Want to sell more homes? Think like a feminist.

My approach to most things in life is to analyze them from a systemic perspective and then take a holistic approach. It’s kind of a no brainer how approaching your clients like this, your marketing, your business plan, your listing strategies…it seems obvious how that mindset would improve not only your numbers but the quality of business you do. But, after 38 years alive I’ve learned it’s best not to assume anything is obvious so allow me to not only break it down for you today but even argue my stance. 

I’ll start with why I became a Feminist. 

Then I’ll get into how it improved my business and would do the same for yours. Growing up in an Indian household, I was never treated the same as my brothers. If we were all watching TV and it was dinner time – my mom would yell from the kitchen, “Shivani set the table.”  Arjun and Neel could stay on the couch. When I asked why I wasn’t allowed to do something the boys were doing or had done at my age the answer was always very straightforward. “You’re a girl.”  Now before you start assuming that I felt disadvantaged and adopted a victim mindset, I will also tell you that when I got to college my parents made my brothers pay my rent. “Because she’s your sister.” 

As I grew up understanding both sides of this coin of womanhood, I realized – women are special and should be treated as such. I’m not saying men are not special. I have a hard time thinking of something men do that would be the equivalent of creating, birthing and sustaining life but I do know they are good at fixing things and there are lots of the things in the world that need fixing. Fixing things is not the highest and best use of my powers so I’m grateful for men.  

I didn’t start calling myself a Feminist until I started my master’s program though. That is when I learned about the systemic ideology. The systemic approach believes that problems don’t lie within people but between them. Rather than pathologizing someone or their beliefs or even behavior as good or bad, therapists consider what purpose it serves within the system. A system can be a couple, a family, a community. Essentially, issues emerge and exist only within systems of interaction. 

This made it all come together (or maybe I should say apart) for me on the men vs. women saga.  It’s actually never been us against them. Feminism is not about hating men or even wanting to disadvantage them. Feminism is the acknowledgement that when women do better, their children do better. The family becomes better. The neighborhood improves. Then the city. The entire system improves because a part of it improved, and that part was the women. 

I find it daft not to be onboard with systems improving. Which is why you’ll often see my face become perplexed when someone says they are not a Feminist. Honestly, it makes me wonder what function their choice to not empower women serves… 

What does this have to do with real estate, Shiv?   

Happy Hour is quickly approaching I know, and we want to sound smart. The most obvious way that being a Feminist has improved my business is how the Future is Female movement I founded has opened doors for me. It’s given me opportunities to connect with people I never would have before which is always good for business and I’m not bashful about saying that.  

But the systemic approach has helped me dissect and incorporate into my mindset has been huge. When I meet with a borrower, I don’t see them as someone to sell. I see them as a component of the system. If I can help them with a specific strategy that improves their financial future, the entire community benefits. On the other hand, if interest rates are up or down – I don’t panic regarding whether that’s a good or bad thing. I see it as an interaction between the system’s parts and consider how it serves the entire system. 

So, here’s a question for you – if you looked at your marketing strategy for a new listing and consider how that served the following systems…what would you change? 

• The seller’s family 

• The seller’s neighborhood 

• The Northern Nevada real estate market 

  
  

In case you’re not following me, let’s play this out as a listing agent attempting to win the listing. As I consider pricing this home, am I only looking at comps and interior upgrades or am I considering the family’s goals as well?  How quickly do they need to sell and under what terms are they hoping to vacate?  That is a singular approach vs. a systemic approach, and I think one is clearly superior. A sophisticated realtor would consider not just the homes in the neighborhood that sold the fastest but reach out to the listing agents of those homes and ask what their seller’s priorities had been and whether they were ultimately accomplished. Then consider how your new listing will impact the neighborhood plus how the neighborhood will impact your listing. Ultimately, the listing may be one home in Reno but it’s a piece of the entire real estate market and if the realtor could identify its function within that market, the marketing would be next level. 

I’m worried I’m still going too high level so let me break this down even further. 

If you have a listing coming on in a certain neighborhood, you would likely be inclined to share a listing video highlighting the home’s beautiful features. That’s nice but it’ s a singular approach. Alternatively, you could consider that home not as a single piece of real estate but as a part of a greater system – the neighborhood. Then you would market it as such, showing a video where the viewer could see where they would walk their dog in the neighborhood. Which coffee shop they would start going to. Their new Pilates studio and the local happy hour spot for Fridays. Now you haven’t just marketed a home, you’ve sold a lifestyle which even the most traditional real estate coaches would tell you to do.  

And that’s how embracing Feminism will make you a better realtor. And here’s how a Feminist would discuss this week’s news with their friends over drinks this afternoon:  

Let’s start with the Fed, because per usual they can’t agree with themselves right now. Fed officials are arguing in public again...some are hawkishly warning against more rate cuts (Bostic, I see you 👀), while others are begging for relief for the labor market. 

A Feminist Realtor doesn’t pick a side; he/she zooms out and looks at the system. He/she knows that while the headlines scream “rate uncertainty,” our job is to spot where stability actually exists. Hint: in the client’s goals, not the central bank’s drama. When you build your strategy around people and systems, not ego and noise, you become the source of calm. 

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment data shows Americans are… fine. Not optimistic, not panicking… just cautiously meh. The Feminist take? People don’t need more hype; they need more context. That’s what we provide when we stop oversimplifying the market into “good or bad” and start educating clients through the nuance. 

And let’s talk about how technology’s disrupting the game again. iBuyers like Opendoor are back and growing. Realtors either see that as a threat or an opportunity. A Feminist sees it as another system shift. One that rewards emotional intelligence and adaptability. The clients who sell to a platform want speed, simplicity, and control right? What if you could offer those same things while still being human? That’s what systemic thinkers do. 

We adapt without losing empathy. We stay data-informed without becoming transactional. We hold multiple truths at once. That’s Feminism in action, and that’s what the real estate industry needs right now. 

Which is why I’m throwing another Future is Female on November 18^th here in Reno. You can save the date, or better yet – sponsor a table so you can invite your clients and remind them that you don’t only engage with them when it involves a commission check.