A fake agent talking to his dead dad became the GOAT recruiting video

The best agents don't lose listings because they stopped working.

They lose them because the seller stopped seeing the work.

Every unanswered question, every quiet week, every "I'm sure hope they're doing something" is where trust erodes.

Not in a blowup. In a slow fade.

This week's B.I.T.S. is about making sure that never happens to you.

Here’s what is on this week’s B.I.T.S. agenda:

🏆 [B]est in Class: A Navy vet made the funniest listing Reel of the year
💡 [I]deas That Work: 4-step price reduction script that gets you off the hook
📈 [T]raffic & Attention: This home for sale has a living room that’s a bridge
🔔 [S]eller Signals: "How long will it take?" is the new "How much?"

Let’s dive in 👇

Shane Burgman (@shaneburgman) is a Space Coast listing specialist who closes 60+ deals a year.

He's also one of the funniest agents on Instagram, and this Reel is a masterclass in using comedy to build credibility.

The premise: Shane plays a brand-new agent "talking" to his deceased father Interstellar-style, catching him up on life.

He dropped out of college. He's at RE/MAX. He negotiated a "really sick split" 70/30. His broker, Martha, said maybe he can get to 35 next year if he keeps hustling.

He decided to become a luxury agent because "that's where the money's at."

He shows off his blazer. It's from Old Navy. Then a Zillow lead calls, and he has to go.

It's 60 seconds of every agent cliché packed into one character, and it's devastatingly accurate.

One million views and 18k+ likes later, it has become his most viral piece of content.

Shane didn't invent the format. He borrowed it from a non-real-estate creator (whom he tagged) who did the same "hey dad, it's me" monologue concept.

But what Shane did was translate it into the specific language of the industry, and that translation is what made it a hit.

Why this works on two levels

As comedy: Every line lands because it's something agents have actually seen. The negotiated split that's still terrible. The pivot to luxury with zero experience. The pocket square from Old Navy. The Zillow lead treated like a winning lottery ticket.

Shane isn't mocking anyone in particular. He's naming the patterns everyone recognizes, but nobody says out loud.

As positioning: This is the part most agents miss. By playing the clueless new agent, Shane is quietly drawing a line between that character and himself. He doesn't have to say, "I'm experienced, I'm strategic, I close 60 deals a year." The joke says it for him.

Every laugh is a trust deposit. Every cliché he names is one his audience knows he'd never commit.

That's the real play. Humor isn't just entertainment; it's a credibility shortcut. When you can name the thing your audience is skeptical about, and make them laugh at it, you've proven you see what they see. And that's the foundation of trust.

How to apply this (even if you're not a comedian)

You don't need Shane's delivery to use this strategy. You need his instinct to spot the industry behavior that makes sellers roll their eyes and name it before they do.

Start here: What's the most common complaint sellers have about agents? Now make content that agrees with them.

"Things your listing agent should never say at a showing" (then say all of them, deadpan).

"POV: your agent's 'marketing plan' is just posting the listing to their Facebook friends."

The format Shane borrowed works because it's a known template with built-in emotional resonance.

The "letter to dad" structure gives the comedy a container, and the sentimental framing makes the punchlines land harder because the audience doesn't see them coming.

Takeaway: The agents who earn the most attention right now are the ones willing to say the thing out loud. Shane's Reel works because it's honest about the industry wrapped in a joke, and honesty, even comedic honesty, is what stops the scroll.

Monday ✅

One more thing about Shane.

Beyond the comedy, beyond the 60+ deals a year, one of the things that stood out to us was a Reel he posted recently, walking through his weekly seller reporting process using Beacon.

No script. No pitch. Just a listing agent showing how he sends reports to his sellers every Friday, Zillow views, ad performance, video stats, showing data, all pulled together in under 10 minutes.

His line that stuck with us: "It's gonna make you look like you're actually doing an incredible job, which I hope you are."

That's the whole point. You're already doing the work. Beacon just makes sure your sellers see it.

If you want to see what Shane's talking about, you can try Beacon free for 7 days, send one report to a seller, and let their reaction tell you whether it's worth it.

Today: A Navy vet made the funniest listing Reel of the year
Tomorrow: 4-step price reduction script that gets you off the hook
Wednesday: This home for sale has a living room that’s a bridge
Thursday: "How long will it take?" is the new "How much?"

See you Tuesday,

- Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin