The Solo Agent Coach

The Playbook

Twenty years of selling homes, in seven chapters. Each one tells what actually happened to me, quotes me where I've said it publicly, and ends with something you can try this week.

Not sure where to start? Take the scorecard.

  1. 01Start from zeroHow I built a network in a city where I knew no one.
  2. 02Price it to sellData, honesty, and why I'll lose a listing before I overprice it.
  3. 03Market like yourselfFind the one channel that fits you, and own it.
  4. 04The daily rhythmRun, plan, and out the door by nine.
  5. 05Train like an athleteGoals, bad days and the long game.
  6. 06Serve firstWhy the numbers follow the people.
  7. 07The life around itFive kids, track meets and a business that fits.
Monika smiling in an open doorway

Chapter 01

Start from zero

When I started selling homes in 2006, I was new to Cincinnati and didn't know anyone. In a market this competitive, that's a real handicap.

I wasn't born and raised here. I had no high school friends to call and no college network to lean on. So I built one, slowly, in the places I already spent my time.

What I did

  • I stayed involved in my church and my community, especially through sports and coaching.
  • Those places let me see friends, past clients and future clients every week, in a social setting where friendly conversation did the work that marketing usually tries to do.
  • I kept showing up, even after a first year with one sale. The next year, I sold five.

“To build a network of people who trust you was the biggest challenge but also the biggest blessing. They become your family.”

Cincinnati Real Producers, 2020

Try this week

  1. Write down every community you already belong to: school, gym, church, team, neighborhood.
  2. Pick one and show up every week, as a member first and an agent second.
  3. After each visit, note the names and one detail about each person you talked to.
Monika standing with her arms crossed on a deck

Chapter 02

Price it to sell

Every seller wants more money. My job is to price the home correctly and get it sold.

I've always priced with data and told people the truth, even when the truth costs me the listing.

How I price

  • I use a lot of data: the property itself, its updates and local home values.
  • I price homes at their value, at the price that will sell.
  • If a seller insists on a number the data won't support, I'm willing to walk away.
40

days on average for my listings to close, at 98% of list price.RE/MAX News, 2017

Why it pays off

One businessman hired me to sell a difficult property on a corner lot and then buy a new home in a golf community. He told me that out of all the agents he'd used in 17 moves, I was the only one who was right on target with pricing. By 2017 he had sent me eight referrals.

That's why my past clients tell people, “Call Monika, she'll tell you the way it is.”

“I tell people the truth. I don't promise something I can't deliver.”

RE/MAX News, 2017

Try this week

  1. Before your next listing appointment, write down the price you'd defend with data, and why, in one sentence.
  2. Practice saying that number out loud, kindly and plainly.
  3. Decide ahead of time where you'll walk away, so you don't decide under pressure.
Monika peeking over a copy of her Thinking of Selling Your Home magazine

Chapter 03

Market like yourself

When you're new and building name recognition, the traditional tactics work: billboards, mailers, networking, even ads on grocery carts. Sooner or later, though, you have to find the one channel that fits you.

“Find the system that works best for you, be it mailings, networking, Chamber of Commerce meetings, golfing or something else – and own it.”

RE/MAX News, 2017

Golf, for the record, was never my channel. As I put it once: “No one would want to be my client based on my performance on the golf course!”

What fits me

  • Community. Church, coaching and my kids' sports put me in front of people regularly, in conversations that don't feel like marketing.
  • Pieces with my name and face on them, like my “Thinking of Selling Your Home?” magazine and flyer.
  • A phrase people remember. I say “Let's Make It Happen” so often that a client, an attorney, told me to trademark it. So I did.
Monika holding up her Thinking of Selling Your Home flyer
My “Thinking of Selling Your Home?” flyer, with “Let's Make It Happen!” on the front.

Try this week

  1. List every marketing channel you've tried and how many real conversations each one started.
  2. Pick the one that feels most like you, and commit to it before adding anything new.
  3. Put your name, face and a way to reach you on everything you hand out.
Monika tying her running shoe on a wooded trail

Chapter 04

The daily rhythm

I treat real estate like a marathon. The routine that built my business starts with a run.

This is how I described my days in a 2017 interview:

  • I run every morning. That's when I think about my day and plan what's ahead.
  • The run builds my energy, enthusiasm and attitude before I start work.
  • I'm in my car by 9 a.m. and out all day, focused on showings and closings.
  • I keep going until the job is done, even if that means a 10 p.m. appointment.

“I don't look at real estate as my job. It's my passion. I get up every morning and am excited.”

Cincinnati Real Producers, 2020

Try this week

  1. Protect the first hour of your day for movement and planning, before email.
  2. Write tomorrow's appointments down before you go to bed.
  3. Group your showings and closings so your best hours go to clients.
Monika celebrating with her arms up in front of a soccer goal

Chapter 05

Train like an athlete

Before real estate, I ran track and field for my country. That's where I learned how goals actually work.

“When you try to make the European championship or nationals, you have a goal and you go after it. I apply the same principle to the real estate business. The bad days don't stop me from pursuing my dreams and my goals.”

Cincinnati Real Producers, 2020

How I use it

  • Set the goal, then work toward it every day, the way you'd train for a race.
  • Expect a slow start. I sold one house my first year, and I never gave in to the thought of quitting.
  • Let lost deals go. When a listing doesn't happen, I accept it and move on with my work.

“Faith is important to me, and if God chooses to close the door on a potential listing, I accept that there's a reason for it. I just move on with my work.”

RE/MAX News, 2017

My advice to new agents hasn't changed: “Keep going! Never give up!”

Try this week

  1. Write one goal for this year as a number you can track.
  2. Break it into a weekly target, the way an athlete breaks a season into workouts.
  3. When you lose a deal, write down one thing you learned, then move on the same day.
Monika smiling and holding a pie in a kitchen

Chapter 06

Serve first

For me, real estate has never been about the numbers. It's about people.

I sell about 100 homes a year, and over the years that adds up to thousands of people helped. Each one is a family making one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

What serving looks like

  • Honest advice, especially on price, even when it isn't what someone wants to hear.
  • Being there when people need me, including evenings.
  • Treating clients the way I treat my family. I like serving my family and taking care of their needs, and I apply it to my clients.

“I think my best gift is that I love people.”

“I was called to serve and be there when people need me. The numbers will follow.”

Cincinnati Real Producers, 2020

Try this week

  1. Call a few past clients this week just to check in, with nothing to sell.
  2. Ask every client one question about their life that has nothing to do with the house.
  3. Write down one thing you did this week that went beyond the transaction.
Monika relaxing with a book on a white sofa

Chapter 07

The life around it

I'm a mom of five. My kids are my why.

With five kids, there are always track meets and cross-country meets on the calendar. I've coached cross country and track for more than 15 years, and I don't just watch: I run the workouts with the kids, pace them, and do long runs and speedwork on the track with them.

Running is still how I unwind. And every summer, my kids go to Europe so they understand the culture and the language.

“It's always a circus. I love this business and I love the excitement.”

Cincinnati Real Producers, 2020

Try this week

  1. Put your family's fixed events on the calendar first, before any work.
  2. Schedule your own training like a client appointment.
  3. Pick one thing outside work that recharges you, and protect it.

Sources

Every number and quote on this page comes from these published sources:

  • RE/MAX News, “Top 100 Tips: Keep At It – Real Estate's a Marathon” (February 2017)
  • Cincinnati Real Producers, featured producer profile (October 2020)
  • PRWeb, “Top Ohio RE/MAX Agent Monika DeRoussel Joins eXp Realty” (March 2020)
  • RealTrends Verified agent profile, 2025 sales data
  • deroussel.com