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After more than 20 years in Austin, Texas, Mega Agent Camp found a warm and welcoming home-away-from-home just down the road in San Antonio. Located along the city’s picturesque River Walk, the Henry B. González Convention Center proved an ideal venue for Keller Williams’ signature learning event.
While KW’s annual Family Reunion offers presentations and breakouts on topics of interest for nearly every role in real estate, MAC targets agent education and training. Main stage conversations with top-producing agents home in on specific strategies for success in the current market, while speaker presentations and keynotes address a trending topic through the lens of real estate, such as this year’s focus on AI and branding. Add in a buzzing exhibit hall with happy hours, book signings, tech demos, and vendor booths, and you have a prime environment for learning and networking.
We like to think every MAC is better than the next, but agents say it best. Read on to hear why one attendee called MAC25 “the absolute best Mega Agent Camp I’ve been to!”
The Opening Act: Market Update
In typical KW style, Tomar and the FCs brought live music and soul to the opening of General Session, where agents were dancing in the aisles by 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. The crowd stayed on their feet to welcome Gary Keller for one of MAC’s most anticipated sessions, the Market Update. Joined by VP of Strategic Content Jay Papasan, KW Head of Industry and Learning Jason Abrams, and Chief Economist Ruben Gonzalez, Gary led with the topic on everyone’s mind: the state of the U.S. economy. The takeaway? While the U.S. economy isn’t in a recession, Gary said, the real estate industry is (and has been).
The conversation focused on the Federal Reserve’s ongoing need to balance unemployment with inflation trends, with Ruben noting that “the policy you enact for one versus the other are opposites.” With employment slowing and inflation growing, the U.S. economy is in a state of “stagflation.” The bottom line, Gary said, is that shifts happen, but there’s still enough business for motivated real estate agents to get their “unfair share.”
With the economy in flux and transitions harder to come by, the Market Update naturally set the stage for a deep dive into the 12 tactics outlined in SHIFT, the proven playbook for thriving in tough markets. From building brand visibility to mastering a MOFIR, each panelist shared a one-page breakdown of their model or system, which are now available to all KW agents on Connect. If you’re an agent, these one-pagers are a major value-add, giving you an opportunity to test and adapt a model in your local market.
- Get Real, Get Right – Focus on mindset and purposeful action.
- Re-Margin Your Business – Manage expenses effectively.
- Do More with Less – Leverage resources efficiently.
- Find the Motivated – Prioritize lead generation.
- Get to the Table – Focus on lead conversion.
- Catch People in Your Web – Optimize internet lead conversion.
- Price Ahead of the Market – Use strategic seller pricing.
- Stand Out From the Competition – Implement seller staging strategies.
- Create Urgency – Overcome buyer reluctance.
- Expand the Options – Explore creative financing solutions.
- Master the Market of the Moment – Handle short sales, foreclosures, and REOs
- Bulletproof the Transaction – Address issues and solutions to ensure successful closings.
New Partners, New Personalities
In March of 2025, KWRI entered a strategic partnership with private equity firm Stone Point Capital, and MAC25 served as agents’ official introduction to the firm’s chairman and CEO, Chuck Davis. An accomplished investor and real estate expert, Chuck served in multiple roles at Goldman Sachs, including as head of investment banking services worldwide, before joining Stone Point in 1998.
The Vermont native and Connecticut resident is also an active philanthropist and accomplished lecturer — a point evidenced by his entertaining retelling of becoming a real estate investor in Manhattan while still a college student. With decades in real estate and a genuine love for the industry, Chuck told the audience the decision to partner with KW was simple: “This is the best company in this sector.”
Marketing and Branding Take Center Stage
Of course, Keller Williams knows a thing or two about working with the best. Earlier this summer, KW announced a flagship enterprise relationship with the world’s foremost marketing and design platform, Canva. Now available to KW-affiliated agents at no additional cost, the launch of Canva Enterprise across KW on Sept. 4 was a milestone in KW’s commitment to equip agents with best-in-class tools to win listings, generate leads, and grow their businesses.
It seemed only fitting that new marketing tools should usher in an era of new marketing leadership. From the MAC main stage on Day 2, Jason Abrams announced the appointment of Sandra Howard as the company’s new chief marketing officer. In echoing KW’s mission, Sandra said, “There are few industries where you can change people’s lives and build your own legacy at the same time.” Charged with accelerating the company’s growth through strategic marketing and branding, Sandra said she’s driven to “unlock the superpower of branding at KW for everyone.”
An in-depth presentation by Canva’s head of customer success, Natalie Zumino, gave a first glimpse into that superpower. Natalie demonstrated how providing all KW® associates with access to the same set of tools and templates results in streamlined marketing and brand consistency.
“Your brand is your greatest asset,” Natalie said, and great tools give you a competitive edge. When it comes to managing social posts, presentations, and video content, Natalie continued, “Creativity in real estate isn’t just a nice to have, it’s your secret weapon for winning more listings and closing deals faster.”
The Future Belongs to the AI-Enabled Agent
If you only heard one thing at MAC, it probably had to do with AI. That’s because it was hard not to hear Marcus Sheridan, the high-energy, high-volume AI expert who shared action steps for becoming the most known and trusted brand in your market by leveraging AI.
A self-described “pool guy,” Marcus grew his business from near-bankruptcy to one of the country’s largest pool installers by focusing on search engine optimization of his website content. His secret? Covering questions customers everywhere were asking, but no one else was answering. His articles addressed costs, common problems, pro and con comparisons, product reviews, and more, with one article alone generating more than $35M in sales.
But when it comes to online search in the era of AI, Marcus said, we’re no longer satisfied with a list of links. We want the simple, customized answers large language models can deliver. The takeaway: If your clients are looking to AI for answers, give the answers to AI.
Marcus shared action steps for being seen as a trusted source, by both AI and humans, that start with leaning into video and expanding your “content surface area” by turning one piece of content into many. Tools like OpusClip, Munch, VizardAI, and others can repurpose long-form content into shorter clips for social media. And Marcus advised not to get caught up in how you look, because your clients aren’t looking for perfect — they’re looking for authentic, valuable content (and so is AI).
More Talks, More Takeaways
“If you were the main character in a movie of your life, what would the audience be screaming at you to do right now?” That was the opening question of MAC keynote speaker Sahil Bloom, author of The Five Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life. Sahil challenged the audience to create a clear, visual image of what “enough” in life really looks like to them. (Not someone else’s idea of “enough,” and not an abstract dollar figure.) He called for integrating “micro space” and “macro space” into your routines — five-minute pockets of time and weekly hour-long periods to reflect on your chosen direction. Like MAC itself, these intentional moments of reflection and self-directed learning can keep you on track to realizing your vision of “enough” and living your dream life in the here and now.
Those who chose to add CEO Summit to their week’s agenda got a major dose of insight and inspiration. The event, which took place before MAC’s opening party, featured author and motivational speaker Ryan Leak, Sseko Designs founder Liz Bohannon, functional medicine expert Dr. Josh Axe, and AI aficionado Julie Holmes. One major theme emerged from the half-day session: While many of us have concerns about the integration of AI into our everyday lives, the ability to connect remains one of our greatest assets. “The future belongs to the people who truly master human connection,” Ryan said. In the age of AI, that makes the work of a real estate agent more important than ever.
Connect with your family of agents and leaders at FR26. Gain inspiration, insights, and new connections to drive your business forward in the year ahead, and experience the heart of KW culture Feb. 21-24 in Atlanta, Georgia.
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