learn in the books, things are different. Yeah. Which is, you know, when you’re with a firm and processes. So learning the process because I had, you know, the foundation, but learning the processes and the dash way was a big thing to me. It didn’t make it complicated. Actually made things easier, which is, yes, the goal. I felt supported. I got to come in every day and

ask other people questions. Ms. Renee was my favorite. So. But yeah, just everybody helping. And, you know, although it was a little bit stressful because it was just new to me. Right. And I was always second guessing my choices or how I was guiding my clients was. Was the big thing. And like, with time, you’ll get more confident. And that’s with anybody in real estate. It took me two years to be like, okay, like, I actually

kind of know what I’m doing. I like this. So when you first started, when did you, like, feel like things were picking up and like, how did you start to manage your day to day? Because, like, sometimes you’re, you know, showing one client two houses and that’s all you got going on for a week. But when you have four or five, six deals going on at the same time, four or five, six clients looking at Houses,

land here, there and everywhere. Like, how are you? How did you feel at first having so much going on and like, what did you do day to day to kind of make sure you didn’t go crazy? It felt very overwhelming. Yeah. But it wasn’t in a sense because I had dealt with over 2000 patients at a time with clinical research. So juggling. Right. So multitasking like that is easy knowing, you know, in the healthcare, it’s, you

know, who needs their questionnaires, surveys. Right. All the different things that they need for a trial. This is different because it’s their land or their home that they’re looking for. Making sure that everything lines up with their wants of, you know, their major points that they’re looking for and would like to do with things versus what they are just adamantly not going to want to deal with. Right. All the wants. Not once. Pros, cons. Yes. So

it wasn’t. It was more exciting than just stress. I mean, it’s the natural overwhelming, but it wasn’t stressful. They did come all at once. Yeah. All mine grouped together. Yeah. You’re like, okay, can I get a breath? So. But I have a book. Yes. Have my book in my calendar. And then usually when they’re calling, I’m looking at the showing time, checking to see what’s actually available. Because although they want at a certain time, you don’t

always get it. You have to work around seller schedules. So it was sort of easy to balance them because a lot of people, they’re good in the evenings, in the mornings. And since how this is my 100%, I don’t have to navigate another career, which is. Helps. Right. All my kids are grown, so don’t eat, y’. All. Don’t have to take y’ all to soccer, all that stuff anymore. Don’t have football and wrestling. Yeah. So now

that my life is my own, then I get to be at the whim of their needs. I love that. That’s a good way to kind of put it. When you were first starting, how did you start to figure out how to prioritize each client, even though they were all trying to do everything at the same time? Like, what did you find worked for you to make every client feel like they were your only client? It was

our timelines, what their timeline was and how fast or slow they want to go. Because each client was different. Right. We had some that were on a three to six months or they’re. They knew that they’re in their lease for a little bit longer. So we don’t have to rush, rush. Then I had those that you know, they were finally catching on at the tail end of their 60 day pre approval and they wanted now because

they didn’t want to re up a lease. Gotcha. So it really depend on the client how their prioritizing went. As far as my schedule, I was open to whatever they needed, I’m there. I haven’t found the work life balance, personal balance yet. I just because I am new and I need to get my clientele up to me that’s important. I still take my time and go visit grandbabies and do my hair and my nails. But yeah,

for the most part I’m up at 6 reading what we need to with emails, catching up, see who needs what urgently and who, who can I can send an email to and be like I will surely get back to you by the end of the day or by tomorrow. Right. You know, I’ll put that, you know on the list. I’ll go find that out for you and get back to you. So it was really what they

needed and okay, that’s good. So when you were in the thick of it and I mean obviously career is only going up from here when you were those first three, four months in, juggling 10, 8, 9 deals just within between October and Christmas time which is also like crazy time of the year, holidays, all that kind of stuff going on. What did you like do to help yourself from not spiraling? Because I feel like in this

business we can get overwhelmed very, very quick, especially when things all happen at once. Well, I had a lot of coaching from people between you guys that were my, my mentoring onboarding group and then Ms. Renee always guiding me and telling me things. But it was so exciting that it wasn’t really a spiral for me. I think it’s so new I haven’t got there yet and the it’s just going to drive me crazy. It was just

all exciting new and I’ve always been one of those if my plate is not full, I don’t know how to function. So I’m not a half plate kind of girl. If it’s not, if I don’t have the whole meal. Yes, I need sides and dessert, you know, coordinated chaos. Yeah. Okay, I love that. So we kind of touched on like how you kind of formulated yourself to be successful in those first couple of months. What systems

or what are you doing on a day to day basis that like helps you stay organized. I know you mentioned like yes, you use your calendar and you use this but like, what are you doing specifically that, you know, is like, without this, your business is not flowing. Talking to my op. So right now, Rita is my. My op. And she sees that I try to push too much and she had to just like, pull me

back. So knowing that it. She was correct and knowing my own limitations of that, it was going to get overwhelming. And when I couldn’t start or stop start meeting all the needs of everybody at the same time, and it was getting to 7 to 9, actively showing and we’re going hardcore, then I knew I wasn’t giving each one 100%. Yeah. And I don’t want to be the one that gives 75% to one person and 25% to

another. I need to be a hundred percent, all of them. So knowing that I can’t extend or expand my network because I’m on a hard pause that needs to be there, but just knowing my own limitations and. And it takes time. It takes time. You, like, sometimes you’re like, okay, I think my limit is 13. And then you get to 13, you’re like, oh my gosh. Or you get to seven, you’re like, oh, my gosh. I.

I don’t know how some people juggle at once. I do. And I want to get there like some people, because I do watch people like that and they have. They’re closing all these contracts and I’m like, I feel like the baby most definitely, because I’m like, oh, I can’t do that yet. But I feel like I would be in due time. Yeah, I would be hurting my clients more than I would be helping. And once you

find your groove, you’ll know what works and what doesn’t work. And it’s perfectly okay to be like, I have so much going on right now. Let me be grateful for this. Work what I’ve got, and then when I’m ready to breathe a little bit more, take on more, put more on my plate, then I definitely can. And it’s great to know that you have, like, the opportunity to kind of do that. So first thing you said,

you wake up in the morning, it’s about six o’ clock, ish in the morning. What is your typical day look like? Whether you’re showing clients, whether you’re just doing research, like, what does your typical day look like to kind of set the tone for whatever you’ve got going on. Opening emails and checking the dashboard, seeing what needs to be done, seeing who needs what from me first, and then sort of sliding them in open slots. If

I have some Got it. Because I need to look at the big picture. And then I’m usually checking what they need and sort of like cross referencing, you know, are these houses that they need to look at, are they available later? Can I slide them in? Who’s closing? Who do we need to do a walk through? Right. You know, who do I need to make sure that, you know, financing’s in place? So. So many moving parts.

Yes. So all the little cogs making things flow is what I’m double checking throughout the day, several times, making sure I’m not missing something. And there’s possible. It’s possible when you have so many different things going on. So. But I have little sticky notes on each one of my clients on my laptop and have dates and sort of check them off as we do things. That’s good. You gotta find what works for you. Yeah. So each

one have their own little sticky note color. And that’s what we do and go through them. And then things that get tossed in, we just sort of slide them in where I can. I have later evenings. My husband’s a great support system because he does not mind riding with me. Yeah. And seeing things. Yeah. Can’t drive right in this. But even before he would, he would go with me, especially in the evenings, whatnot. That way I

have all the time on my computer. So I’m pulling up everything about amazing every home. So I know all the questions on disclosures and stuff before we show the next one. So it is definitely pretty good to have support systems, especially when you’re transferring very vastly different career paths. So what is one thing that you found that. And this might not have even come up yet, but like, one thing that you’re doing for yourself to make

sure that you don’t do too much real estate. Because you need to find some stuff that like, you know, brings you back to yourself. Like, you know, you said you go get your hair done or whatever. Is there something that you’re doing every day to just make sure that, like, you’re still checking in on yourself? I always had my gym time. Okay. So now I have PT time and not gym time. Yeah, same thing. So. But

yeah, I’ve always done that. It’s either. It’s never the same time, which is actually good. You’re not supposed to do it same time every day, but I’d always have my gym time. And then I read at night. Good. Although I’m on a computer all day, I still like to read at night. So that’s good though. It’s just like the one thing that you can do for yourself that like rejuvenates you so you can go out and

kill it the next day. Love it. So what is one thing that you tried in these first couple of months that maybe didn’t work in terms of systems or writing this down or calling this person at this time? Like, is there anything that you’ve done that wasn’t really working? You’re like, okay, I need to pivot. I mean, there’s things that haven’t worked for certain clients. Like, I have one that’s a school teacher and her times are

very limited. So although some of those time of essence kind of things that need to happen quickly, she doesn’t have access to those. So there were some things that fell through, but it wasn’t something I could really control. Right. So. But those are things that I’m a little more mindful and learn for the next time is to try to be proactive and make sure things more than just reactive all the time. Although sometimes we can only

be reactive sometimes. Yes, unfortunately. But being proactive is something that I think a lot of agents don’t necessarily prepare themselves to do because you’re. Some agents are just like waiting around for something to fall in their lap or something to happen so then they can react. But the more proactive you are, I think that you’ve learned that it does yield success, whether it’s being proactive, waking up in the morning and getting your inbox to zero, reaching

out to clients, using your sticky notes to keep yourself organized. Like all those different types of things keep you. Yes. Keep you going. And all the scheduled emails, because that’s the time you can do all those. You can sort of look and see what needs to be done that day, who’s going to need what, and have those emails sort of sitting and ready. And I love that. Yeah. Being able to utilize technology to be our best

friend. So now that you’re a couple months in, are you starting to feel a little more like. I don’t want to say confident, but yes, confident, but also a little more stable, a little more happy with what you’ve created for yourself in terms of day to day and all that kind of stuff? I am, especially for such a big transition with careers, I think that I made absolutely the right decision. And even when I didn’t think

I did, I had people telling me that I did. Yeah, you’re like, I guess you are. From fellow staff to my husband. My husband thinks 100. Because even when I feel like I was failing him and not bringing in the money that I was supposed to or I thought we would. It’s. It’s not really. And it never really was even in healthcare about the money. It’s always been about people, which is. And such a beautiful thing

to recognize. Like that’s what you want to do. Yeah, I love that. In terms of, like you said, you mentioned you’ve got tons of support, your kids are older, they’re kind of out of the house. Do you kind of feel like because you came from something that was so super customer service base, you do have support that’s really helped you be so great in the beginning and then obviously to months and years to come, hopefully. Oh,

yes, yes. I think the support system, the training and the constant educational stuff that there is. Although I’ve been very hurt that I wasn’t able to make two of the ones that I told Britain that I wanted to learn about classes. Yes. But I’ll make them. But yes. Just the fact that there’s so much more support and know that if there’s something I’m stuck on, there’s a group of people that are there to back you here

to help. Yes. Awesome. So how do you protect, like your time and your piece? Like, at the end of the day, you still have to have your you time. Are you getting to the point where you might have to say no to a couple of things or are you still kind of like, I’m going to be a yes woman for now until I like crash or until I’m to a certain point, I organize a specific way.

So sometimes things are not available until a certain time. Yeah. And although somebody would like to see something now, sometimes the, the property is not always available, so we need to push it out to another time and day. That works for everybody. Right. And then I always offer, you know, the assistance of somebody else if I, if I can’t do what they would like exactly at the time they want. But usually everybody wants to sort of

wait and, and work around schedules and make it work out for everybody. So that’s sort of how I keep my peace, is knowing and guiding. Yes. That. That something can wait. Also knowing my clients at this point, to know what’s urgent and who’s. Versus what’s. Yes, yes. Because I feel like when you first start real estate, everything you think everything is urgent. Everything’s like, oh my God, right now. Right now. And it is really great to

have that mindset that, yes, things do need to be done in a timely manner, but once you get to a certain Point you’re like, okay, not everything needs to be done at this literal second right now. Yeah. And it’s like once you finally get there, you’re like, okay, it makes your life easier. Yes. That was. That was my initial thing. Yeah. I’m learning slowly, but, yes. Everything was. Everything was a now, now, now. But now I

know it’s more of a hurry up and wait. Yes. It’s. You have to wait for other cogs to move before you do things, and you have to sort of explain that and communicate. Yeah. Not everything can be done at that exact instance, and that’s okay. But being able to communicate, that I think is what’s super important. And like, that comes with time is being able to, like, communicate to your clients like, hey, this works. This doesn’t

work. We could do this. We can’t do this. Let’s work around, make sure everybody’s happy and you look like you’re well on your way to getting. Getting those points across, which is good. Yes. So I’m not a yes person. Yeah. What has been your biggest lesson you’ve learned thus far? Whether it’s real estate related, transaction related, or just like, how real estate works in your life? Like, what has been the biggest takeaway you’ve had in the

last five, six months? Oh, that. Not. Not everything is the same as what they teach you in the books. Yeah. That is the biggest thing is that real life things happen. And although they really try to give you scenarios and simulations. Yeah. And information in the book, it’s not always accurate. And the guidance there is not always the way it really should be or has been. So learning that and navigating that, we do a lot of

learning in real time. And when you trans. When you transition from real estate school to real time, working with clients, you almost feel like, did I learn anything? Right. Like, what did they teach me? Because granted, it’s a bunch of valuable information, but it’s like skimming the surface of what we actually deal with on a day to day basis. Yes. So it is. It is. I feel like that’s something that everyone can agree on in this

business. But now that you’ve gotten some Momentum, you’ve had 13 closed transactions thus far in six months. Yeah. October. Yeah. Six months. How are you keeping that momentum moving forward? Just trying to do more of the same. There’s been tweaks here and there with still learning processes and stuff like that and. But trying not to get upset with myself and think that I should be doing more than what I’m doing. And Just know internally that I’m

doing what I’m supposed to be doing for the clients and that I’m meeting all of their needs and expectations and giving them a hundred percent. Like, that’s top priority. Yeah. Love it. And if you had one little snippet of advice to give to newer agents, what would that be? That they probably just need to start their career with Dash. I love that. I love that. You’re not wrong. You’re not wrong. But anything else that, like, has

really set you apart from others, that you’re like, if you can do this, you’ll do great. I think knowing that it’s something that you want to do, that. Knowing that it is a people industry and it’s compromising communication and, you know, even just being nice. Yeah. Just be nice. Be yourself. Be the person your dog thinks you are. Amen. I love that. So. And seen. That was perfect. Hey, guys, thank you so much for joining us

today. And thank you so much for joining us today, Christy. I know we talked a lot about kind of new agents and how you’ve built your business so far, and we have learned so much. So thank you so much for coming out today. Thank you, guys. Yes, of course. Don’t forget to, like, subscribe, comment, do all the fun things, and if you guys have any questions about real estate, about where to start, how to start, or

if you’re already a seasoned agent and just need some guidance, throw your comments and questions below. And we would love to answer those and help you out any way we can. And thanks again for listening.