A pop-by is a small, useful or fun item, delivered in person with a short visit, or left at the door with a handwritten note. It takes two minutes. It says: I thought of you.

It is not a sales pitch with a gift attached. It is not a payment for referrals, and it should never feel like one. It is not expensive. The value is in the showing up, not in the price tag.

The three parts of every pop-by

1. The item. Inexpensive, seasonal, and ideally useful.
2. The line. A short, slightly corny tag that ties the item to the moment. Corny is fine. Corny is memorable.
3. The visit. Two minutes, one real question about their life, and then you leave. Leaving first is a gift too.

You can't pop by everyone, and you shouldn't try. Start with fifty.

Go through your phone, your past clients, your sphere. Look for people who know you, like you, and talk to a lot of people: the friend who knows everyone at the school pickup, the past client who hosts every holiday, the barber, the coach, the neighbor who runs the group chat.

Sort them into two tiers

• A list (about twenty): your closest relationships and your best connectors. They get a pop-by every month.
• B list (about thirty): warm, but less frequent. They get a pop-by every other month, plus a call or a note in between.

Choose people by relationship only. Never add, skip or sort anyone by who they are (their family status, faith, background, disability or anything like it). Fair housing starts long before a listing, and it starts with who you choose to serve.

You need four columns and nothing more: name, last touch, next touch, and notes.

Notes are where the magic is. The dog's name. The new job. The kid who just started college. Next time you visit, you ask about the thing that matters to them, and that is what makes the check-in feel like friendship rather than marketing.

Keep notes kind and appropriate. Write only what you'd be comfortable with them reading over your shoulder.

Put the list where you already work: your CRM, a board, or a simple sheet. Sort by "next touch" every Monday and the week plans itself.

Here is a starting calendar. Change anything. The only rule is that every month has all three parts decided before the month begins.

And the signature move, any month: a box of donuts on a Friday morning. "Donut forget, I'm always here to help." It's in the workshop's name for a reason.

Keep themes seasonal and welcoming to everyone rather than tied to any one holiday or faith.

Pop-bys fail when they're improvised. They work when they're batched.

• Buy once a month. One order for the whole month's items. Keep a set budget per person and stick to it.
• Prep in one sitting. Items, tags and notes assembled at the kitchen table in under an hour.
• Route by geography. Group your list by neighborhood and do one area per afternoon.
• Block the time. Two afternoons a month on your calendar, treated like an appointment.

Before you start, ask your broker whether your brokerage has a policy on client gifts, and follow it.

You have two minutes. Spend them on them.

Then leave. That's it. No market update unless they ask. No "if you know anyone." Leaving while they're still enjoying the conversation is what makes them glad to see you next month.

If nobody's home, a handwritten note on the tag does the same job. Sign it with your first name.

Most of your visits should have no ask at all. But a few times a year, with the people closest to you, it's right to say it plainly. Fifteen seconds, no pressure, easy to answer.

Notice the shape. "I'm not sure if" takes the pressure off. "Would you be opposed" makes "no, not at all" the easy answer, and "no" here means yes.

Live, this is the Cornhole Pitch Competition: make the shot, nail the pitch. Self-paced, practice it out loud ten times until it sounds like a thing you'd actually say.

Live, this workshop opens with a game: every agent gets a "farm" and must start five genuine conversations before the session ends. Self-paced, your farm is your week.

Your mission

1. Pick five people from your A list.
2. Start a real conversation with each: a pop-by, a call, a coffee. One question about their life, and listen to the answer.
3. Write one note per person afterward.
4. Put the next touch on your calendar before you close the list.

If you farm a neighborhood as well, choose it by geography and serve every door the same way. Who you knock on is decided by the map, never by who lives there.