Episode 712: The Secret “H” Rule That Skyrocketed My Real Estate Referrals - Your Daily Real Estate Podcast with Tristan Ahumada

Summary4 min read

Episode Overview

Podcast: Your Daily Real Estate Podcast with Tristan Ahumada
Episode: 712: The Secret “H” Rule That Skyrocketed My Real Estate Referrals
Host: Tristan Ahumada
Date: November 11, 2025
Theme:
Tristan Ahumada introduces a powerful, multi-part model he uses to generate referrals and deepen connections with clients and his sphere of influence. This episode focuses on the first element of the “HOP” model, specifically the “H” — which stands for “Home” and details strategies for creating brand recall by delivering physical touches to clients’ homes. The next episodes will cover “O” and “P”.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction to the HOP Model (00:00 – 01:05)

Tristan shares his proven model, “HOP,” for real estate success in 2026.
The model is broken down over three episodes: H (today), O (next episode), and P (final episode).
The approach is effective for online leads and one's existing database but works especially well when focused on the core group: past clients and sphere who already know you by name and participate in community events.

2. The "H" in HOP: Meeting People at Home (01:05 – 04:15)

Definition:
- “H” stands for connecting with your core people at home by sending them physical items.
- Tristan emphasizes: "What's going to their home? ... I order stuff on Amazon and I look forward to opening up the box. It’s that simple.” [01:30]
Why Physical Touches Matter:
- Physical mail and gifts create brand stickiness and recall because clients hold, see, and interact with your brand in their personal space.
- “Turn the living room, kitchen counter and mailbox into low pressure billboards for your expertise.” [02:13]
- This tangible connection means clients think of you before they need a real estate agent.

3. Examples of “H” Implementation (04:15 – 07:30)

Pop-bys:
- Small gifts or items dropped off at client homes.
Client Giant:
- Tristan recommends this service for regularly sending gifts to top clients.
Magazines & Newsletters:
- Some agents send quarterly magazines; these are anticipated by recipients.
- Newsletters often include QR codes that offer neighborhood directories, coupons, or hiking trail tips.
Postcards & Physical Mail:
- Regular mailings keep you top-of-mind.
DIY Gift Baskets:
- Some agents make personalized gift baskets for their best clients and hand deliver them.
- “One of my agents goes to, what is it, Cost Plus, which is World Market. She goes there and makes these gift baskets and then drops them off to her top, top, top clients.” [05:54]
Personalized Drop-Ins:
- Giving a heads-up via text before stopping by with a gift fosters stronger connections.

4. The Importance of Routine and Authentic Connection (07:30 – 08:45)

Making home touches a routine part of your business cultivates lasting relationships and ensures your brand is both familiar and trusted.
“You've got to give something to actual people where you can stop by and they can see it, they can feel it, or you can mail it to them. That's number one. Remember, this is H for meeting people at home.” [07:59]

5. What’s Next

Tristan wraps up by reminding listeners this is just the first piece of the model.
- “Remember this piece, though, this is one piece of three, so you're going to have to pay attention to the rest of them.”
Teases the next episode covering “O”.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Turn the living room, kitchen counter and mailbox into low pressure billboards for your expertise. When homeowners physically touch or see your brand inside their own walls, you become the familiar face they trust long before they need an agent.”
– Tristan Ahumada [02:13]
“I order stuff on Amazon and I look forward to opening up the box. ... I like gifts. I like things coming to my house and taking a look at them.”
– Tristan Ahumada [01:35]
“Those pop-bys that you can do, those companies like Client Giant ... little gifts, little reminders, right?”
– Tristan Ahumada [04:26]
“One of my agents goes to ... World Market. She goes there and makes these gift baskets and then drops them off to her top, top, top clients. ... She does it throughout the year.”
– Tristan Ahumada [05:54]
“You've got to give something to actual people where you can stop by and they can see it, they can feel it, or you can mail it to them. That's number one.”
– Tristan Ahumada [07:59]

Important Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction to the HOP Model
01:05 – Deep dive into the “H” (Home) strategy
02:13 – Key concept: turning homes into low-pressure billboards
04:15 – Practical examples (pop-bys, mailers, gift services)
05:54 – Personal stories and DIY gifting
07:59 – Final motivational points on routine and authenticity

Summary

In this episode, Tristan Ahumada kicks off his “HOP” model for boosting real estate referrals by detailing the importance of “H” — connecting physically with people in their homes. By delivering tangible gifts, newsletters, or mailers to core clients and your sphere, you create powerful touchpoints that breed loyalty and top-of-mind recall. This approach, rooted in authenticity and thoughtful routine, is the first step in Tristan’s three-part framework, setting the stage for the next episodes on the “O” and “P” elements of “HOP”.

Stay tuned for the next daily episode, where Tristan dissects the “O” in HOP.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
I have this model for you that I'd like you to follow so that you could succeed for 2026. And it's something that I used over the years. In fact, I still use it to do very well. But it's multi pronged. There are three big pieces to this and I want you to follow along. It's Hop, H, O P. And it will set your world, your real estate world on fire in a great way. So get ready. I'm Tristan. This is your daily real estate. It's a podcast, It's a show. 5 minutes, 10 minutes. It's always on. Something you need to hear for your business. Today we're going to be talking about Hop, and I'm going to break this down into three different segments. Today is H, the next day is O, and the last day is P. In fact, I have this in my book. I outlined it in detail. The book is Real Estate Prospecting by Tristan Aomata. That's me. And the idea behind H is really thinking about all of the different types of touches that you can connect with for the people that you're trying to reach now. Hop can be used for online leads. It can be used for your database at large. What we saw that worked at an extremely high level, that gave us a lot of referrals, is that we focused on our past clients, like our core past clients, those that know us by name at the supermarket and our sphere that knows us by name, like they like us. They show up to the community events, they show up to the things we invite them to. That's the core people that I want you to focus on for Hop. So when you're looking at H, it means your brand, your brand is going to be meeting them at home. That means whatever you're sending out, H specifically is well, out of everything that you're doing. Real estate agent, what's going to their home? Because I don't know about you, I order stuff on Amazon and I look forward to opening up the box. It's that simple. I like gifts. I like things coming to my house and taking a look at them. And if it's not gifts, gifts, I like things that come through the mail. I'm like, oh, is this cool or not cool? Let me throw it in the trash. The point is something a few things that you send out that you connect with with the people that are your core people has to be in their house. And for me, that's number one. H, meeting people at home. This is episode 712. If you need this, this is part one of three 7 12, 713 and 7 14. We're going to go over this. So here's the core idea. I'm just going to read this to you from the doc and from my book, right? Turn the living room, kitchen counter and mailbox into low pressure billboards for your expertise. When homeowners physically touch or see your brand inside their own walls, you become the familiar face they trust long before they need an agent. Now remember this piece, though, this is one piece of three, so you're going to have to pay attention to the rest of them. But this one, physical items, they create this stickiness and it's a really nice brand recall because when you're thinking about the things that you're getting, especially if it's a gift, those pop buys, I'm going to give you examples now. Those pop buys that you can do, those companies like Client Giant that you can use to order things that go out to your top clients routinely. Little gifts, little reminders, right? I know some of my agents at Y Realty send out this magazine that goes out to our agents. And some of our, some of those clients that receive that magazine, like they look forward to it every quarter. And on top of that, they're also sending out an actual physical newsletter. Those do very well too, because on the newsletter there's a QR code and it invites people to download whatever it is that they're giving. Is it a directory, is it a coupon, whatever. Get to know the neighborhood. Here are the best hiking trails. Then on top of that, different postcards. Like what, what's going out to their actual house. I know some agents door knock and do pop buys with random gifts. If you've got time to do that and you don't want to use a company like Client Giant and you love going to companies. Like one of my agents goes to, what is it? Cost plus, which is World Market. She goes there and makes these gift baskets and then drops them off to her top, top, top clients. I think she's only got 20 or so. So she does it throughout the year. Like, this is the type of stuff that you're, you're supposed to start thinking of doing routinely because there's a connection that happens with when you text somebody and you're like, hey, Joe, not sure if you're here or around, but I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna be stopping by the neighborhood. I've got this little gift basket for you and your family or for you, for you or for you and your wife, right? Or for your wife. Whatever it is. The point is, you've got to give something to actual people where you can stop by and they can see it, they can feel it, or you can mail it to them. That's number one. Remember, this is H for meeting people at home. Now, it's a lot deeper than this, but at least it gives you a gist of what to expect when you're hopefully you're going to dive into the book Real Estate Prospecting Order on Amazon. If not, at least you get an idea. And tomorrow we're going to go over o have an awesome day.