The "Ask to Get in the Room" Strategy That Accelerated a Real Estate Career

Why Wendy Forsythe's biggest regret reveals the one career move most professionals never make—and how asking for access changes everything.

STOP WAITING FOR INVITATIONS THAT NEVER COME

"I wish I would have asked to get in more rooms earlier on in my career. I saw rooms often that I probably didn't feel like I belonged there. Looking back, I never even thought to ask."

Wendy Forsythe has one major career regret. It's not a business decision or market timing. It's simpler and more actionable than that.

She wishes she had asked to be in more rooms.

As CMO of eXp Realty, Wendy's career reads like a highlight reel—from weekend real estate license to 100+ sales in year one, youngest brokerage owner in Nova Scotia at 25, taking a company public during a pandemic. But when I asked about lessons learned, she immediately went to opportunities she didn't pursue because she never thought to ask for access.

That insight alone changes how you should think about career advancement.

THE ROOM STRATEGY THAT CHANGES TRAJECTORIES

Here's what Wendy figured out: Most career-defining opportunities happen in rooms you're not automatically invited to. Executive meetings. Board discussions. Acquisition conversations. Strategic planning sessions.

The people in those rooms aren't necessarily smarter or more qualified. They just asked to be there.

"I would encourage people—if there's opportunity, look for opportunities more, and if they're not coming to you, go find them."

Think about that. The CMO of one of the largest real estate companies in the world says her biggest career accelerator would have been asking for access to opportunities earlier.

While everyone else networks and hopes to be noticed, successful professionals systematically ask for access to rooms where decisions get made.

HOW TO ACTUALLY GET IN THE ROOM

Identify the Rooms That Matter Not every meeting matters for your career. But some do. The strategic planning sessions. The acquisition discussions. The executive presentations. The board meetings. These are where trajectories change.

Wendy's specific regret: She could see these important discussions happening but assumed she didn't belong. The assumption killed opportunities.

Find the Gatekeepers Every important room has someone who controls access. Sometimes it's obvious (the CEO, the board chair). Sometimes it's less obvious (the executive assistant, the committee organizer).

The key insight: These gatekeepers are people, not position descriptions. You can have conversations with people.

Make Direct Asks This is where most professionals fail. They hint. They hope. They wait for invitations.

Successful professionals ask directly: "I'd like to observe the strategic planning meeting to understand how these decisions get made. Would that be possible?"

The worst that happens? They say no. The best that happens? You're in a room where your career gets redefined.

WHY THIS WORKS WHEN NETWORKING DOESN'T

Traditional networking feels transactional. Room requests feel different because you're asking to learn, not to get something.

When Wendy looks back at her career progression—from agent to brokerage owner to executive to CMO—the leaps happened when she was exposed to higher-level thinking and decision-making processes.

Those exposures didn't happen accidentally. They happened when she said yes to opportunities that stretched her understanding of how business actually works.

The professionals who advance fastest aren't necessarily the most talented. They're the ones who systematically expose themselves to higher-level thinking by asking for access.

WHAT WENDY WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY

If she started over, Wendy would make one specific ask per week. Not for a job or a favor. For access to observe how decisions get made at levels above her current position.

"Can I sit in on the budget planning meeting?" "Would it be possible to observe how the acquisition discussion unfolds?" "Could I attend the board presentation to understand what investors care about?"

Most people never ask these questions because they assume the answer is no. But Wendy's career shows that assumption costs you years of advancement.

WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU'RE IN THE ROOM

Getting access is only half the strategy. What you do once you're there determines whether you get invited back and whether the experience actually accelerates your career.

Listen More Than You Speak Your goal isn't to prove you belong—it's to understand how decisions actually get made at that level. Pay attention to what questions get asked, what data matters, what concerns drive the conversation.

Wendy's observation from her IPO experience: "You learn just a whole other language. It's a whole other messaging of the business. When you're talking to investors, you're talking about different things than when we're talking to our agent stakeholders."

Each level of business operates with different priorities and vocabulary. Room access gives you that education.

Ask One Strategic Question Don't dominate the conversation, but do engage meaningfully. Come prepared with one thoughtful question that shows you're processing the discussion at the right level.

Instead of: "How can I help?" Try: "What factors would change this decision?" Or: "What would investors want to see differently here?"

Follow Up With Value After observing a strategic discussion, send a follow-up note that adds value. Maybe you found relevant data. Maybe you have perspective from your current level that informs the decision.

This isn't about showing off—it's about demonstrating that room access translates to business value.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ROOM ACCESS

Most professionals don't ask because they're waiting to feel "ready." Here's what Wendy learned: You don't get ready by preparing in isolation. You get ready by exposing yourself to higher-level thinking.

"I think that sometimes it takes more time and I would say that if you knew me 20 years ago you may not say I've done it successfully—it's taken time to learn that."

Every executive was once someone asking to observe. The difference between those who advance and those who don't often comes down to who's willing to ask for access before they feel qualified.

The rooms aren't looking for perfection—they're looking for people who can think at the level the business requires.

COMMON OBJECTIONS AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

"I'm not senior enough" Neither was Wendy when she started asking. Room access is how you become senior enough.

"They'll think I'm overstepping" Frame it as learning, not positioning. "I'd like to better understand how these decisions get made so I can be more effective in my current role."

"What if they say no?" Then you ask someone else or ask for access to a different room. No changes nothing about your current situation.

"I don't know what I'd contribute" Your job isn't to contribute—it's to observe and learn. Make that clear in your request.

ROOM ACCESS BEYOND YOUR COMPANY

This strategy works outside your organization too. Industry conferences, board meetings of organizations you support, advisory sessions for startups, strategic planning sessions for non-profits.

Wendy's career benefited from exposure to different types of business thinking—from brokerage operations to franchise systems to public company requirements to tech company growth strategies.

Each room taught her something different about how business works at scale.

The key is consistently seeking access to conversations happening one or two levels above your current understanding.

MEASURING YOUR ROOM STRATEGY SUCCESS

Track your room requests like any other business metric:

• Requests made per month

• Access granted percentage

• Insights gained per room

• Follow-up opportunities created

• Relationship building outcomes

After six months of consistent room requests, you should notice a shift in how you think about business problems and opportunities. That's when you know the strategy is working.

After a year, you should see tangible career movement—new opportunities, expanded responsibilities, or advancement discussions.

THE COMPOUND EFFECT OF ROOM ACCESS

Here's what makes this strategy powerful: Each room you access makes the next request easier. You start understanding how different parts of the business connect.

You begin speaking the language of higher-level decision-making.

Eventually, you become someone who naturally gets invited to important conversations because you've demonstrated that you can think at that level.

Wendy's progression from agent to brokerage owner to executive to CMO didn't happen because she waited for each promotion. It happened because she consistently exposed herself to thinking beyond her current role.

BEYOND THE ROOM STRATEGY

This conversation with Wendy covered much more than room access—her expired listing system that generated 100+ sales in year one, how she built a brokerage from 6 to 46 agents by creating her own talent pipeline, the difference between mentors and sponsors, taking a company public during a pandemic, and transitioning from entrepreneurship to executive leadership.

But the room strategy stood out because it's immediately actionable and addresses the biggest barrier to career advancement: waiting for permission instead of asking for access.

Your next career breakthrough isn't hiding in better performance or additional credentials. It's hiding in rooms where you can observe how decisions actually get made at the level you want to reach.

The question isn't whether you're qualified to be in those rooms. The question is whether you're willing to ask.

What room are you going to ask for access to this week?

Here's to getting in more rooms,

Leo