The real estate market has felt uneven heading into Q4, and if your calendar has slowed down, you’re not the only one. Craig and Shannon look back at Q3, break down what they’re seeing across different regions of the country, and talk through what those trends could mean for real estate media companies heading into the end of 2026.

More importantly, they discuss what to do when business slows down: think in 90-day cycles, fill the funnel before you need the work, look for new ways to help your agents, and use the extra time to invest in both your business and yourself. A slower market doesn’t have to mean sitting around waiting for things to improve—it can be the time you plant the seeds for what comes next.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro 00:56 - Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 02:52 - REPP, PMRE & Spiro Sync 06:12 - Q3 2026 Market Update 07:14 - Craig Started Panicking About September 09:14 - When the September Bounce Didn’t Happen 17:49 - Breaking Down the Market by Region 18:24 - Where the Most Home Sales Are Happening 22:00 - South, Midwest, Northeast & West by the Numbers 23:34 - What the South Market Is Telling Us 24:58 - What’s Happening in the Northeast 27:06 - Why the Midwest Looks Different 29:07 - Challenges in the Western Market 30:40 - Don’t Call It Stagnant—Call It Opportunity 31:14 - Start Thinking in 90-Day Cycles 33:03 - Why Craig’s October Took Off 33:41 - Shoot the Fall Exteriors Before the Leaves Are Gone 36:19 - Use the Slow Season to Plant Seeds 37:37 - Invest in Yourself, Too 40:35 - Don’t Wait for Success to Be Happy 43:48 - Use the Slowdown Instead of Fearing It

RESOURCES:

Spiro: spiro.media

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Momentum Monday: Available on Spiro’s social channels and YouTube

Questions / Episode Ideas: hello@spiro.media

A lot of real estate media owners believe the hardest part of hiring photographers is finding someone with the same “eye” they have. Todd and Craig argue that the eye isn’t magic—it’s something you build through training, repetition, feedback, and experience.

In Part 2 of their step-by-step guide to shooting a house, they break down how WoW turns years of instinct into a repeatable system: exterior composition, framing, photo order, interior shots, working around obstructions, and the little details that create consistency across a team. They also talk about why new photographers need permission to make mistakes—and why expecting perfection too early can actually slow their development.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 04:16 - REPP, Spiro Sync & What’s Coming in Spiro 08:03 - What Hiring Another Photographer Is Already Doing for the Business 12:17 - How to Shoot a House: Part 2 14:36 - Teaching Someone How to Shoot the Front Exterior 18:02 - The “Creative Eye” Is Actually Teachable 23:22 - Show Your Photographers the Finished Product 26:50 - The Right Order to Shoot and Deliver a House 33:57 - Interior Composition: Obstructions, Framing & “Zoom With Your Feet” 38:19 - Feedback, Exceptions & Learning Through Mistakes 42:09 - The End-of-Shoot Checklist You Don’t Want to Skip

Resources Mentioned

Spiro: spiro.media

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Questions / episode ideas: hello@spiro.media

What if the best way to win new clients was to stop walking into brokerages trying to sell them something?

Colleen Kidd of Three Palms Media shares the in-person workshop strategy that has helped her build relationships with agents, brokers, teams, and some of her company’s biggest clients. She breaks down how she gets into brokerage offices, what she actually teaches, how she turns one workshop into three visits, and why giving value before asking for business has become such a powerful client acquisition strategy.

Colleen also shares how she pushed through the fear of presenting, including one brutal early experience that nearly made her question whether she was good enough—and why she kept showing up anyway.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro 00:58 - Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 03:16 - Colleen Kidd Joins the Podcast 05:23 - How Three Palms Media Grew From the Beginning 06:54 - Stop Selling and Start Teaching 09:55 - Why In-Person Relationships Still Matter 11:21 - Find the Real Influencer Inside the Brokerage 16:35 - Are You Teaching Agents to Replace You? 20:48 - How to Actually Get Into a Brokerage 22:18 - Give Before You Ask for Anything 25:34 - Colleen’s Three-Workshop Playbook 30:42 - Online Gets You Seen. In Person Gets You Remembered. 31:27 - Why This Strategy Takes Patience 37:35 - Colleen’s Brokerage Workshop Resources 41:40 - Colleen Is Bringing This to Spiro Sync 44:02 - The Presentation That Absolutely Crushed Her 46:32 - “Why Not Me?” Keep Going Anyway 48:16 - When a Competitor Tried to Hijack Her Presentation 53:11 - What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

RESOURCES:

Colleen Kidd / Three Palms Media: Instagram - @threepalmsmedia

Colleen Kidd: Instagram - @itscolleenkidd

Colleen’s Brokerage Workshop Resources: https://colleen-s-site-a57b.thinkific.com/products/courses/brokerage-workshop

Colleen’s Branding Mini Session Resources: https://www.threepalmsmedia.net/links

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Questions / Episode Ideas: hello@spiro.media

Eli Jones joins Todd and Craig for a conversation about building a real estate media business that actually supports the life you want—not one that simply keeps you busy.

Ahead of REPP 2026, Eli talks about why getting around other business owners matters, the balance between doing the work and stepping back to ask what you’re actually building, and why the hard things you choose today can create more freedom tomorrow. They also dig into this year’s REPP framework—design your future, build the roadmap, and commit to action—and why sometimes getting out of the daily grind is exactly what you need to start dreaming again.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Eli Jones: Choose the Hard Things Now 00:44 - Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 02:19 - Don’t Let the Noise Distract You From What Works 07:27 - Eli Jones Joins the Podcast 08:30 - Why the REPP Conference Exists 10:55 - REPP 2026 Moves to Orlando 11:48 - The Best Part Might Happen Off the Stage 17:19 - Get Out of the Grind and Look at the Bigger Picture 18:32 - Clouds and Dirt: What Are You Actually Building? 20:35 - Is Your Business Working for You? 22:15 - Hard Things Are Coming—Choose Them Before They Choose You 24:01 - Design Your Future, Build the Roadmap, Take Action 27:35 - From 35 People in Miami to a Real Community 29:59 - Craig: “I Had Quit Dreaming” 32:05 - How to Get the Spark Back 33:01 - REPP 2026: Dates, Events & Who Should Come 35:35 - How to Register + Spiro Discount Code

RESOURCES:

REPP Conference 2026: repplaunch.com/repp2026

Use discount code: SPIRO

REPP Questions: events@repplaunch.com

Spiro: spiro.media spiro-sync.com

Questions / Episode Ideas: hello@spiro.media

There are a thousand opinions about the “right” way to shoot a house. Todd and Craig share the system WoW has used and refined over 23 years—not because everyone should copy their camera settings, but because having a repeatable process creates consistency for clients and makes photographers easier to train.

They get into SOPs, checklists, camera settings, memory-card rotation, handheld versus tripod, and why spending too much time obsessing over tiny creative differences can keep you from focusing on the things that actually grow the business.

00:00 — Stop Sweating the Little Things 00:40 — Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 02:43 — REPP & Spiro Sync Updates 05:10 — An Update on Tony and a Different Way to Hire 11:45 — Give Your People Room to Use Their Strengths 15:08 — Why Every Photographer Needs an SOP 16:55 — The Power of a Checklist 18:39 — Why We’re Finally Talking About How We Shoot 20:18 — Inside WoW’s Photography Guidelines 25:12 — The Camera Settings That Work for Us 27:00 — Consistency Matters More Than Agreement 27:32 — The Memory Card Rule That Can Save Your Ass 31:22 — Handheld vs. Tripod: Here We Go… 36:37 — Do It, Make It Work, and Move On 39:52 — Stop Debating and Go Build Your Business 46:08 — The Real Point of the Episode

Spiro: spiro.media Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com Questions / episode ideas: hello@spiro.media

When the shoots slow down, it’s easy to feel like something is wrong. But that extra space on your calendar might be exactly what your business needs.

Craig shares what happened when getting another photographer trained finally gave him room to step back into business development—from reconnecting with current and former clients to showing up at brokerage offices and Realtor events. Todd and Craig break down why relationships take time, why you shouldn’t panic when a client leaves, and how the work you do during the slow season can create momentum for the next busy one.

00:00 — What Happened When Craig Finally Had Capacity 00:54 — Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 02:23 — Spiro Updates & Upcoming Conferences 07:28 — What Do You Do When the Schedule Slows Down? 09:04 — Tony Is Ready to Shoot Solo 18:49 — Turning Extra Time Into Business Development 22:44 — Stop Pitching Products. Start Solving Problems. 24:22 — One Realtor Open, Four New Conversations 27:49 — How a Lost Client Came Back a Year Later 33:46 — Get Out of the Car and Go Say Hello 36:40 — Growth Takes Time: Plant the Seeds Now 42:02 — Next Episode: The Numbers That Matter

Spiro: spiro.media

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Questions / episode ideas: hello@spiro.media

Revenue can look great on paper while the business underneath it is barely making money.

Todd breaks down the numbers every real estate media business owner should understand—from net profit and expenses to cost of goods and where your revenue is actually coming from. He also shares how losing $250,000 in revenue from a single client forced WoW to take a much harder look at its finances—and ultimately become a healthier business.

They also discuss what not to cut when money gets tight, preparing for the seasonality of real estate, keeping personal and business expenses separate, and why hiring a bookkeeper doesn’t mean you can stop acting as the CFO of your own company.

00:00 — The $250,000 Text Message 00:51 — Welcome to the Spiro Podcast 05:14 — The Numbers Every Owner Needs to Know 08:22 — Business Is Numbers 10:48 — What Is a Healthy Net Profit? 15:00 — Cutting Expenses Without Cutting Growth 22:12 — Understanding Your Cost of Goods 25:01 — Where Is Your Revenue Actually Coming From? 28:23 — How WoW Survived Losing Half a Million Dollars 34:05 — Don’t Spend Your Best Month Like It Happens Every Month 36:14 — Separate Your Personal and Business Expenses 38:27 — You Are the CFO of Your Business 42:34 — QuickBooks, Xero & Tracking Your Numbers

That’s about the max I’d go on chapters for this one. The episode naturally has several distinct financial concepts, so fewer than that starts lumping together things people may specifically want to jump to.

Spiro: spiro.media Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com Questions / episode ideas: hello@spiro.media

Spiro Sync is back for 2027, and Craig and Shannon are giving you the full preview of what’s changing, what’s staying, and why stepping away from the day-to-day of your business might be exactly what you need heading into a new year.

They look back at what made the first Sync special, preview the speakers, workshops, breakouts and new format for 2027, and talk about the part that’s hardest to recreate online: being in a room with other real estate media professionals who actually understand the challenges you’re dealing with. Plus, why you should consider bringing your team—and why you do not have to be a Spiro user to attend.

00:00 — When You Finally Stop Caring What Everybody Thinks 06:14 — Take a Breath: Why Spiro Sync Exists 11:47 — What We Learned From Sync 2026 14:27 — What’s Changing for 2027 19:22 — The Part of Sync Craig Didn’t Expect 24:09 — Keeping the Community Small as the Event Grows 27:30 — Speakers, Workshops & Choose-Your-Own Breakouts 31:46 — Who Should Come to Spiro Sync? 34:03 — Why 2027 Is Going to Be Bigger 36:33 — Dates, Travel, Tickets & VIP 40:00 — A Live Podcast From the WKRP Room?!

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com Spiro: spiro.media Questions / want to lead a breakout: info@spiro.media Podcast topic ideas: hello@spiro.media