Internet lead who becomes a repeat client is not a past client/SOI . The source will always be internet when looking at ROI. Getting clients to repeat is the goal to increase a sources ROI.
Million Dollar Team Principle #68 – “SOI IS DEAD”
Your Real Estate Team Is Not Kirby Vacuums, Insurance Sales, Avon, or Mary Kay – Stop Building It Like One.
"An Internet lead who becomes a repeat client is not a SOI. The source will always be the internet. Getting clients to repeat is the goal to increase a source’s ROI."
The History of SOI: An Outdated Model
The phrase Sphere of Influence has been passed down in sales for over a century.
Its origins are in the old direct-to-consumer model—insurance agents, encyclopedia salesmen, Cutco knives, and even modern-day MLMs.
The model was simple:
- Recruit salespeople on 100% commission.
- Train them to pitch to their friends, family, and neighbors.
- Burn through their warm list in a matter of weeks.
- Repeat the cycle with new recruits.
The business owner’s benefit?
They shifted all the risk. No salary, no marketing spend. Just high-margin sales made possible by exploiting existing relationships.
The average tenure of these salespeople? Less than six months.
Once their list was exhausted, sales flatlined, and they were gone.
It’s a puppy mill, and the teams that do this are suffering major retention problems.
Brokerages Are Still Stuck in the Past
Traditional real estate brokerages copied and pasted the same approach.
They promise agents “better splits” and hand them a phone. The instructions: “Go work your sphere.”
But here’s the billboard-level truth:
THIS IS NOT THE MODEL FOR TEAMS.
- It doesn’t work for retention.
- It doesn’t scale.
- It doesn’t produce sustainable ROI.
Sphere of Influence is not a long-term business model for new and aspiring agents.
When leaders push agents to survive on SOI, they create short runways that almost always end in turnover.
Nothing hurts more than being rejected by people you know. It’s embarrassing and humiliating.
Let them save face by producing leads of people they don’t know. Rejection will always be part of sales but, at least, it will come from someone they don’t know.
The Math That Matters: Repeat Clients
Let’s talk ROI.
An internet lead that closes once is good. But if that client comes back again in 7 years, the source of that business is still the internet.
That’s how ROI must be measured over the life of the client, not the life of the agent.
Here’s why this matters:
- First transaction: Profit margin may be thin or even breakeven after marketing and split.
- Repeat transaction: Nearly all profit. The cost of acquisition was already paid.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR 2023 Report):
- 89% of buyers said they would use their agent again or recommend them.
- But only 13% actually do.
Why? Because most agents and brokerages don’t have systems for follow-up and client care beyond the first transaction.
And here’s the kicker:
- The average client moves every 7–10 years.
- The average agent’s tenure on a team is 3.5 years.
That means your clients will outlast your agents.
If your business is built on repeat clients—not an agent’s SOI—you’re creating equity in the team, not just in individuals.
Why SOI is a Dead End, But Repeat is a Flywheel
- SOI model: Fast start, quick burnout, high turnover.
- Repeat client model: Long-term compounding growth, higher margins, client loyalty.
Think about it this way:
If you close 100 internet leads this year and only 10 of them repeat in 7 years, you just unlocked 10 free transactions.
If you build a system where 40% come back, you’ve now created 40 free transactions—all profit.
That is how teams scale sustainably. Not by betting on splits, not by burning through agents’ family lists, but by turning one-time clients into lifetime clients.
The Team Leader’s Mission
Your job isn’t to train agents to live off their SOI. That’s an outdated model that belongs in the history books with encyclopedias and knife sets.
Your job is to:
- Generate clients through scalable sources (internet, referrals, inbound).
- Deliver world-class service that makes clients want to return.
- Build systems that guarantee repeat and referral business, regardless of which agent handled the first transaction.
Because here’s the truth: an SOI isn’t an asset you can count on.
But a database of repeat clients is equity—it’s the most valuable thing your team owns.
✅ SOI is dead.
✅ Repeat clients are the future.
✅ And an internet lead who comes back years later? Still internet. Still ROI.
That’s the model. That’s the business. That’s the principle.
