What do you think?
Rate this book
SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WALL STREET JOURNAL BUSINESS BESTSELLER USA TODAY MONEY BESTSELLER "Tough times make or break people. My friend Gary teaches you how to make the tragic into magic. Read & reap from this great book."
--Mark Victor Hansen, Co-creator, #1 New York Times best selling series Chicken Soup for the Soul
Co-author, Cracking the Millionaire Code, The One Minute Millionaire, and Cash in a Flash . Author, Richest Kids in America "Real estate buyers and sellers have to SHIFT their mindset to new and more creative strategies in this challenging real estate market. This book shows them excellent ways to survive and thrive."
--Robert Allen, author of the New York Times bestsellers Nothing Down, Creating Wealth, Multiple Streams of Income and The One Minute Millionaire. "Change happens. It's natural. It's ever present. It's reoccurring. So when markets shift you need to as well. No one explains this better in the real estate industry than my good friend Gary Keller and his team of talented co-authors. Their latest book, SHIFT, is perfect for all real estate professionals. It captures the very essence of a shifting housing market and what Realtors need to do to thrive therein. SHIFT will help you alter your focus and your actions to ensure that you get your head back in the game and increase your market share, irrespective of strong or weak market conditions. It's a great book – read it today."
--Stefan Swanepoel, author of Swanepoel TRENDS Report, 2006-2009 "Need help weathering the storm in today's real estate market? If so, reach for Gary Keller's new book, Shift -- it's the lifesaver you need today to thrive tomorrow. Shift is rich in easy-to-understand strategies, charts, and illustrations that show you exactly what you need to do to thrive in today's very challenging and 'shifted' real estate market."
--Bernice Ross, Inman News The Millionaire Real Estate Series
More than 1,000,000 copies sold!
SHIFTS happen… Markets shift, and you can too. Sometimes you'll shift in response to a falling market, and other times you'll shift to take your business to the next level. Both can transform your business and your life. You can change your thinking, your focus, your actions, and, ultimately, your results to get back in the game and ahead of the competition. The tactics that jump-start your business in tough times will power it forward in good times. No matter the market-shift! SHIFT explores twelve proven strategies for achieving success in any real estate market, including
--Mark Victor Hansen, Co-creator, #1 New York Times best selling series Chicken Soup for the Soul
Co-author, Cracking the Millionaire Code, The One Minute Millionaire, and Cash in a Flash . Author, Richest Kids in America "Real estate buyers and sellers have to SHIFT their mindset to new and more creative strategies in this challenging real estate market. This book shows them excellent ways to survive and thrive."
--Robert Allen, author of the New York Times bestsellers Nothing Down, Creating Wealth, Multiple Streams of Income and The One Minute Millionaire. "Change happens. It's natural. It's ever present. It's reoccurring. So when markets shift you need to as well. No one explains this better in the real estate industry than my good friend Gary Keller and his team of talented co-authors. Their latest book, SHIFT, is perfect for all real estate professionals. It captures the very essence of a shifting housing market and what Realtors need to do to thrive therein. SHIFT will help you alter your focus and your actions to ensure that you get your head back in the game and increase your market share, irrespective of strong or weak market conditions. It's a great book – read it today."
--Stefan Swanepoel, author of Swanepoel TRENDS Report, 2006-2009 "Need help weathering the storm in today's real estate market? If so, reach for Gary Keller's new book, Shift -- it's the lifesaver you need today to thrive tomorrow. Shift is rich in easy-to-understand strategies, charts, and illustrations that show you exactly what you need to do to thrive in today's very challenging and 'shifted' real estate market."
--Bernice Ross, Inman News The Millionaire Real Estate Series
More than 1,000,000 copies sold!
SHIFTS happen… Markets shift, and you can too. Sometimes you'll shift in response to a falling market, and other times you'll shift to take your business to the next level. Both can transform your business and your life. You can change your thinking, your focus, your actions, and, ultimately, your results to get back in the game and ahead of the competition. The tactics that jump-start your business in tough times will power it forward in good times. No matter the market-shift! SHIFT explores twelve proven strategies for achieving success in any real estate market, including
336 pages, Hardcover
First published August 12, 2008
335 people are currently reading
1612 people want to read
About the author
Gary Keller
59 books1,034 followersProfessionally, Gary’s ONE Thing is teaching. He excelled as a real estate salesperson by teaching clients how to make great buying and selling decisions. As a real estate sales manager, he recruited agents through training and helped them build careers the same way. As co-founder and chairman of the board, he built Keller Williams Realty International from a single office in Austin, Texas, to one of the largest real estate companies in the world by using his skills as a teacher, trainer, and coach. Gary defines leadership as “teaching people how to think the way they need to think so they can do what they need to do when they need to do it, so they can get what they want when they want it.”
An Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and finalist for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year, Gary is recognized as one of the most influential leaders in the real estate industry. He has also helped many small business owners and entrepreneurs find success through his bestselling books The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, and SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times. A book, after all, is just another way to teach, but one with an infinitely large classroom. As a business coach and national trainer, Gary has helped countless others realize extraordinary results by focusing on their ONE Thing.
Unsurprising to those who know him, Gary’s single greatest achievement is the life he’s built with his wife, Mary, and their son, John.
An Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and finalist for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year, Gary is recognized as one of the most influential leaders in the real estate industry. He has also helped many small business owners and entrepreneurs find success through his bestselling books The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, and SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times. A book, after all, is just another way to teach, but one with an infinitely large classroom. As a business coach and national trainer, Gary has helped countless others realize extraordinary results by focusing on their ONE Thing.
Unsurprising to those who know him, Gary’s single greatest achievement is the life he’s built with his wife, Mary, and their son, John.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
December 19, 2018
Another great book by Gary
The Shift is another great book by Gary
The millionaire Real Estate Agent focuses on the big picture of starting in the industry to the steps and processes for netting millions. In this book Gary gets more granular and spends a majority of the pages giving advice to make it through a shift, but also to make it though any market
Overall, this is a great book to read, and if the millionaire real estate agent is worth reading once a year, this is worth reading twice a year
The Shift is another great book by Gary
The millionaire Real Estate Agent focuses on the big picture of starting in the industry to the steps and processes for netting millions. In this book Gary gets more granular and spends a majority of the pages giving advice to make it through a shift, but also to make it though any market
Overall, this is a great book to read, and if the millionaire real estate agent is worth reading once a year, this is worth reading twice a year
September 29, 2011
12 tactics for our new real estate market is great. There's no way an agent can't be successful in today's real estate markets if they read and implement the ideas shared in this book.
January 27, 2015
Across North America, many real estate agents tout the quality of the information in SHIFT, and for good reason. It is within the pages of Keller's book you find his description of what the market shift is and what your personal shift is to react to it. Keller outlines the cyclic market shifts and presents the 12 tactics you can use to negotiate your way through the turmoil. Keller's thesis is that as real estate agents, it is important to manage your behaviour in the sales trough while waiting for the next peak to occur. The result is being able to align your client's and your own economic expectations against the present market volume. Keller details the oscillation of inventory between a buyer's and seller's markets and outlines the anatomy of national and local shifts, all the while providing definition of each type of shift.
It is the laws of equilibrium in the markets Keller explains and gives the reader the means to react and exploit the shifts, providing agencies with the resilience to withstand the hardships of the market. Once described, the 12 tactics are spelled out by Keller, giving you the mental tools you'll need to prepare for shifts. What stands out across Keller's 12 tactics is like the shifts in the market, you require shifts in your plan of attack. Static use of the "tried and true" is a recipe for failure. It is these tactics that help elevate your sales game and enrich your selling experience. This reaction of a Mental Shift to respond to the Market Shift allows agencies to be resolute in a fluctuating market.
The use of a "Plan B" is vital to Keller. He dictates not only is a Plan B necessary to have, it is necessary to action. What differentiates the success from the failure is the presence of a plan of action that provides you as an agent with a way out of tight market situations, and implementing the plan accurately. Keller's tactics are fundamental in getting your Plan B together. Plan B will be different for different agents in different markets, times and abilities, and Keller helps define the overall steps for the action plan, allowing you to formulate your own strategy. Keller's process outlines how to do more with less resources in a drier market, and let go of your belief of what "should" be done traditionally.
Keller's section on the management and generations of leads is what makes this book, getting you to move past the need to aquire any lead and wait for the appropriate lead. Keller challenges you to discard what you have traditionally done and analyze objectively the best means to garner leads within your current economic paradigm. Depending upon the gravity of the situation, the plan will probably be more outside the box. The section describing how to take lead generation six steps further is one of the most thought-provoking sections for people who believe that burying a sign in a yard is what constitutes "lead generation". The steps that follow are not only logical and have been sitting in front of all of us are inspiring.
Keller also provides tips on conversation steerage, using helpful language to close sales more consistently. This coupled with managing pricing ahead of the market and "pricing persuasion" are new items you can add to your sales arsenal. Add to this Keller's discussion on time and task management to help you organize your time and work more effectively on what's important. Keller also takes time to describe the best ways to time selling and home positioning so the market does not trap the seller underneath the market.
Keller's style is conversational in nature, making this an interesting and easy read that you'll find hard to put down. His analysis of the market and how to manage it gives both a holistic view of the overall market behaviours as well as a granular look at the day-to-day processes that can be used to come out on top no matter what the circumstance. Upon completion of this book, you'll come to the conclusion that SHIFT means "sales".
It is the laws of equilibrium in the markets Keller explains and gives the reader the means to react and exploit the shifts, providing agencies with the resilience to withstand the hardships of the market. Once described, the 12 tactics are spelled out by Keller, giving you the mental tools you'll need to prepare for shifts. What stands out across Keller's 12 tactics is like the shifts in the market, you require shifts in your plan of attack. Static use of the "tried and true" is a recipe for failure. It is these tactics that help elevate your sales game and enrich your selling experience. This reaction of a Mental Shift to respond to the Market Shift allows agencies to be resolute in a fluctuating market.
The use of a "Plan B" is vital to Keller. He dictates not only is a Plan B necessary to have, it is necessary to action. What differentiates the success from the failure is the presence of a plan of action that provides you as an agent with a way out of tight market situations, and implementing the plan accurately. Keller's tactics are fundamental in getting your Plan B together. Plan B will be different for different agents in different markets, times and abilities, and Keller helps define the overall steps for the action plan, allowing you to formulate your own strategy. Keller's process outlines how to do more with less resources in a drier market, and let go of your belief of what "should" be done traditionally.
Keller's section on the management and generations of leads is what makes this book, getting you to move past the need to aquire any lead and wait for the appropriate lead. Keller challenges you to discard what you have traditionally done and analyze objectively the best means to garner leads within your current economic paradigm. Depending upon the gravity of the situation, the plan will probably be more outside the box. The section describing how to take lead generation six steps further is one of the most thought-provoking sections for people who believe that burying a sign in a yard is what constitutes "lead generation". The steps that follow are not only logical and have been sitting in front of all of us are inspiring.
Keller also provides tips on conversation steerage, using helpful language to close sales more consistently. This coupled with managing pricing ahead of the market and "pricing persuasion" are new items you can add to your sales arsenal. Add to this Keller's discussion on time and task management to help you organize your time and work more effectively on what's important. Keller also takes time to describe the best ways to time selling and home positioning so the market does not trap the seller underneath the market.
Keller's style is conversational in nature, making this an interesting and easy read that you'll find hard to put down. His analysis of the market and how to manage it gives both a holistic view of the overall market behaviours as well as a granular look at the day-to-day processes that can be used to come out on top no matter what the circumstance. Upon completion of this book, you'll come to the conclusion that SHIFT means "sales".
April 21, 2020
Fantastic book. I thought it would be the right time to read this book. I got into Real Estate and this virus hit, it's almost comical if it weren't so tragic. Regardless of the time, everyone is subject to a major event that will demand that they shift, to survive. Shift or die, are the options when embarking in Real Estate. and in life.
With so many things out of our control, adapting is something that is in our hands. Anyone looking for some ways to change their approach, particularly in Real Estate, this is a must-read. As a new agent, this book gave me a plan and things I have to have in order so that I can withstand a crisis. A big take away for me was, that the first thing to shift has to be spending. Or else you'll bleed out before the market turns again. It's a game of surviving the initial impact and gearing up for when the market turns around, and the market always turns around.
I encourage anyone in any area of business to read this book. It is a book for Real Estate agents and brokers, but the lessons can be applied to any other line of work. It is when things are down that you can actually show your worth.
With so many things out of our control, adapting is something that is in our hands. Anyone looking for some ways to change their approach, particularly in Real Estate, this is a must-read. As a new agent, this book gave me a plan and things I have to have in order so that I can withstand a crisis. A big take away for me was, that the first thing to shift has to be spending. Or else you'll bleed out before the market turns again. It's a game of surviving the initial impact and gearing up for when the market turns around, and the market always turns around.
I encourage anyone in any area of business to read this book. It is a book for Real Estate agents and brokers, but the lessons can be applied to any other line of work. It is when things are down that you can actually show your worth.
April 27, 2020
Shift is a great playbook for what a real estate agent needs to do during a shift in the market. I suspect at this time a lot of agents are going back to read this one given where this pandemic may take us. The advice really should apply to agents just about all of the time, maybe aside from moving to a REO, forclosure market which is certainly cyclical.
If I were to take 'One Thing' (Thanks Gary) from this book, it would simply be to double down on what you should already be doing. There will be less volume in the market so you are going to have to work twice as hard. That is going to weed out a lot of weaker agents. When the market shifts again, those who are used to working at 2X speed will find themselves with a lot more business as they grab market share doing what needs to be done in a thin market.
This is where the real players are made. The world isn't ending. It's just changing, and we're all going to have to step up.
If I were to take 'One Thing' (Thanks Gary) from this book, it would simply be to double down on what you should already be doing. There will be less volume in the market so you are going to have to work twice as hard. That is going to weed out a lot of weaker agents. When the market shifts again, those who are used to working at 2X speed will find themselves with a lot more business as they grab market share doing what needs to be done in a thin market.
This is where the real players are made. The world isn't ending. It's just changing, and we're all going to have to step up.
November 26, 2025
The core message of Shift is that a successful career isn't about adapting to a changing market.
It's about making deliberate, strategic shifts in your business model when conditions get tough.
When the market moves from easy to challenging, you must move from reactive waiting to proactive positioning.
The book details 12 essential shifts, but the biggest takeaway is this: You must focus ruthlessly on inventory and expenses.
This means doubling down on Lead Generation and focusing on Seller Listings to control inventory. Simultaneously, you must get hyper-vigilant about Expense Management and finding the money.
Ultimately, Shift teaches that the best defense against a difficult market is an intelligent, disciplined offense built on fundamentals.
It's about making deliberate, strategic shifts in your business model when conditions get tough.
When the market moves from easy to challenging, you must move from reactive waiting to proactive positioning.
The book details 12 essential shifts, but the biggest takeaway is this: You must focus ruthlessly on inventory and expenses.
This means doubling down on Lead Generation and focusing on Seller Listings to control inventory. Simultaneously, you must get hyper-vigilant about Expense Management and finding the money.
Ultimately, Shift teaches that the best defense against a difficult market is an intelligent, disciplined offense built on fundamentals.
April 18, 2020
Shift was a pretty good read. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t anything great in it. I’d also be lying if I said I liked it as much as Millionaire Real Estate Agent. I’m not sure if there’s something more step by step out there or not, but the practical wisdom in this book is to pare down expenses. How do you cut below zero? The book felt overly aspirational. Could be the malaise. I dunno.
July 12, 2017
Very thorough book about closing deals. I like the idea of anticipating problems that will occur in each step and to keep in contact with the client after contract and before closing. Having the agent talk to the lender of the buyer to confirm funds is also a good idea.
December 14, 2017
Always good to keep your head in the game! Some good advice for navigating the shifts in real estate and how to stay on top of client's needs. We are currently in a seller's market, so much of this does not apply atm. But, I still found some great pieces here in any market.
March 25, 2018
My friend Andrew Gave me this book because our team talks about it all the time. It was pretty insightful for how to keep calm, when the market starts to shift, and how to coach our clients at that time.
August 3, 2019
I don’t see any reason to not give it 5 stars. Covers the basics for any agent looking to thrive in a down market. If anything, it could have used more personal stories (I have Gary Keller’s “Your First Home” in mind), but even the little snippets you get in here are enough.
November 18, 2020
Achieve a higher level of success by reading and applying the principles in SHIFT. The truth is that markets SHIFT constantly, professionals go to where the market is going. Inspiration and insights that transform businesses and lives. Karen Briscoe, author and podcast host 5 Minute Success
December 24, 2020
A must read for every Realtor, even if you aren't drinking the KW koolaid. Gary Keller explains how to have a real estate business, not just how to practice real estate. Needs a bit of updating to stay with the changes in technology and within the industry itself.
May 30, 2022
A very good book for real estate agents on what to do in shifting markets or any kind of market. Great tips and strategies on how to keep your business afloat even during tough times. Highly recommend.
October 25, 2017
A great book chalked full of principles to prepare any agent as they manage their way through a market shift.
November 7, 2018
Worth reading again and again!
October 20, 2019
As with “the millionaire real estate agent” by the same author, this book has nothing much to offer. There are many better reads.
March 29, 2020
One of my favorites and worth a revisit.
April 13, 2020
Excellent. How to turn problems and excuses into opportunities to serve clients better than before.
May 12, 2020
Great to read and re-read to stay ahead of the SHIFTING markets!
August 5, 2020
Old school excellence!
September 9, 2022
Because life is an inside first, outside second experience.
Currently reading
January 22, 2023Third time reading this. Excellent resource for the current real estate market.
December 12, 2023
Excellent insight on developing the right mindset, taking the right actions, and producing the right results in a real estate market that is shifting. JNG
May 27, 2025
Great book about how to thrive in a shifting market. Cutting cost and doubling down on what’s working. Good ideas of pricing in slow markets and how to work with buyers as well.
February 4, 2025
This is a good book in understanding market cycles for real estate and the correlations it has with other basic economic indicators such as interest rates.
January 24, 2013
This was a great book to read at the start of the new year when it is time to get back into good business habits to have a successful year. Whilst for the past year we appear to be shifting into a better market for business, the advice in this book was useful nonetheless. In it Keller sets out 12 tactics in detail to move an agent’s real estate business forward especially in tough times. The only criticism I have is that is an American book and so some things are not familiar in the Canadian market.
January 5, 2009
So far an excellent, excellent book on what a real estate broker should do during a downturn. Complete with scripts and things to focus on, this is my favorite of the 3 books by Gary Keller that I have read.
I will re-read or complete the millionaire real estate agent after I complete reading this book.
It is the best book on real estate sales that I have read so far this year. A must for any broker to read.
I will re-read or complete the millionaire real estate agent after I complete reading this book.
It is the best book on real estate sales that I have read so far this year. A must for any broker to read.
January 29, 2009
Excellent book.
If you are a Realtor or in any kind of real estate investment environment you will enjoy this book.
I like Gary Keller. I knew him when he started the Keller-Williams franchise.
He is a brain and a thinker.
The book gives 12 things to do...some of the you know, some may surprise you
If you are a Realtor or in any kind of real estate investment environment you will enjoy this book.
I like Gary Keller. I knew him when he started the Keller-Williams franchise.
He is a brain and a thinker.
The book gives 12 things to do...some of the you know, some may surprise you
March 27, 2012
Absolutely essential tactics for the real estate professional, whether in the shifting market, or any time. These tactics make you more efficient, more purposeful, and more professional. These tactics can be applied to most sales jobs, and many other lead based businesses. Organized, compelling, and well-written.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews