Lessons from Local Leaders:

Christian Givens

The Deal That Didn’t Close, and the Career It Built

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Every agent remembers the deal that got away. Usually it’s remembered for the commission that never came. For Christian Givens, it’s remembered for something far more valuable: the moment he realized his client could feel how badly he needed it to close, and decided that would never happen again.

That lesson became the foundation of The Givens Group, the team Christian leads across the DMV, serving buyers, sellers, and investors at every stage of their wealth-building journey. Today he’s known for an approach that sounds simple and is surprisingly rare: put the client’s needs first, be exactly who you say you are, and deliver a luxury experience no matter the price point.

Born Into It, Sort Of

Christian says he was born into real estate, and he says it like he’s only half joking. His father was a master plumber who moved into contracting when Christian was in middle school, then started flipping houses in DC, and eventually built a small portfolio of rental properties in Maryland, DC, and Baltimore. Christian grew up around it without quite being part of it.

Like a lot of people raised adjacent to the industry, he soaked up everything he could. In college he listened to the BiggerPockets podcast obsessively, learning the vocabulary, the philosophy, and the investor mindset. Then, at 22, he bought his first property in Virginia, and the experience was so genuinely positive that it planted a seed he couldn’t shake.

“She helped us identify our goal based on what we were looking for, and it was a very fun transaction because she was just fun to work with. And I was like, this is actually kinda cool. You get to just be out in the world and you’re not at a desk all day. And for me, being at a desk all day just kills my soul.”

He got his license. He quickly discovered that real estate was not, in fact, easy. And somewhere in those early days, he had the experience that would shape everything that came after.

The Lesson Worth More Than the Commission

Christian was still new in the business, and he needed the money. When a client’s transaction started to fall apart, he could feel his frustration showing. Worse, he could tell the client felt it too. They could sense that he needed this deal to close.

That feeling became his teacher.

“From that transaction, it made me realize: my need is second place to my client’s need. It doesn’t matter what I need. My job is to serve my clients. Their best interest comes first, always. My clients don’t ever need to know my financial needs. Put it to the back, no matter what.”

He describes it less as a philosophy he adopted and more as a shift that happened to him. It was the kind of change that only comes when you feel the wrong thing so clearly that you decide you’ll never feel it again. Seeing his financial anxiety leak into a client relationship permanently reordered his priorities.

Today, when a deal falls apart, Christian is genuinely fine. Not performing fine, actually fine. He isn’t relying on any single closing, so he can ask “what’s next?” and mean it. He understands now that this freedom is more than a sign of financial stability. It’s what makes it possible to truly put clients first. You can’t serve someone’s best interest when your own financial pressure is sitting at the table with you.

Who You See Online Is Who You Get in Person

Christian has strong feelings about authenticity, and equally strong feelings about the gap that sometimes exists between how agents present themselves on social media and who they are when you meet them.

“I just cringe at fakeness,” he says, with the directness that runs through his entire conversation. He has met agents with polished, engaging online personas who show up in professional settings as someone else entirely. He noticed it, and he decided he would never be that person.

“Who you see online is who you will see in person, whether it be shy me, or if I’m going through something personally where I’m just not in the best headspace. I’ll be very upfront. You’re trusting me with such a big transaction. You need to trust that I’m actually going to show up and be the person you hired.”

That commitment has a practical payoff he describes with delighted clarity. By the time a new client reaches out, they’ve already spent time with his content. They know how he talks, what he values, and what his energy is like. The first conversation isn’t really an introduction. It’s a confirmation.

And it works both ways. “Now I’m basically interviewing them,” he says with a laugh. “Because they already see who I am. And I’m just figuring out: are you not crazy? Are we actually going to close a deal? Are you a good fit?” The transparency built into every post he shares makes that two-way interview possible.

Social Media Gets Clients. Craft Keeps Them.

Christian uses social media to grow his business, and he genuinely enjoys it. He’s been doing social media marketing since a college internship and has edited video ever since. For him, it doesn’t feel like work.

But he’s just as clear about what social media can’t replace.

“Know your craft. Outside of social media, great, that’s how you get clients. But I also know my job. I know the contracts, I know how to speak, I have business etiquette. I am a professional, ultimately, at the end of the day. I’m not just a social media agent posting pretty house tours. Become a student of your craft.”

The distinction matters. The industry has made it easier than ever to look credible online without being credible in practice. Someone can build a following and win clients before they’ve developed the professional fluency to serve them well. Christian has no patience for that model. He isn’t dismissive of social media. He simply understands what it’s meant to be: the front door, not the whole house.

He’s equally passionate about reputation among peers. In this business, agents cross paths again and again, and your name travels ahead of you. How you show up with other professionals matters as much as how you show up with clients.

“Have your name be respected,” he says simply. “You can’t be one way on social media and everybody sees you differently in person.”

Connection Is the Business

Ask Christian what separates a transaction-focused agent from a client-focused one, and the word he reaches for is connection.

He knows what his clients like to eat, where they’re traveling, and how they prefer to communicate. It isn’t a technique. He’s genuinely curious about people, and that curiosity creates relationships that outlast any single transaction. He invites clients into his world too, sharing what he’s up to and where he’s headed, because the best relationships flow both ways.

“I really believe you should make an effort to connect to the core of who your client is. That doesn’t mean you’re going to click with everybody or everyone’s going to be your best friend. But for the most part, I enjoy 99% of the people I work with. And I’m always sad at the end of a transaction, because now you’re leaving.”

That sadness at closing is exactly why his client appreciation events mean so much to him. Yes, they help his business. But more than that, they keep him intentionally connected to the people who have passed through his professional life, and they give his clients a chance to meet one another.

“I believe it’s a good networking tool for my clients,” he says, “because we have clients in all these cool spheres: contracting, medical, legal. I want people to make connections, get to know each other.”

He finds real joy in watching friendships form at those gatherings. That joy isn’t a side effect of his business. It is his business.

Finding Your Lead Generation Method Without Burning Out

For agents trying to figure out how to build a pipeline, Christian’s advice is practical and refreshingly free of dogma. Test things, give them real time, and pay attention to what you enjoy.

There are dozens of ways to generate real estate business, from social media and door knocking to cold calling, FSBOs, expireds, mailers, events, and referrals. Not every method fits every person. The goal isn’t to copy what works for someone else. It’s to find what works for you, and what you can sustain.

“Find three to four things that you have the capacity to test for six months. And if you’re finding that you enjoy something more than the other thing, then focus on that. That’s the big key to avoiding burnout: doing things you enjoy.”

Social media doesn’t feel like work to Christian because, for him, it isn’t. He was doing it long before it became part of his career. That’s the signal he tells every agent to look for: the lead generation method that doesn’t feel like suffering.

What New Agents Need to Hear Before They Start

Christian’s advice for anyone thinking about getting a license is direct, specific, and worth hearing before paying the exam fee.

First, this is not a business you build overnight. Give yourself two to three years. Most agents who leave the industry do so within the first two years, largely because year one doesn’t bring enough closings to feel financially stable. If you’re going full time from the start, have six months to a year of living expenses saved. Without that cushion, financial anxiety will find its way into your client relationships, and Christian knows from experience exactly how that plays out.

Second, find a mentor who is doing what you want to do, and shadow them. Christian didn’t have that at the start, and he believes it cost him years. His business partner Keesa, who was his coach before becoming his partner, helped him see where his business was really coming from and lock in on what was working.

“I would be ten times further had I found that out the gate,” he says, with the calm of someone who has made peace with his own timeline.

“Find a mentor that is doing what you wanna do and shadow them. Have savings, at least six months to a year of expenses. Don’t be stressed about finances when you’re starting. And give yourself two to three years. This is a long game.”

A Luxury Experience at Every Price Point

The future of The Givens Group rests on one conviction: the quality of the client experience should never depend on the price of the home.

Christian wants every client, whatever they’re buying or selling and wherever they are in their wealth-building journey, to feel that a team is fully in their corner. He wants the process handled with professionalism and care, and he wants every client to walk away knowing they made the right choice. Not just a functional transaction, but an elevated one.

“I want it to be a luxury experience, no matter what price point my clients are at. So I want it truly to be elevated. I want you to know that you have a team behind you that is in your corner. And to just know that you made the right decision choosing us.”

The Deal That Built Everything

People remember how they were made to feel. That truth anchors everything Christian Givens has built.

It started with a deal that didn’t close and a client who could sense his pressure. It grew through years of learning his craft, showing up online exactly as he is in person, and treating every client relationship as a real connection rather than a transaction. Now it lives in client appreciation events where friendships begin, and in a team built to deliver something extraordinary to every person who trusts them with one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.

Faith. Family. Goals. And a commitment to showing up, online and in person, as exactly who he is.

The deal that didn’t close never paid him a commission. It gave him a career instead.

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