The Podcast Guest List Every Agent Should Build: Who to Interview

A realtor should interview people who serve the same households, can send or open deals, and talk well on a microphone. The ICONS Podcast Framework sorts them into four categories: industry experts, community heroes, successful clients and adjacent pros. Keep 30 to 50 of those names on a scored guest list, so every podcast booking also builds your referral network.

This guide is for agents whose show is already running. If you’re still booking your first episodes, start with booking the first ten guests for a new show, then come back once the early favours from your sphere run out.

Who should a realtor interview on a podcast?

A realtor should interview guests from four categories, because each one brings something different to the show and to the business. The table shows what each category gives listeners and what it gives you once the microphone is off.

Category	Who it means for an agent	What listeners get	What your business gets
Industry experts	Lenders, inspectors, attorneys, appraisers, builders, property managers	Clear answers to money and process questions	Partners who meet your clients before or after you do
Community heroes	Nonprofit leaders, coaches, shop owners, event organisers, school volunteers	Local stories people share with neighbours	Visibility in circles that never see your listings
Successful clients	Past buyers and sellers, investors you’ve helped, relocation clients	A real move told by the person who made it	Social proof plus their friends and family as listeners
Adjacent pros	Agents in other markets, financial planners, movers, designers, contractors	Practical tips one step away from real estate	Two-way referrals and introductions to their networks

Each category has its own playbook on this site. Lenders, inspectors and other partners are covered in the referral-partner podcast episode playbook. Clients have their own rules in past client interview episodes, including what to clear for testimonials. Agents in other markets get the corridor format in interviewing agents in other markets.

Why build a guest list instead of booking one guest at a time?

A guest list turns booking from a weekly scramble into a pipeline you can see, score and steer. Without one, most hosts book whoever answers fastest. That’s how a show ends up with five lenders in a row. Nobody from the neighbourhood gets a seat.

The list also answers a business question: who do you want in your network a year from now? Every name on it is a person you’d like a reason to call. The episode is that reason. The ICONS Podcast Framework puts it as “One 25-minute conversation. Three wins”: you get a relationship and content, the guest gets a stage and reach, and the audience gets real value.

The best-known example is from before a show was even public. During pre-launch production, Shae Spitz recorded a conversation with a fellow agent. That agent later brought her into a development deal, which her published client story calls a 330-listing opportunity. The guest was on her list because of who they were, not how many followers they had.

How do you score a podcast guest before you invite them?

Score each podcast guest from 0 to 2 on four signals, then add a business-value point, and invite the highest totals first. The four signals come from the ICONS Podcast Framework’s guest phase: substance, articulation, alignment and commitment.

Commitment is the signal most hosts skip. It’s also the one that costs you a recording slot. A brilliant guest who never shares the episode gives your show half the value. Ask on the invite call whether they’ll post it, and note the answer.

Once a name scores high, prepare them properly. The podcast guest prep guide covers the pre-interview and the questions to send ahead. For question sets by guest type, use the interview questions for each guest type or the free interview question generator.

How should you balance the guest list across a year?

Balance the guest list so no single category takes more than about two in every five episodes, and each category appears at least once a quarter. A show made only of lenders sounds like an ad. A show made only of local cafés sounds pleasant but sends you very little.

Treat the mix as a starting point. After six months, look at where your conversations, referrals and introductions actually came from. Shift the list toward that category, but keep the others alive so the show doesn’t narrow into one topic.

Where do realtors find names for the guest list?

Realtors find most guest names in places they already have access to: closing files, vendor lists, their sphere and their past guests. Start with the people who touched your last 20 transactions, then widen.

• Your closed files. Every attorney, inspector, lender, stager and contractor on a recent deal is a candidate.
• Your clients’ own businesses. Past clients often run something interesting. A client episode about their bakery is easier to book than a testimonial.
• Your guests. End every recording with one question: “Who else should I talk to?” Write the answer down before the call ends.
• Local organisations. Chamber events, school foundations, sports leagues and charity boards are full of community heroes.
• Guest directories. The ICONS Hub has a guest directory that, in the framework’s words, “surfaces pre-vetted guests fast.”

Once you’ve invited someone, send them a short, specific ask. “I’d like to talk about the three repairs buyers argue about most” works better than “Would you come on my show?”

Which guests should stay off your list?

Keep anyone off the guest list whom you wouldn’t refer to a client today. An episode works like an endorsement. Listeners hear you asking good questions and assume you trust the person answering.

Three more groups need care:

• Settlement-service providers who want to pay. Lenders, title companies and similar businesses may offer to sponsor or pay for a slot. The CFPB’s RESPA rule on kickbacks, 12 CFR 1024.14, bars paying or taking anything of value for referring settlement business. Clear any such deal with your broker before it’s recorded.
• Competing agents in your own market. They get your audience and you get little back. Agents elsewhere are a different case, as the table above shows.
• Guests who only want to pitch. If the invite call is all about their offer, the episode will be too. Score their articulation and commitment low and move on.

Community episodes have one more trap. When a guest describes an area, keep the talk about places, amenities and events, not about who lives there. Fair Housing rules apply to what you publish, so check anything borderline with your broker.

How do you keep the guest list working every month?

Keep the guest list working by reviewing it once a month for 20 minutes and moving every name to its next status. A list that nobody touches goes stale within a quarter.

1. Add. Write in every name your guests and clients suggested this month.
2. Score. Run each new name through the 0–2 sheet.
3. Invite. Send invites to the top scorers until the next four to six recordings are booked.
4. Follow up. After each recording, send the episode, then a thank-you, then a reason to talk again. The after-the-interview follow-up plan has the timing.
5. Tag the result. Mark who referred, introduced or partnered with you, so next month’s list leans toward what works.

Use statuses in a spreadsheet or your CRM: idea, scored, invited, booked, recorded, followed up. Six columns is enough. What matters is that you can see at a glance which relationships the show is building and which ones have gone quiet.

Next step

Build the first version of your guest list this week: ten names per category, scored on the sheet above. If the booking itself is what keeps slipping, ICONS podcast production includes guest booking: the team finds and books your guests and handles the scheduling. For more on what running hundreds of agent shows has shown about guests and consistency, read what producing real estate podcasts has taught the ICONS team.