We hear you, really we do. Nobody wants to feel humiliated just to get leads. But what if I told you rock star Beverly Hills agent Ben Bacal used door knocking to land clients like Leonardo DiCaprio and even knocked on Keanu Reeve’s and Grant Cardone’s doors? You’d want to learn more, right? Well, you’re in luck! 

In this article, I go over everything you need to know about door knocking for real estate, including the best scripts and 15 door-knocking tips to get more leads. I’ll wrap up with my 2 cents on whether or not door knocking is still effective after the pandemic.

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The Best Door Knocking Scripts for 2022 (+ Video Examples)

1. Ben Bacal’s Beverly Hills Door-knocking Scripts

If you’ve been an agent for more than a few months, chances are you’ve heard of Ben Bacal. He’s one of the most successful luxury agents in Beverly Hills—he sold a Bel Air home for a record-breaking $94 million and has sold homes to Matt Damon, Ellen DeGeneres, and Madonna.

What most agents don’t know is that Ben Bacal got his start in real estate door knocking. Here are Ben’s general door-knocking script and the script he uses for “drive knocking” mansions with gates and intercoms:

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General Door-knocking Script:

“Your house is amazing. If there is any possibility of bringing a buyer your way, would you be interested in selling?”

Drive Knocking Script:

“Sorry to bother you, but my client saw your property on Google Maps and you can’t see it from the street. You probably don’t want to sell it but maybe you do, she is a serial entrepreneur you’ve seen on TV. She’s looking for a property in the range of XX-XX. Maybe you can let me see your property to see if it might work for her.”

2. Sean Moudry’s Door-knocking Script for Listing Agents

Trying to come up with a value proposition to justify knocking on a stranger’s door on a Sunday morning isn’t easy. The best value proposition you have as an agent is a track record of success selling homes in their neighborhood. So if you have a recent listing that received multiple offers, print them out, black out the personal information, and put together a mini-presentation you can use as a talking point. Now that you have a reason to be there, here is a script you can use from Sean Moudry:

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“Hello, sorry to bother you. My name is [your name] and I am the listing agent for the property down the street [point in the direction of the property]. We received multiple offers [waive the printed contracts in front of them] and, of course, we can only accept one. The home sold well above asking price and these other buyers are still looking for a home in [neighborhood]. Who do you know who would like to sell their home in this HOT MARKET?”

3. Monica Carr’s Beginner’s Door-knocking Script

Coldwell Banker agent Monica Carr went from broke to earning a million dollars in real estate through building a brand and door knocking. The script she used was dead simple, but highly effective. First, because it gave her a valid reason to knock on a stranger’s door, and second, because it built enough curiosity to spark conversations with homeowners. Here is her script from her TomX talk:

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“Hi, I’m Monica. Your neighbor just sold their home for $1.5 million. What did you think of that price? Did you get a chance to see it at the open house? That one sold for multiple offers. There are still people out there who want to live in your neighborhood. For the right price, would you consider selling your home?”

You can hear Monica explain her script in more detail and share her inspirational story in her TomX talk How to Earn $1 Million in Real Estate in 4 Steps with Absolutely NO BUDGET below, which has been viewed over 700,000 times.

4. Eri Hass’ Market Report Door-knocking Script 

A former music industry executive, Eric Hass started his real estate career door knocking in one of the most expensive cities on earth— Los Angeles. While most agents probably think door knocking million-dollar homes would be pointless, Eric disagrees. Here’s how he framed the issue in his interview with Mike Sherrard: “Luxury doesn’t mean $#$%, it’s just another zero on the price, and those people need to sell too.” 

Like Monica’s script, Eric’s script is simple, friendly, and offers homeowners something to be curious about to spark conversation. Here is the script:

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“Hi, it’s Eric Hass, I’m with EXP Realty and I’m stopping by with a housing update on [your farm area], keeping you dialed in with what’s going on with quarter one versus quarter four, and I’m stopping by to see if you have any questions or interest in moving anytime soon.”

Watch Eric explain his script and go over his best door-knocking tips in his interview with Mike Sherrard here:

5. Micah Mruwat’s Home Valuation Door-knocking Script

Real estate coach and former EXP Managing Broker Micah Mruwat is another industry thought leader who is bullish on door knocking. Like the other agents here, Micah starts off by introducing herself and wraps up by offering something of value that will stir curiosity and spark a conversation.

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“Hi, my name is Micah Mruwat from EXP Realty. I promise I won’t take much of your time, I just want a couple of seconds—did you realize that a home just a few houses down just sold for $50,000 over asking price? I don’t know if you have any interest, but I am an expert in the area if you’d like a free valuation of your home.”

Watch Micah explain her script in more detail and go over other door-knocking tips in her video here:

16 Door-knocking Tips to Get More Leads in 2022

1. Don’t Ask for Business, Offer to Help 

Chris Linsell, Senior Staff Writer/Real Estate Coach, Theclose.com 

One of the biggest mistakes new agents make when door knocking is trying to hard-sell total strangers on their doorstep. Unless you have a stellar track record in their neighborhood, this will turn off most homeowners. Instead, focus on how you can help them. The distinction is subtle, but important. Check out Chis Linsell’s video below for a quick run-through of his door-knocking strategy and why it works.

2. Don’t Forget to Bring Your Door Hangers

One of the best leave-behinds you can use when door knocking are door hangers. Simply put, they have one of the best returns on investment (ROI) of anything you can print and put in front of your leads. Full stop.

Illinois Coldwell Banker Broker Danielle Procopio agrees:

“Never miss the opportunity to ‘touch’ a lead. If no one is home, we’ll leave a laminated door hanger with a personalized message and attempt to connect with the homeowners at least four times, and then mail them a neighborhood market analysis. Always follow up with a letter, postcard, phone call, and so on. You want to be seen as the neighborhood expert.”

You can get gorgeous custom-designed door hangers as well as social media templates, business card templates, and more at Lab Coat Agents (LCA) Marketing Center. LCA Marketing Center is similar to Canva, but everything they offer was designed for and by top-producing Realtors. The difference in quality is massive.

Visit Lab Coat Agents Marketing Center

3. Don’t Try to Close the Deal on Their Doorstep

The cardinal rule of any real estate lead generation strategy is to only focus on moving relationships to the next step. In the case of door knocking, that next step is generally either a phone call, being added to a direct mail or drip campaign, or if you’re really lucky, a listing presentation.

While you may be eager to close deals, pushing too hard for goals that are unrealistic is a surefire way to get a door slammed in your face. Sure, you want to seem confident and maybe even a little bit hungry to close, but most people instantly turn off when presented with a “sales pitch,” no matter how good it is. This is especially true when you’re standing on their doorstep on a Sunday morning.

So do yourself a favor and save the hard sell for your listing presentation or better yet, when you’re finally writing an offer for your buyer. Instead, focus on just moving the ball down the field. What next step do you realistically want your homeowner to take with you? A phone call? A visit to your open house? Focus on that and you’ll have much better luck knocking doors.

4. A Small Compliment Can Go a Long Way in Building Rapport

A compliment, if it’s sincere, is one of those ice breakers that has probably worked since the last ice age and will continue to work for a thousand years. So the next time you’re out door knocking, try to find something genuine to compliment the homeowner on.

Cindy Trotier, a Coldwell Banker agent from Illinois, uses small compliments to break the ice with homeowners whenever she can.

“When prospecting, it’s important to find common ground with the potential client, and complimenting them on their home goes a long way. Start with: ‘Nice yard, you certainly have a green thumb,’ or ‘Those are beautiful flowers.’ Make the conversation about them, not you. Additionally, share something of value along with your business card (e.g., market area report). Ultimately, you want to build relationships first.”

5. Leverage Your Brokerage’s Success if You’re a Newer Agent

Another hard and fast rule of lead generation is that you need to have something on the table that your leads actually want. That can be something as abstract as a conversation or advice, or something as concrete as a well-researched comparative market analysis (CMA) or market report.

If you feel like you have nothing to offer, then you’re doing it wrong. Just by virtue of having access to your MLS, you have more information at your fingertips than the average homeowner. It’s just a matter of packaging that data in creative and useful ways. Why not hire a virtual assistant to put together 20 CMAs for homes in a neighborhood you want to target?

Sure, that will cost you money, but how many other agents are going the extra mile like that? As Close Contributor Beverly Ruffner always says: You only need to be a little bit better than the competition.

But you don’t even need to go this far. Instead, you can just leverage your brokerage’s success. Many large brokerages like Douglas Elliman create market reports specifically for their agents to use as marketing pieces. A hot-off-the-press market report can be very useful for homeowners who may not be paying attention to the market … YET.

Just remember that data on its own is cheap these days. The real value comes from analyzing and packaging that data in ways that are useful to your potential customers.

6. Allow Yourself to Fail in Order to Get Better

If you’ve worked in real estate for more than 10 minutes or own a television, you’ve probably heard of Barbara Corcoran. What you may not know about Barbara is that she grew up poor, dyslexic, and was waiting tables before she decided to become a real estate agent.

Fast forward a few years and she ended up selling her innovative brokerage, The Corcoran Group, for more than $66 million. Like many entrepreneurs, she credits her amazing success to learning lessons from failure.

So now you may be sitting here thinking this is the sappiest cliche of all time, and why are you even reading this? Well, let’s just say that successful people didn’t get that way without breaking a few eggs. So smile and laugh when someone slams a door in your face, learn to meditate, start a healthy morning routine, and always remember that you’re not a brain surgeon—you’re just trying to close some deals. So don’t be so hard on yourself. Things are going to work out, but you need to let yourself fail first. It won’t kill you. I promise.

7. Dress for Success, but Don’t Forget Comfort

One of the best-kept secrets of success in any sales job shouldn’t be a secret at all. Here it goes: People are going to judge you, and harshly, based on your appearance. Yes, we know it’s not fair, and yes, we know you really think your leads won’t care if you show up in sweatpants and a T-shirt to show them houses. We’ve heard these arguments over and over again. Of course, that doesn’t make them right. 

Far from it, actually. In reality, people, especially the older people who own the majority of the homes in this country, are going to judge you for what you wear, and there’s nothing you can do about it. As long as you’re comfortable, dress as nicely as you can when you’re out door knocking.

Not sure how to dress to impress? Luckily, we put together guides for women and men on how to dress, and more importantly, how NOT to dress to close more deals.

8. Make Some Fun Pop-by Gifts & Bring Them With You

Texas Coldwell Banker agent Andrea Smith swears by pop-by gifts:

“Create some fun, well-thought-out pop-bys that convey your message. When Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I attach my business cards to a small bag of chocolate hearts that say, ‘You’re the heart of my business.’ It’s a great way to help people remember me and begin a positive interaction as I’m out knocking doors. I feel like the addition of a special touch helps to open the door to a better opportunity to generate a lead or referral.”

Pop-by gifts are small gifts that you can leave with homeowners in order to get them to remember you. Things like candy, seeds, or any other small gift with your message and contact info will work. Cheesy jokes optional, but kind of encouraged.

9. Learn the Best Days & Times to Door Knock in Your Farm Area

Learning when to knock doors is like asking which baseball team is the best. No matter who you ask, you’re going to get a different answer. But there is a general consensus from people who use door knocking as their primary lead generation strategy:

Saturdays between 10 a.m. & 5 p.m.

Most people are home, but are more than likely still in get-stuff-done mode instead of full-on relax mode, like they are on Sundays. The only caveat here is neighborhoods where observant Jewish people live. In that case, you just might want to wait until Sunday, as Saturdays are days of rest in the Jewish religion.

And likewise, knocking on doors on Sunday if your community is devoutly Christian may not be well received. In short, know your audience and respect their private time.

8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. during the week

Another good time to door knock that most people skip is in the morning during the weekday. You’ll catch a lot of entrepreneurs, home workers, and retired people who are just getting their day together, and so may be more receptive to dealing with “work.”

10. Invite Them to the First Open House at a New Listing

I don’t know about you, but I’m always desperately curious to see how my neighbors live. What does that cool-looking brownstone with the cute little yard look like inside? I bet it’s nice …

In order to satiate their curiosity, always take the time to door knock in a circle around a new listing before you have that all-important first open house. It not only helps you look good to your homeowner (neighbors gossip), but might just help keep you top of mind with the neighbors as well.

Minnesota Sotheby’s Shawn Leetz takes advantage of the curiosity factor to help drive traffic to her open houses:

“Before the first open house at a new listing, I will door knock to hand out personal invitations to the neighbors, introducing myself and letting them know that it is always a good idea to know what is going on in their neighborhood. Also, I like to let them know that it’s OK to come and take a peek; some folks are shy about walking through their neighbor’s home. Not only does this engage the community, but this is another way to offer value to your client (the seller).”

Need some ideas to actually generate leads at your next open house? Check out our guide to open houses here.

11. Avoid Burnout: Don’t Try to Knock Too Many Doors in One Day

Contrary to popular belief, being physically and emotionally exhausted at noon is not a signal that you worked hard, and definitely not a signal that you were effective. It’s a signal that you’re stressed, tired, and probably cranky to boot. Basically the exact opposite mindset you need for a successful door-knocking campaign. Who wants to talk to a stressed-out stranger on their doorstep? The answer, of course, is literally no one.

So if you want to avoid burnout, set yourself a realistic goal of say, 20 doors to knock before you head to the office or start your open house this weekend. If you don’t believe us, just imagine knocking that super-lucky door where a millionaire who wants to sell lives and being too wiped out to build a rapport with her.

12. Track Your Progress: That Which Gets Measured, Gets Improved

One thing many agents forget when out door knocking is to track their progress. How many doors did you knock? How many doors got slammed in your face? Which doors should you absolutely avoid next time? Which seemed kind of promising? Who seems like a decent candidate for a direct mail campaign?

You don’t have to hire MIT to crunch the numbers for you here. Just keep a little log book or notepad app on your phone and take some notes when you’re out door knocking.

You also need to measure your performance if you want to get better. What went right? What went wrong? Does your script need tweaking? Are you getting less nervous or more nervous?

13. Ask Open-ended Questions: Avoid Yes or No Questions

Want to know a secret to not being boring? Get people to talk about themselves and then really listen to what they’re saying. That’s it. Easy, right? Well, yes and no. After all, you have a pretty clear agenda here, right? You’re not just walking your farm area at 8:30 a.m. on a Tuesday to chat about the weather.

Not only does the same rule apply to door knocking, but it’s actually crucial to your success. Think about it. You have maybe 15 seconds to get and keep their attention. Even if you’re super-charming, they’re probably looking for an easy excuse to get back to their newspaper and bagels. Answering a simple yes or no is one of those excuses.

So to avoid giving them an easy out, never ask questions that can be answered by a simple yes or no. Instead, try to get them engaged in a conversation by asking open-ended questions and actually listening to their answers instead of just waiting for your turn to talk.

14. Stay Safe: Knock With a Partner

Since safety should be one of your main concerns, you might want to think about finding a partner to door knock with. It could be a junior agent who needs to work on their pitching skills or an equal team member, but the facts are that pairing up is almost always safer than going it alone.

By the way, this applies just as much to “safe” neighborhoods as it does to neighborhoods with higher crime rates. The simple fact is you never know who is going to answer that door, so having a buddy across the street watching your back is always a good idea.

It could just be a creepy old man who gets too flirty, but a quick “Hey, would love to chat more but my partner is across the street” should be enough to throw cold water on most people.

While the odds of getting into trouble are pretty rare, you never know. As an added bonus, you’ll have a margarita partner if you decide to knock off early.

15. Don’t Be Afraid of Luxury Neighborhoods

Can we talk about super-attractive people for a minute here? If there’s one thing they say over and over again, it’s that fewer, not more, people hit on them. While this might seem counterintuitive, it makes sense when you think about it. After all, most people assume they have no chance, so they don’t even bother.

Well, you can think about wealthy neighborhoods like that super-hot guy in your spin class. You might have a low chance of getting his digits, but if you don’t go talk to him, you have ZERO chance. Why not give it a shot?

The other good part of knocking on rich people’s doors is that they’re more likely to be entrepreneurs—and maybe also more likely to be self-made entrepreneurs who appreciate a good hustle! Maybe some eccentric billionaire will take a shine to you and give you 10 listings to sell this year. Hey, you never know until you try, right?

16. Good Deeds Can Help Build Good Will in Your Farm Area

If you want to get in good with the locals, there’s nothing like doing something selfless and useful for the community. I don’t know about you, but whenever I see someone helping others in my neighborhood, I can’t help but like them.

Like a lot of successful agents, Texas Coldwell Banker agent Scott Bullard started out with empty pockets, but a deep desire to help his community:

“I started with no money, so I had to be creative. I had a T-shirt made with my real estate company in big letters, and walked my neighborhood at strategic times to come face to face with as many people as possible while I picked up any trash that I saw and disposed of it. I also went around collecting email addresses of my neighbors and started a weekly e-newsletter.”

The 30,000-Foot View: Is Door Knocking Still Effective in 2022?

If you had asked us this question in April 2020, we probably would have said no. There were just too many unknowns about the pandemic for us to even think about telling agents that knocking on strangers’ doors was a good idea.

Of course, now with multiple successful vaccines being distributed and Omicron waning, we are once again bullish on door knocking for one simple reason: Agents have been relying on technology to generate leads way, way too much over the past few years.

These days, it seems like every agent is obsessed with perfecting custom audiences for Facebook ads, or trying (and failing) to go “viral” on Instagram instead of honing the one skill they need to last in this industry: making a personal connection with another human being.

So, the more everyone in your office leans into technology, get up, go outside, and go knock some doors.

Over to You

Do you think door knocking will disappear or make a huge comeback in 2022? Let us know in the comments.

The post Door Knocking for Real Estate in 2022: Will It Still Work? (+ Tips & Scripts) appeared first on The Close.

The first step is to take my 10-question real estate sales personality assessment. As a certified MBTI practitioner and real estate coach, I have used this assessment with more than 1,000 people—from brand-new agents to billionaire real estate CEOs. I sincerely hope that it helps you too. 

For this assessment to work for you, you need to take it seriously. If you don’t answer the questions as honestly as possible, the results won’t help you, and they may even lead you down the wrong path. Once you’ve finished the assessment, return here for resources to help you tailor your lead generation approach to your personality. See you soon!

Take My Quiz

The Best Lead Generation Strategies for Every Personality Type

Here is a rough overview of the different lead generation strategies that work for each personality type. Just make sure you take the quiz to find your own real estate sales personality. Below the strategies, we include some helpful resources to get you started.

Why Finding Your ‘True Self’ Will Help You Succeed as an Agent

As Shakespeare said, all the world’s a stage and we all have many roles to play. In my life, I have three main roles: parent, spouse, and real estate agent. Each of these roles requires me to behave and respond accordingly to meet each unique situation.

Think of each role as wearing a different hat. When I am wearing my parent hat, I must be responsible, polite, and calm. My spouse hat helps me to be patient and loving, and when I wear my real estate agent hat, I must be confident, outgoing, and responsive.

But who am I really? Who am I when I’m not a parent, spouse, or real estate agent? What is my true self? The real Sean is the person I have always been. From the time I was four years old, through my twenties, today, and someday, into my sixties. It’s the part of me that doesn’t change. 

In order to succeed at real estate, I had to dig deep and find my true self through tools like the MBTI. I discovered my true self loves reading, learning, and spending long periods alone. This doesn’t sound much like the personality of a nationally recognized, top-producing real estate agent and real estate coach, does it? Fortunately, I have found ways to incorporate the real me into my real estate career so I don’t lose interest or burn out … and so can you!

Why Aligning Your Personality to Your Business Is Crucial to Your Success

Your personality plays a crucial role in your success (or lack of it!) in real estate—but not in the way you might think.

Too many unsuccessful agents try (and fail) to adapt their personalities to “fit in” better as real estate agents. They think they need to be highly extroverted to succeed, so they push themselves way too hard to “become” the fast-talking extrovert they see on “Million Dollar Listing.” This approach is doomed to failure, and at the very least, it’ll make you miserable in your chosen career.

To achieve long-lasting success and happiness in real estate, you must approach your business in a way that’s aligned with your personality. Here’s why. Studies show that changing your personality is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for most people. The scientific evidence is clear. While most people understand that our upbringing and life experiences shape our personalities, modern researchers have discovered that our personalities are also partially determined by genetics. 

So that means the harder you push against your personality type, the more miserable you will be, and the faster you will burn out. I’ve seen this happen many, many, times in my career.

Personality Is Crucial, but Sometimes You Still Need To Eat the Dog Food…

I would love to tell you that you will always enjoy every part of your real estate career, and you will never have to do the things you don’t enjoy, but that would be a lie. While personality is a critical factor in determining your approach to real estate, it’s not the only factor. Your budget and urgency will also play an essential role in determining the best strategy for your success.

Suppose you have an unlimited budget and the time to slowly develop your real estate business over many years. In that case, you could write a blog that ranks number one on Google or become a real estate influencer on social media. I know agents who have done both, but again, it took them years to get to this level. 

Short-term goals and urgency to make money will often require you to do things outside of your comfort zone to achieve the results you want in the time frame you want them. The good news is, we all can “flex” out of our personality preference for short periods of time.

This means that even I can “eat the dog food” and spend a few hours each quarter calling my sphere of influence (SOI) to invite them to an ice cream social. 

However, if we stay outside our comfort zones for long periods, we can become stressed, irritable, or worse, burnt out. This is one of the main reasons many top-producing agents eventually fail. They spend years forcing themselves to work outside of their comfort zone, and eventually, they burn out. Ask me how I know.

As a result, I sought out a personality assessment to help me better understand the agents I was coaching, with a goal of helping them build sustainable real estate careers that complement their strengths. I wanted them to be excited about the business again.

Next Steps: Learn My 16 Strategies for Real Estate Success

Want to stop pushing the boulder up the hill for good? My book, 16 Strategies for Sales, will help you laser-focus your lead generation strategy so that it works seamlessly with your personality, not against it. 

Get the Book

Bottom Line

Knowing your real estate personality will provide you with a deeper understanding of the best approach to grow your real estate business. You can increase your sales by gaining awareness of your personality type and adapting a sales strategy that complements your innate strengths and abilities.

The post What’s Your Real Estate Sales Personality? Take Our Quiz & Find Out appeared first on The Close.

Why do some Realtors dominate lead conversion while others flounder? Do they know something the rest of us don’t? The answer may surprise you. 

Are All Real Estate Leads Created Equal?

Technically, no. There are a lot of different ways to measure the quality of real estate leads, but the one that makes the most sense to us is conversion rate, or the number of leads that convert to active clients relative to the number of total leads. 

A lead’s conversion rate can usually be tied to where they fall in the lead funnel—a popular marketing term for the journey a lead takes from acquisition to activation. The closer a lead is to activating as a buyer or seller, the higher the conversion rate. 

But, that’s just a short-term measurement. If you zoom out and look at your sales funnel as a whole, nearly all of the real estate leads agents get are part of the same funnel—they’re just at different stages in their buying or selling journey.

This means that if you’ve got an effective strategy for moving your leads down the funnel and toward activation (and building a relationship along the way), it matters much less where they start. In fact, you might classify them as short-, medium-, and long-term leads and consider the explosion in lead volume as an opportunity to nurture relationships for years to come. 

How Do Successful Real Estate Agents Move Leads Down Their Funnel? 

The process of moving real estate leads down your sales funnel toward activation is known as lead nurturing. Effective lead nurturing strategies are what separate top-performing, high-converting agents and teams from those who just barely break even. 

A solid lead nurturing strategy has lots of moving parts (something we’ll talk about in a moment), but at its core, it is: 

• Repeatable: Real estate agents get a lot of leads—at least the successful ones do. Your nurturing strategy can’t be recreated with every lead; you need to create a process that you can replicate and scale. 
• Measurable: An effective nurture strategy allows you to measure your results, both in terms of your overall conversion rate as well as the performance of each individual component.
• Adjustable: As you learn about what your leads need and want from you, you need a strategy that you can easily adjust to accommodate those needs. 
• Dependable: Effective lead nurturing has to be done consistently in order to be effective. The systems you use for lead nurturing must be dependable, and when possible, autonomous.

The 4 Basic Real Estate Lead Nurturing Strategies Every Real Estate Agent Should Use

Now that you know what real estate lead nurturing is and why it’s important, it’s time to outline the basic nurturing strategy all agents should use (or at least start with).

1. Connect With New Leads Immediately

In the age of live chat customer service, real estate leads expect real-time connections and follow-up from Realtors. You can do this by creating automated, immediate responses to any new lead inquiry. We recommend a two-pronged approach: sending an email and a text message the moment a new lead is added to your customer relationship manager (CRM). 

Why two messages? Because they each provide unique value. 

• Email: With an automated email response, you can give your new lead all the resources they need to connect with you on social platforms, check out your website, start property searches, or take in a digital listing presentation. Think of this introductory email as a chance to answer all your new leads’ most frequently asked questions before they ask them. 
• Text message: Using an automated text message response, you satisfy your new leads’ expectation for immediate contact. You give them a direct line to ask questions and start a dialogue—something less likely to happen with email.

2. Begin Delivering Value Immediately & Consistently

After you’ve made initial contact with your leads (an act that shows you’re engaged and active), you need to continue to deliver value consistently. This means creating a communication strategy with them that will offer them your knowledge, experience, and expertise pursuant to their goals. 

Some great examples of consistent value delivery include:

Often, the best way to deliver this type of value is via email. Email can be easily automated, with messages that are rich in information and links to further resources. Plus, it’s easy to track a recipient’s interaction with the value you’re providing using basic email marketing tools.

3. Spark Regular, Relevant Conversations

The passive delivery of value to the leads you’re nurturing is a great starting point, but it’s often more active, relevant conversations that will move your leads more dramatically down the sales funnel. 

These conversations typically take place via text message (or other instant messaging apps) and phone calls. However, take this step with caution. A text message or phone call that feels forced, inauthentic, and irrelevant to your lead will actually drive them away from activation, and in some cases, out of your funnel completely. 

To help avoid this pitfall, here are a couple of pointers: 

Start Phone Calls With “I was thinking about you this morning because …”

Leads love to hear that you were thinking about them, their needs, and doing so first thing in the morning. Make notes about the things that are important to your leads; spark conversation specific to those needs using this opening line. 

Try the “Quick Question / Open Question” Text Message Strategy

This two-question approach to text messages is very effective. Start by asking a quick, easy-to-answer question that’s relevant to your lead. Something like, “Quick question: How do you feel about mid-century modern homes? Is that a style you’d consider?” This will trigger a response from your lead and spark a conversation.

Once you’ve engaged them, you can then ask an open-ended question to trigger their lead response. “I see a lot of homes get listed every day. Are there any specific styles you want me to keep my eyes open for on your behalf?”

The closer your leads are to activation, the more frequent these conversations should be.

4. Include Your Leads in the Community You’re Building

Another key component of lead nurturing is solidifying your reputation as someone who is active, knowledgeable, and experienced in the real estate space. Invite your leads to take part in your client appreciation events. 

Offer “coffee shop happy hours” where you supply the coffee and snacks at a local community spot. Invite them to check out open houses you’re hosting, if only to get inspiration for when they’re ready to buy or sell. 

Well-nurtured leads don’t only connect with you through their devices—they see your face and feel like they’re a part of your business, making you a part of their real estate success.

Want to Supercharge Your Lead Nurturing? Try Market Leader

Applying these four strategies would be challenging to tackle on your own if it weren’t for customized tools designed specifically for real estate lead nurturing and conversion. We recommend Market Leader as your home base to manage these four lead conversion strategies and so much more. 

Market Leader, recently named The Close’s top pick for real estate lead generation, has rolled out a comprehensive real estate business platform that takes lead nurturing to the next level. Here’s what they have to offer: 

• Fantastic paid lead generation: In order to nurture your paid real estate leads, you have to get them in the first place. Using an industry-leading, guaranteed lead volume approach, Market Leader agents know exactly how many paid leads they can expect every month, and in what geographic areas they’ll be coming from. Also, these leads are exclusive, so you know you’ll be the only agent advancing a relationship with them. 

• An MLS-connected CRM: All your Market Leader-generated leads (plus the option to connect directly with other lead sources) are automatically integrated into your Market Leader customer relationship manager (CRM), a place where you can track all your lead activity, including their responses to your lead nurturing communication and value. Best of all, this CRM connects directly to your Market Leader website, natively logging your prospect’s website activity, including properties viewed, saved searches, and preferred communities. 

• A lead-generating website: The Market Leader website search functionality feels a lot like the sort of Zillow experience many of your prospects are used to, except with Market Leader, you can set up custom pop-ups to prompt your website visitors to enter their lead information in order to unlock more searches, save favorites, and access buyer and seller strategy guides. 

• A full-featured Marketing Center: Practically a standalone product of its own, the Market Leader Marketing Center is the launchpad for all your automated marketing, including sophisticated automated email marketing campaigns as well as automated or on-demand print marketing through a partnership with Shutterfly, allowing Market Leader users to bring mailbox marketing into their lead nurturing strategies in ways their competitors can’t.

  Pro Tip

Market Leader’s automated listing alerts are the #1 driver of website traffic from new leads. Partnered with 500+ organizations, Market Leader has one of the largest networks of MLS relationships in the U.S. Use it to drive more interaction and convert more leads into active clients.

Final Thoughts

The real estate industry has largely solved the lead generation problem; there are dozens of options for all sorts of leads available. Now, it’s time to figure out the best way to nurture these leads to activation. 

Following the four-pronged approach of speed to lead, consistent value provision, regular and relevant conversation, and community inclusion are a great start. You can improve the delivery of these strategies and better evaluate their effectiveness by using a platform like Market Leader to automate more of your work, adjust course where needed, and prioritize more effectively. 

Visit Market Leader today to learn more about how they can help solve your real estate lead nurturing challenges.

Visit Market Leader

The post If All Real Estate Leads Are Created Equal, Why Do Some Convert Better Than Others? appeared first on The Close.

1. Being Unsure Who Owns the House

You walk in, offer a smile, a handshake, and give the best listing presentation your market has ever seen. The person you’re talking to smiles back, nods, and loves everything you’re saying. You’ve nailed it.

The problem is you were actually talking to the homeowner’s cousin’s aunt’s brother’s uncle, not the decision-maker: the homeowner. It happens more often than you might think.

For example, think of adult children who want their parents to sell. You give the listing presentation of your life, but they’re still not the decision-makers—their parents, the homeowners are.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Before you even start a listing presentation, make sure the person you’re talking to is one of the prime decision-makers. Many agents ask directly, but sometimes you might need to use some detective work and ask leading questions such as: When did you first purchase your home?

2. Relying Solely on the MLS for Comps Research

Your MLS probably has the most in-depth historical property information in your farm area, but the problem is, you’re the only one who has access to it.

Many homeowners are relying on Zillow and other sites that use (often error-prone) algorithms to come up with an estimate of a home’s worth. The homeowners feel like they have all of the information since the Zestimate they see is a data-based opinion from a trusted brand. 

If your target valuation differs significantly from the estimates on these sites, it could cause your prospective seller to question the number and maybe even your abilities. 

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Like so much in real estate, this problem can be easily fixed by predicting what your homeowner will say and being prepared to address it.

Instead of just running comps on your MLS, check the Zestimate, the HouseCanary valuation, and every other valuation you think they might access. Figure out what all of the valuations have in common and how they relate to the professional comparative market analysis (CMA) you prepared.

Be ready to answer their tough questions and explain how your CMA is superior to whatever they might find online.

3. Not Restaging the Home or Retouching Old Listing Photos

If you’ve ever done any hiring, you’ll know that the most prepared person for the interview is usually the best fit for the job. After all, you want the person you hire to go above and beyond the call of duty.

A standout way to go above and beyond in your listing presentation (which is basically an interview) is to take old listing photos of the home and have them professionally retouched and staged.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

With a service like Fiverr, you can have photos retouched for as little as $5. There are even freelancers who specialize in virtual staging who can add furniture, alter lighting, and make the listing shine. Money well spent!

Visit Fiverr

4. Not Bringing All Your Paperwork With You

This one’s a no-brainer. Let’s say your pitch goes amazingly well, and the homeowners are ready to sign. Oh wait, you left your listing contract in the office. What do you think could happen between now and when you reschedule that signing?

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Bring every possible agreement with you, not just the exclusive sales contract. Grab all of it: exclusive right to rent, state disclosure forms, co-broker agreements—everything you have. Worst case scenario, you have to carry a half-inch stack of paper from your car to the front door and back again. And be ready to explain what all of these documents are. You’re the professional here, and they’re looking to you for your expertise.

If you use e-sign software, you’re one step ahead of the game! If you’re not and want to, consider DocuSign. DocuSign has an easy-to-use interface making signing complicated documents simple and straightforward.

Visit DocuSign

5. Talking About Yourself Too Much

Many agents think it’s necessary to talk about themselves ad ​​nauseam at a listing appointment. But the truth is, listening well and asking questions is what will really set you apart. 

Think about it. All of the other agents are going to talk about how awesome they are, how superior their marketing is, and how much more money they can get for the house. But no one wants to listen to agents drone on and on about how great they are.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

We’re not saying you should sell yourself short. Talk about your experience and achievements, but also try to engage with the homeowners during the listing presentation.

Ask plenty of questions and listen to the answers. Not only will your prospective seller feel heard and valued, but you’ll also probably learn something that could help you in your pitch.

6. Talking About Your Brokerage Too Much

This dangerous mistake is common with new agents, whose experience is better measured in days and minutes than in years. You should definitely talk up your brokerage (assuming you belong to a good one), but if you overdo it, they’re going to thank you for your time, call reception, and ask for someone at your incredible firm who actually knows what they’re doing.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Write one solid paragraph for your leave-behind that talks up your brokerage. Also, make sure to highlight your brokerage’s biggest strength—having the right tools to sell homes. If you focus on the wrong strengths, say, their number of exclusive rental buildings, homeowners won’t be impressed. After all, why should they be? How will that help them sell their home faster and for more money?

7. Not Adapting to the Homeowner’s Communication Style

The thing that sets top producers apart from everyone else is that they are highly adaptable. These chameleons can “read” people and instantly react or change course based on what they’re seeing. 

You too can learn how to be adaptable and “read” people’s communication styles, the way a good comedian or DJ “reads” a room.

You’ll find that some prospective sellers want all the juicy data and will go over it with a fine-toothed comb. Others want to be swayed emotionally or be told a story. You have to tailor your listing presentation to suit your audience.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Learning to “read” someone’s communication style can take years, but if you focus on how your audience is responding to what you’re saying, you’re halfway there.

For example, let’s say you’re trying to run through all of the comps you’ve pulled, but you notice your homeowner’s eyes glaze over. That probably means you should try another technique. Maybe build a story around trends you’re seeing in the neighborhood and explain how they can affect your seller and the home’s price.

If you want to learn more on the subject, check out Straight Talk’s guide to understanding someone’s communications style.

8. Relying Too Heavily on Visuals

Like brand-new graphic designers, new agents can get caught up in the “more is more” aesthetic and load their listing presentation up with tons of pictures, graphs, charts, and even YouTube videos!

All you’re going to do is confuse (and probably annoy) your homeowner. After all, who can concentrate with 100 images flying by every second?

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Stick to the basics. You might include your CMA data, a few charts on pricing, a chart or two on absorption rate, and a seller’s net sheet you can edit on the fly. You can make it look visually sleek and appealing without being excessive.

9. Not Using Enough Visuals

On the other hand, not using enough visuals can also hurt your listing presentation, although not as badly as using too many! Most people expect charts and graphs when they’re being pitched, so don’t let them down.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Our advice here is the same as it was above: stick to the basics. Make your presentation visually appealing and find that sweet spot between too many or too few. You want your message to be clear, clean, and professional. But not boring. Never boring.

10. Getting Too Creative With Visuals

After using too many or too few visuals, the other deadly design sin many agents make is using “creative” visuals. Think charts with a million colors, dozens of graphs on one page—a cluttered, colorful mess.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Remember, you’ll probably be presenting your pitch on an iPad, and your prospective sellers will probably be on the other side of the table. While your deck might look pretty stunning on your massive computer monitor, you have to think about how it’ll look to your prospective sellers across the room.

If you’re short on time and want some expert help with your visuals, take a look at LCA Marketing Center. Everything is customizable, brandable, and, perhaps most importantly, they’ll help you avoid these deadly design pitfalls.

Visit LCA Marketing Center

11. Not Adequately Practicing Your Pitch

We get it. You don’t want to sound “salesy.” But does Robert De Niro sound “salesy?” How about Sir Anthony Hopkins? Meryl Streep?

Just like any of the greats, to get ahead, you need some talent and a LOT of practice.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Take a cue from Malcolm Gladwell’s famous axiom: Masters of their crafts practice an average of 10,000 hours before they become famous. The Beatles, Gene Krupa, Meryl Streep, and many, many others have risen to stardom from the discipline of practice.

While we’re not suggesting you rehearse 10,000 hours (though that would be great!), we are saying that you should practice seriously, often, and with people who will help you get better.

12. Not Practicing Your Objection Handlers

There’s a quote that I had taped on my computer monitor back when I was an agent in Manhattan. Instead of inspiring words from Tony Robbins or Greg Young (one of the best ever real estate coaches in Manhattan), mine was from Mike Tyson:

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

So what’s your plan when the homeowner inevitably asks you why they should hire you instead of that other agent with 10 years more experience? What’s your plan for when the homeowners tell you they’re probably going to hire a family friend or cousin?

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Study your objection handlers as much, if not more than your pitch. After all, if you stumble a little during a long pitch, it’s not the end of the world. But if you stumble or even hesitate when they’re the ones asking the tough questions? Bye, bye listing.

13. Trash Talking Your Competition

Trash talking might sound cool coming from LeBron James, but in a professional setting, it’s the one thing that everyone agrees you should avoid. After all, if you’re willing to talk behind your colleagues’ back, what else are you willing to do…?

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

You can (and should) point out the mistakes a former agent has made. If that agent’s marketing or pricing fell short, you can mention it with a tone of pity or concern rather than anger or pride. 

For example, “Well, I love Agent XXXX. He did a lot of great work in his day, but unfortunately, he hasn’t quite kept up with the times.”

14. Not Preparing Your Clients Who You’ve Used As References

Having former clients willing to act as references is one of the most powerful arrows in your sales quiver. That’s why you need to treat it like the rare and precious thing it is. It’s easy for references to feel taken advantage of if they get calls out of the blue or if they hear more from your prospective sellers than from you!

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

Schedule a drink or coffee with your reference a few days before your listing appointment to give them a heads up and say thank you at the same time.

15. Failing to Ask for the Listing

You would be surprised to learn that agents will often craft beautiful listing presentations and practice them until they are blue in the face—but they never work in the most crucial part of the pitch. The Ask. It sums up the whole reason you’re there—you want their listing!

Many agents we’ve talked to said they feel awkward asking. They feel it was somehow too forward or too “salesy.” Well, guess what? You’re a licensed professional salesperson, and “salesy” people build empires.

How to Avoid This Mistake & Land the Listing

This one’s simple. Just ask them for the damn listing! Look that homeowner in the eye, feel confident in the hard work you’ve done, and make the ask. 

You can be cheesy (“cheesy” people also build empires) and say something like, “I don’t list houses, I sell houses—and I would love to sell yours.” Cheesy, yes, cliche, yes, but effective.

Over to You

Have you or your fellow agents made listing presentation mistakes that cost you some business? Let us know in the comments. After all, we can’t solve a problem unless we first identify it!

The post 15 Deadly Listing Presentation Mistakes & How to Avoid Them appeared first on The Close.

As with most real estate wisdom, there’s even a oft-used quote that sums it up: “It’s better to be someone’s first love, second spouse, or third real estate agent.” Why? People never forget their first love, but they make a ton of mistakes with their first spouse and first two real estate agents.

That third real estate agent? Your clients may end up having a relationship with you for the rest of their lives. To help you lock in your position as their third (and final) real estate agent, check out these expired listing scripts and objection handlers from some of the best in the industry:

Download Expired Listing Scripts

1. Sean Moudry’s Expired Listing Introduction Script

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AGENT: Hi, this is [your name] and I was wondering if your home is still for sale?

 

[First Scenario]

HOMEOWNER: Yes, still for sale. Why do you ask?

AGENT: The reason I ask is because your home has shown up on the Multiple Listing Service as an expired listing. This means that it is showing that it is no longer for sale.

I am a real estate agent in the area. I specialize in working with homes that didn’t sell the first time. Even some of the best homes don’t sell the first time.

The reason I am calling is to set a meeting with you to show you my unique approach to get houses SOLD!

Are you available for 20 minutes for today at  ________?

 

[Second Scenario]

HOMEOWNER: No, it’s not for sale.

AGENT: Did you sell the house?

HOMEOWNER: Yes, I already sold my house.

AGENT: Congratulations! Did you find a replacement home?

 

[Third Scenario]

HOMEOWNER: We decided not to sell [or to rent it…to wait…and so forth].

AGENT:If you were to have sold, where were you moving? If we brought you an offer today for a price acceptable to you, would you look at it?

HOMEOWNER: Yes.

AGENT: That’s why you need to meet me. So there is still a desire to sell?

The reason I am calling is to set a meeting with you to show you my unique approach to get houses SOLD!

Are you available for 20 minutes, today at  ________?

Why This Script Works

First of all, Sean gets right to the point in this script. Most people, myself included, can instantly tell when they’re being sold to over the phone. That means waffling around with phony small talk will probably ruin your chances—and fast. You’re a salesperson. OWN IT!

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[First Scenario]

HOMEOWNER: I am going to use the same agent.

AGENT: Great! Can I ask, didn’t they give it 100% the first time? What are they going to do this time that they didn’t do the last time?

I respect that you are loyal and you want to give them another chance.

Let’s do this … I will come to visit the property and meet you. I will show you what I do to get homes sold, and I may share with you something you can use even if you decide to stay with the same agent.

 

[Second Scenario]

HOMEOWNER: We have already selected another agent. OR: I am going to use a friend/family member.

AGENT: Great! Have you signed the listing contract yet?

If you were to get surgery, you would get a second opinion, right? Well, this isn’t surgery, but it could be financial surgery on your wallet!

Let’s do this … I will come to visit the property and meet you. I will show you what I do to get homes sold, and I may share with you something you can use even if you decide to work with the other agent.

 

[Third Scenario]

HOMEOWNER: We are going to wait. OR: We are going to rent.

AGENT: I understand. If I brought you an offer today, would you look at it?

 

[Fourth Scenario]

HOMEOWNER: No. [They may instinctually respond with “No,” so you may need to restate the question.]

AGENT: If I brought you a full-price offer today, you wouldn’t even look at it?

 

[Fifth Scenario]

HOMEOWNER: Yes, we would look at it. Do you have a buyer?

AGENT: So there’s some interest in getting the property sold now! My marketing is always driving buyers. In fact, we have a database of active buyers looking for homes.

Let’s do this … I will come visit the property to see if the features of the property match the criteria of any of our buyers.

Visit REDX

2. April Hunter’s Ice Breaker Script

April Hunter, Atlanta Realtor

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AGENT: Hey, I’m not sure if you can help me, I’m actually calling about [property address].

HOMEOWNER: Uh, yeah how can I help you?

AGENT: I was calling to see if that was still listed by Ashley.

HOMEOWNER:: No, we took it off the market

AGENT: Great, I am a local real estate agent and I was calling about the house for sale and I just saw you took it off the market. I was wondering, when are you going to interview agents again for the job of actually getting it sold?

HOMEOWNER: It’s been hard for us with so many people coming to see it so we’re probably going to keep it off the market for another few months.

AGENT: Let me just ask you, if the property had sold, where would you have moved next.

Why This Script Works

Asking for help right at the start instantly disarms the homeowner and puts them in the driver’s seat of the conversation. While that might seem counterproductive, it’s actually a clever way to build rapport with a stranger quickly. In psychology, this is known as the Ben Franklin Effect. Asking a stranger for a favor, no matter how small, generally tends to make them like you more.

3. Kevin Ward’s Best Expired Listing Script Ever

Kevin Ward, Founder, Yesmasters.com

Why This Script Works

An old classic, Kevin Ward’s expired script forms the backbone of most scripts you’ll come across. Once you hear it, it’s clear why it’s so popular. It’s very conversational, it focuses on asking questions rather than selling while still controlling the conversation, and it slowly leads the seller into accepting an appointment.

4. Kimberly Olbrich’s Ice Breaker Script

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AGENT: Hi, I noticed your home shows on my computer as an expired listing. I was just curious, when are you planning on interviewing for the right agent to sell your home?

[Wait for a response.]

Why This Script Works

It may not sound like it, but this is actually an open-ended question to get them to open up and talk about their home. Did you miss it? Read the script again. Note how she asks when they are planning on interviewing the right agent for their home.

5. Eric Jon Melnikoff, Keller Williams: Expired Listing Script Live Call

Why This Script Works

What I love most here is that although he’s clearly using a script, he’s able to adapt and change it depending on the lead’s responses. You can also tell that he not only did his research for the listing, but figured out a core issue with the marketing (the lack of pictures) to start his call with. Note how this question kind of threw the lead off guard.

He also manages to repeatedly mention how he markets properties better without sounding like he was bragging. He also doesn’t just lay his cards on the table, but continually says that he does things differently. This is a great example of building intrigue in order to get an appointment.

This is crucial to getting appointments. If your voice sounds deflated or nervous, getting that appointment can be an uphill battle. Standing up helps reduce pressure on your diaphragm to project your voice better. Movement also helps some people think better, literally “on their feet.”

Expired Voicemail Scripts

Since the homeowners you call will inevitably have lives, chances are you won’t get a live person on the phone every time you call an expired listing. Some agents panic and hang up when they get sent to voicemail, but smart agents recognize the opportunity a voicemail offers them. So the next time you get voicemail, here are seven quick and easy expired voicemail scripts to try:

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1. Hi, this is [your name] and I’m calling about the house you had for sale at [listing address]. You can reach me at [your cell phone number].
2. Hi, this is [your name] from [your brokerage]. I noticed something unusual about the listing you had for sale on the MLS at [listing address]. Can you call me back at [your cell phone number] to talk about it? 
3. Hi [their first name], this is [your name] from [your brokerage]. I’m just calling to offer you a few free ideas to get your listing sold for a great price. The market has changed a lot since [when the listing first went up] and I have a strategy to take advantage of it. You can reach me at [your cell phone number]. 
4. Hi [their name]. I know you’re probably getting a ton of these calls, but I just wanted to let you know I’ve been watching your listing at [their address] for [how long the listing was active] and I wanted to tell you about five missed opportunities to sell your previous agent missed. You can reach me at [your phone number].
5. Hi, I’m calling about your listing in the MLS that was just taken off the market. I’d love to walk you through my seven-point home marketing plan that has led to [number] of my listings just like yours selling for over ask this year. You can reach me at [your cell number].
6. Hi [their name]. This is [your name] from [your brokerage] and I wanted to offer you a chance to ask my team any questions you might have about getting your home sold over ask this year. You can reach me at [your cell phone number].
7. Hi, this is [your name] and I am really surprised your listing at [their address] didn’t sell for over ask in this market. If you have five minutes I’d love to walk you through my seven-point marketing plan that I know can get your home sold quickly and for top dollar. You can reach me at [your cell phone number].

General Expired Strategies & Objection Handlers

Now that you’ve seen some great examples of how to guide the conversation and get those listings, let’s take a deeper dive into the hardest part of cold calling: dealing with the inevitable objections your leads will have.

Before we get started, let’s look at Kevin’s general objection strategies for expired listings:

Learn to Break the Ice With Tough Expired Listings

• Understand where they’re coming from: Listen to what they say and pay attention to their feelings
• Repeat and affirm: Let them know you’re hearing them, which also gives you time to think
• Ask questions about what they want, and offer solutions: Direct the conversation to how you can help them solve their problem
• Don’t give up: You’re a problem-solver

Check out the full video below:

Getting to Yes: 12 Expired Objection Handlers From the Pros

1. ‘We aren’t quite ready yet, we need to finish a couple of projects around the house before we put it on the market.’

From real estate coaching legend Tom Ferry:

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AGENT: I agree that making sure the house is up to par is important, and you probably didn’t realize how little effect it will have on securing a buyer.

Let’s get your home listed for sale, get some of the top brokers inside to show the house, and get their feedback. The good news is you’ll find out exactly what projects you don’t have to do and the ones you need to do while we’re in the escrow period.

It sure would be nice to not have to spend a dime to get your home sold, wouldn’t it?

Great, which would be better for you, tonight at 6 or 7:30?

2. ‘We’re Not Putting It Back on the Market’

From real estate coaches Tim & Julie Harris

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AGENT: Ms. Seller, I appreciate the fact that you decided to put your house back on the market, but let me ask you a very quick question. If there was a buyer for your home, the perfect, non-contingent, pre-approved, great buyer, and this buyer would pay your asking price and close in 30 days or less, Mr. Seller, this is the buyer you had been hoping for. You would at least consider selling the home to this buyer, wouldn’t you?

3. ‘I think we’re going to sell to Zillow (or any other iBuyer)’

From Kimberly Olbrich

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AGENT: I’m not sure, but what I’m hearing when you say that is that you are willing to pay a commission, but you’re looking to save some money. Is that what I’m understanding?

Wait for the homeowner to agree.

You just want to sell your home. Exactly! My concern for you, though, is that you’re still going to limit the exposure that’s going to get you in front of the right buyer that’s going to pay you the most, in the shortest time possible, with the least amount of headaches.

4. ‘I Need to Talk to My Spouse First’

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AGENT: Of course, I would do the same thing. Why don’t we do this: Let’s pencil in an appointment for Thursday at 6:00 or 4:00 on Saturday, and if your spouse nixes the idea, we can regroup.

Here’s a live example from REDX:

5. ‘We’re Going to Re-list With the Same Agent’

Stay positive, then ask if they’ve signed a contract yet. If they have, wish them luck and offer your services in the future for advice or for referrals. If they haven’t, then go into objection handler:

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AGENT: OK, I totally understand that. Can I ask you a question, though? Why do you think you’ll get a different result doing the same thing? What is your agent planning on doing differently this time?

OR:

I get it. He seems like a really nice guy. Here’s an idea—if you have 15 minutes, would you be interested in getting a second opinion if it would mean selling your home for more money and fewer headaches?

6. ‘We’re Going to Wait Until Spring/Summer/Fall to List Again’

Most scripts have you go over the seller’s motivations for moving near the beginning, so reminding them of that can help overcome this objection. Still, it’s a common objection, so here are a few ideas for handling it:

We Are Only Looking for Low-fee Agents. Can You Discount Your Commission?

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AGENT: I understand that commissions can seem daunting to your bottom line. I know I freaked out when I found out how much my contractor wanted to charge me to refinish my floors, but you have to remember that discount agents discount their services for a reason.

OR:

No. I’m worth the full price, and frankly, I would be concerned with a cut-rate broker. Why are they offering discounts?

OR:

If I could get you XX more for your home—would that change your mind?

8. ‘I’ve Never Heard of / Don’t Like Your Brokerage’

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If they’ve never heard of you: I hear you. We’re a relatively new startup, but our founder launched several successful businesses before this one. She was also the agent who sold the clock tower listing in Brooklyn. If you’d like, I’d love for you to come by our new office for a coffee.

OR: 

Well, we’re a brand-new company dedicated to treating our customers with the respect they deserve. While we’ve only been around for four years, we closed more than XX transactions per year and have hundreds of glowing reviews on Yelp and Zillow, which I would be happy to send you.

If they don’t like your brokerage: I’m sorry you had a bad experience with one of our agents, but rest assured, that agent no longer works with us. More to the point, you need to realize that all real estate agents are independent contractors. My managing broker has almost no involvement in how I market or sell your home. It’s entirely on me. I would be happy to personally go over some testimonials from previous clients when we meet on Thursday.

9. ‘The Last Agent Said They Could Sell It for XXX More’

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AGENT: I understand you’re looking to get the best price possible here, but you should understand that valuing a home is not a simple process, and some agents offer the world in order to get their foot in the door.

OR: 

Hey, I hear you. You want the best price possible for your home since you put so much love into rebuilding it. That said, pricing your home too high will mean more time on the market, which will mean the home will look off to every new buyer who sees it the longer it sits on the market.

Also, you may be cutting out an entire price range of buyers; for example, most people search within a range. If your home is over XXXXXX, then people may never even see it even if you would take XXXX. Instead of alienating potential buyers and keeping the home on the market forever, if we price it properly, to begin with, we’ll get more offers, and ideally better offers.

10. ‘Why Didn’t You Sell My House Before?’

Kevin Ward, Founder, YesMasters.com

Get all of Kevin’s free scripts here

11. ‘What Are You Going to Do That My Last Agent/Other Agents Couldn’t?’

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AGENT: How about get the house sold, for starters? I have a XX-step marketing plan that we will tailor to your property. My team spends xxx per month for leads and we get more leads than … We have an in-depth plan that might take me 15 minutes to go over in detail, and some of it will depend on your house and what you want as a client. Are you free Thursday at 3:00 or would you prefer Friday at 2:30 for a walk-through?

12. ‘You’re the 50th Agent Who Called Today!!’

Kevin Ward, Founder, YesMasters.com

Here’s Kevin again on how to reply to what will inevitably be a common complaint from your expired leads.

What’s Your Favorite Expired Listing Script?

Have a great expired listing script or objection handler? Let us know in the comments.

The post 24 Best Expired Listing Scripts & Objection Handlers 2022 appeared first on The Close.

Although all Realtors think they’re natural-born salespeople, the cold hard truth is that most Realtors struggle with copywriting. That’s why today, I am giving you my seven real estate copywriting rules that professional writers swear by. As a professional writer, I can tell you from experience that these rules are a game-changer for writing persuasive copy.

As a bonus, I am also including a free PDF: 700+ Real Estate Words That Sell Homes.

Download 723 Descriptive Real Estate Words

1. Transform Features Into Benefits

The easiest way to get someone to act is to appeal to their emotional needs or desires. Studies show that most people use emotional arguments to persuade others without even realizing it. When it comes to persuasion, one good emotional argument is worth a thousand facts.

The only problem is that your listings don’t come with ready-made emotional arguments to persuade a buyer to attend your open house. Instead, you get a list of features. Your job as a real estate copywriter is to turn those features into benefits that will appeal to your readers on an emotional level. Here’s how to do it:

First, list all of the features of your subject matter. It could be a listing, an email newsletter, or even your brokerage or personal brand. Next, determine a benefit of each feature—one that appeals to emotional needs or desires. For example, let’s say one feature of your newest listing is that it’s close to major highways. Here are a few ways we can break that down into benefits that appeal to emotion:

Now go through your list of benefits and pick the one that you think will have the biggest emotional impact for your reader. Do this for all the best features of your listing, and you’ll have a good rough outline for your copy.

2. Start With a Pain Point, Then Offer Your Solution

If you’ve ever tried to convince a friend or loved one of something, you know that just stating your side of the story isn’t enough. If you want to have a chance of persuading them, they need to know that you understand their side of the story, too. 

This is why most good copywriters start their copy by acknowledging a pain point for their readers before even thinking about presenting their solution to that pain point. Good copy should get your reader to nod along as they read and say to themselves, “This person gets me!” Once you’ve built that bond, then you come in with your pitch. 

For example, let’s say you’re writing copy for a landing page to get people to sign up for your email newsletter about off-market listings. Here’s how your copy might sound if you focus on your solution without acknowledging your readers’ pain point first:

Now here’s how your copy sounds when you start by acknowledging their pain point first.

Notice the difference?

3. Write Without Fear, Edit Without Mercy

Every good Realtor knows that the money is in the follow-up. How you got your lead into your customer relationship manager (CRM) doesn’t matter at the closing table. The same is true for copywriting. How you start is way less important than where you finish. This is why all good copywriters write without fear and edit without mercy. Here’s how to do it: 

Take your list of benefits and just start writing. No judgment, no editing. Just write. Once you have something down on paper, start editing. For now, don’t worry about grammar or spelling—you can fix that later. Just focus on your goal. Does your copy appeal to your reader’s emotions? Does it address a pain point and offer a solution? If it doesn’t, edit until it does. 

If you’re lacking emotional punch, grab a thesaurus and try to find more evocative words to get your point across. Is that garden “nice” or is it a “lush oasis”? 

If you want a cheat sheet of descriptive real estate words that appeal to emotion, check out my guide to descriptive real estate words here:

4. Write at Least 3 Versions of Your Headline or Subject Line

If you’re writing ad copy, landing page copy, emails, website copy, or any copy with a title, you should always write at least three versions of your title and pick the best of the bunch. Here’s why: If your title doesn’t draw them in, they will never read the rest of your copy. Your email could reveal the location of the fountain of youth, but if your subject line isn’t persuasive enough to get people to click, no one will ever read it! 

If you have a hard time coming up with three different versions of your headline, try some of these common headline formulas:

FOMO Headlines (Fear of Missing Out)

• XX Homes Just Sold for $XXXXX Over Ask in [your farm area]!
• Here Are XX Market Indicators That Show Prices Will Explode in [your farm areas]
• Owner Says to Sell Yesterday!

Ask a Scary Question Headlines

• Are We Heading for a Recession? 
• Are You Ready to Sell Before Interest Rates Rise? 
• When Will the Housing Bubble Pop in [your farm area]?

Expert Advice Headlines

• When XX Economists Think Interest Rates are Going WAY Up
• X Home Stagers Reveal the Best Affordable Couches 
• A Lawyer Answers Your Most Common Real Estate Questions

Curiosity-building Headlines

• Experts Say Painting Your Home This Color Will Help It Sell Faster & for More $$$
• Zillow Research Says This Month Is the Best Time to Sell
• The XX Home Renovations That Have the Best ROI

  Pro Tip

Write & edit your copy first, and then work on your title.

Writing great titles can quickly drain your creative energy. You might find it helpful to write and edit your copy first, and then tackle your title. As an added benefit, if your copy changes direction as you write it, you won’t be stuck with a headline that no longer fits.

5. Writer Like Ernest & Albert

If you want people to read what you have to say, your copy needs to go down like ice cream. That means simple words, short sentences, and getting to the point as quickly as possible. Anyone can make a great fact-based argument in 20 pages, but great copywriters can do it in 20 words. The best writers can do it in six words. 

  Pro Tip

Discuss complex issues or write one-liners on Twitter. Your followers will give you instant feedback.

Want to learn to get right to the point without sacrificing emotion? Try discussing complex issues or writing one-liner jokes for your Twitter audience. If you already have followers you’ll get instant feedback on your writing.

Still stuck? Might be time to call in the experts. You can hire an experienced and talented real estate copywriter in Fiverr starting at just five bucks.

Visit Fiverr

6. Read Your Copy Out Loud

After you edit your copy, the next step is to edit for style. This is where even great writers stumble. Editing for style is hard. Like, really hard. You can spend hours editing your copy and end up with something that’s worse than what you started with. 

Luckily, there is a trick that professional copywriters use to make editing for style easier: Read your copy out loud. Is it easy to read or did you stumble with some words or sentences? If it’s hard for you to read out loud, chances are it’s even harder for your reader to hear in their head as they read. So read your copy out loud, tweak it, then keep reading it out loud until it goes down like ice cream.

7. A/B Test Whenever You Can

One of the coolest things about writing copy in 2022 is that you have access to tools that would have cost tens of thousands of dollars even 15 years ago. One of the most useful is being able to test different versions of your copy on a real live audience to see how they respond. 

In the digital marketing world, this is called A/B testing and it’s as close to a scientific study of how good your copy is as you can get. Remember the three headlines or subject lines I had you write in tip four? Now’s your chance to see which one actually makes your reader take action. 

If you want to A/B test your emails or email subject lines, use a CRM or email marketing platform that allows you to A/B test. Mailchimp and LionDesk both have easy-to-use A/B testing features for email campaigns. If you want to A/B test copy for your landing pages, then use a platform like Real Geeks or Unbounce.

Over to You

Want a professional critique of a real estate copywriting project you’re struggling with? Sign up for our email list and I will personally critique your copy for you. All you need to do is sign up and forward the first email you get to me at emile@theclose.com, and I’ll help you with your copy for free.

The post 7 Real Estate Copywriting Rules Professional Writers Swear by appeared first on The Close.

While it sounds easy, circle prospecting actually requires planning, strategy, and a bit of marketing savvy, so we’re sharing this deep dive and a case study on how one Tampa Realtor generated 200 leads in a day. We’ll share her effective circle prospecting strategy, plus seven tips and scripts you can start using today to generate leads using circle prospecting.

What Is Circle Prospecting?

Circle prospecting is a real estate lead generation strategy where real estate agents contact all homeowners surrounding a specific listing. The goal of circle prospecting is to generate leads by showing social proof with the listing. Think of it as building a mini-farm area that has a direct interest in the transaction you will close in their neighborhood.

Video: Circle Prospecting Reimagined

In the age of Inman and mastermind groups, truly innovative real estate lead generation strategies are rare. I should know. Every week I get pitched by at least half a dozen real estate agents, teams, brokerages, and tech companies promising an exciting new way to get leads. None of them are exciting, and none of them are new. Innovation isn’t easy.

That’s why we were so excited to watch Tampa Realtor Christina Griffin’s presentation at Tom Ferry’s Success Summit. With inspiration and guidance from Tom, Christina came up with an exciting AND new (well, new to us, at least) circle prospecting strategy.

Christina’s strategy combines cutting-edge technology and one of the oldest lead gen techniques there is: circle prospecting. Check out Christina’s presentation on her strategy below, then read on for our thoughts and some tips from our own coaches for better circle prospecting.

Before You Circle Prospect: Don’t Let ‘Cold’ Leads Slip Through the Cracks in Your CRM

While circle prospecting is a great way to generate leads, any top-producing agent will tell you the same thing: The real money is in the follow-up. How many “cold” leads who might transact soon are sitting in your customer relationship manager (CRM) right now? If only you had the time to follow up…

Enter REALQualified. REALQualified’s team of highly trained inside sales agents (ISAs) will follow up with your leads on your schedule. That means instead of getting hung up on 20x a day, you just get real appointments with real qualified leads.

Visit REALQualified

Deep Dive: Christina’s Circle Prospecting Strategy That Got All Those Leads

Like most great ideas, Christina started with something that has worked historically and tweaked it with new technology. Here’s what she did.

Starting with a new listing, she leveraged the age-old technique of circle prospecting—reaching out to homeowners in a circle around her recently listed, or recently sold, property with a targeted message.

However, instead of sending postcards or using door hangers, Christina brought circle prospecting into the 21st century.

She started by gathering the cell phone numbers of people who lived near her listing from a company called Cole Realty Resource. She then checked the Do Not Call (DNC) list, and using software called Slybroadcast, left each of them a message on their voicemail. This is a crucial part of the strategy. Slybroadcast does not ring their phones—instead, the message goes straight to voicemail.

Here’s the script she wrote with Tom’s help:

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“This is Christina Griffin with the Griffin Group at Coldwell Banker. We just listed a home in your community XXXX. If you know anyone looking to move, give us a call.”

Simple right? Well, most great scripts are! The more complicated your message, the higher the likelihood it will be ignored. This is true for almost all marketing and lead generation.

Think about it. Which copy works better for ads: long convoluted copy that touches on a dozen ideas, or a simple straightforward pitch that encourages your lead to take a specific action?

The Results…

Her results were truly astonishing:

She sent out a total of 1,200 messages to cell phones in a two-mile circle around her listing. From those messages, she got over 200 returned calls. So many, in fact, that her poor call coordinator from MyOutDesk couldn’t keep up with the volume.

From those 200 calls, Christina and her team managed to get two new listings and four closed buyer deals. All from a simple, high-tech circle prospecting strategy that didn’t require cold calling, door knocking, or Facebook advertising. Not bad, right?

The Follow-up: Using Technology to Grow Genuine Relationships

As many of you already know, the money, of course, is in the follow-up. Anyone with deep enough pockets or a clever idea can get their phone to ring. Turning those calls into closed deals takes practice and a good lead nurturing strategy. Luckily, Christina’s team has both.

They took the returned calls from their circle prospecting and put them into their CRM (BoomTown!) and labeled them appropriately.

They also smartly used a Google phone number to track the calls, and used SMS-based lead nurturing to engage with the leads they didn’t speak to personally.

7 Circle Prospecting Tips & Scripts for 2022

If you’re an agent who doesn’t like the idea of using Slybroadcast but still wants to get better at circle prospecting, here are seven circle prospecting tips for 2022 from our real estate coaches Chris Linsell and Sean Moudry:

1. Don’t Make Your Circle Too Large

A common mistake that new agents make when circle prospecting is making their circle too large. They think if reaching 50 homes is good, then reaching 200 homes will be better. In reality, this strategy will be more costly, more time-consuming, and will likely get you worse results.

The reason why is simple. The further out you go from the home you transacted on, the less relevant that transaction will be to the homeowners you reach. Let’s say you closed a two-bedroom bungalow for 20% above asking in neighborhood X. Why would someone who owns a seven-bedroom mansion in neighborhood Y care? Worse, if you contact them with irrelevant news, they will assume you’re not very interested in their needs. To them, you’ll just be another salesperson trying to make a quick buck.

Instead, try to target 50 homes or less, and make sure all or most of the homes you target are at least somewhat similar.

2. Don’t Overthink It

Another mistake that many agents make when circle prospecting for the first time is overthinking their scripts. It’s a natural mistake to make because well, most agents want to do a good job and they study those scripts like their lives depend on it.

In reality, a script should be like an outline for a story. You should use them as a general guide to start and maintain a conversation, but never forget that this is a conversation. Yes, you want your lead to set up a listing appointment, join your email list, whatever. But if you overcomplicate your script, you’re going to come across like a robot.

Remember Christina’s simple script: “This is Christina Griffin with the Griffin Group at Coldwell Banker. We just listed a home in your community XXXX. If you know anyone looking to move, give us a call.”

3. Get Over Your Fear of Door Knocking ← This One’s Important!

Most new agents are scared of having a lead hang up on them during a cold call, but the fear of door knocking verges on phobia. If you don’t believe me, find a new agent and ask them to come knocking on doors with you next week.

The reality, of course, is that just like cold calling, the fear of door knocking is pretty irrational. Most people are not jerks, and you will be surprised at how many appreciate the courage it takes to knock on their door. It makes sense when you think about it. After all, you just proved to them that you’re a brave salesperson who isn’t afraid to work hard and risk rejection. Isn’t that the whole point of lead generation and marketing anyway?

4. Understand That Circle Prospecting Is Not Just About Getting Leads

Another mistake new agents frequently make with circle prospecting is giving up if they don’t get leads right away. After all, circle prospecting takes time, effort, and money. Shouldn’t you expect a return on investment (ROI)? Well, yes, but sometimes that ROI will come later rather than sooner. Circle prospecting is just as much about marketing as it is about generating leads.

For example, you might send out just-sold postcards in May, but get a phone call in September when a homeowner is thinking of moving. Or you might send out that postcard in May, then go door knocking in September and have the homeowner remember you from the postcard. So don’t freak out and quit if you don’t get leads right away. You will be increasing brand awareness and softening up prospects for future outreach.

5. Use Multiple Outreach Methods to Increase Your Response Rate

While Slybroadcast can work great, it won’t work great for everyone you reach. Some people are just not texters, might consider voicemails spammy, or just won’t respond when you call. In order to maximize your response rate, blend in other marketing materials like postcards, texts, phone calls, and door knocking over the next few months.

6. Practice This Circle Prospecting Phone Script

Here’s a quick and easy script that can work for Slydial or on the phone. This can work particularly well if your listing is priced higher than usual for the neighborhood.

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“Hi, this is {your name} from {your brokerage}. I just wanted to let you know we’re hosting an open house at {listing address} on Sunday and I wanted to personally invite you for a neighbors-only sneak peek. The market is so crazy right now I wanted to give you a chance to see what {price of listing} gets you if you’re thinking about making a move in the next year or so.”

7. Offer to Include Them in Your Monthly Market Report

Since the majority of the people you contact when circle prospecting are unlikely to be moving anytime soon, you need to offer them something of value to stay top of mind. Offering free access to a monthly market report email or even better, an off-market listings report, is the perfect way to do it.

Over to You

Know a great real estate agent, broker, or team leader who leverages new (or old) technology in a creative way to generate listings and leads? Have a great circle prospecting story? Let us know in the comments or join our Facebook Mastermind Group for experienced agents here.

The post How Circle Prospecting Got One Tampa Realtor 200 Leads in ONE DAY appeared first on The Close.

Real estate cold calling is one of the most polarizing lead generation strategies in our industry. Experienced agents will tell you it’s an essential part of lead generation, while others argue it isn’t worth the anxiety or frustration because it doesn’t yield immediate results. But with the right preparation and tools, we know that cold calling can help build your business.

If you’re short on time, check out REDX for lead generation. REDX provides you with the leads and helps you make calls faster with an auto-dialer.

Visit REDX

4 Must-have Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts

Every real estate professional needs to have these four real estate cold calling scripts in their arsenal: the Expired Listing Script, the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Script, the Circle Prospecting Script, and the Voicemail Script.

Download Our Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts

1. Expired Listing Script

Cold calling expired listings can be tricky because you know that the homeowner is going to talk to multiple real estate agents, maybe even on the same day you’re calling. Stand out from the competition with a great script from REDX called The Neighborhood Expert:

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AGENT: Hi, is this the homeowner? I’m [your name] with [your company].

You know, I work in [neighborhood], and I noticed that your home was no longer for sale. Are you planning to put it back on the market?

[Listen—they will sometimes say “maybe later” or “not for a while.”]

AGENT: I can understand why you might feel pretty discouraged—it’s a great house. Any idea why it didn’t sell? Any offers?

[Listen to what they have to say.]

AGENT: I was just surprised to see it on the market for [how many] days. I assumed it would be gone in a few weeks. What made you all decide to sell? Where are you moving to?

I know you’ve likely had a few people calling you, but as I said, I’ve worked in the neighborhood for [#] years, I know this neighborhood, I’ve sold homes in this neighborhood, and I’d love a chance to sell your home or at least take a tour and see what might be holding it back.

Would you mind if I came by this Saturday at [specific time]? I’m happy to give you some feedback.

2. FSBO Script

Many real estate agents consider the FSBO prospect to be a perfect lead for cold calling. The sellers have announced to the world that they want to sell and they want to sell now—all you have to do is convince them they need help and that you’re the right person to provide it.

Most sellers try to sell their home themselves to save money. With this in mind, David Hill’s script will help you deal with this common objection. We’ve even put some mock responses in the script so you can practice hearing “no” and learn how to use those initial rejections to get a listing appointment.

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AGENT: Hello, this is [name] calling from [brokerage]. I noticed you have a house for sale in my coverage area. Is it still available?”

LEAD: Yes.

AGENT: Great, are you working with real estate agents?

LEAD: No.

AGENT: OK, I know the area well, and I’m wondering how much you’re asking for the house?

LEAD: $264,900.

AGENT: If I had a buyer who would be a fit, would that be helpful for you?

LEAD: Yes.

AGENT: Great. What I’d like to do is schedule a time to come by and look at the house to see if it would work for any of our clients. I’d also like to share some of the things we do to help FSBOs like yourself. Do you have time this afternoon, or would tomorrow work better for you?

LEAD: You know, I really don’t want to work with an agent. If you have someone who’s serious, you can send them by, but I’m not looking to sit down for a sales pitch with an agent.

AGENT: Sure, I can appreciate that. Let me ask you this: Why did you decide to sell your house without hiring a professional agent?

LEAD: Well, I wanted to save money. A 5 or 6% commission would be a lot.

AGENT: Yeah, I can understand that completely. Interestingly enough, 90% of the FSBOs I speak with tell me the exact same thing. If I could show you a way that I could net you the same or possibly even more money by using our services, would that be something you’d be open to?

LEAD: Well, basically what we’re trying to do is break-even. We bought the house two years ago, and the value hasn’t really gone up.

AGENT: So, what is the main reason for your sale?

LEAD: I’ve been transferred. We’re moving to Arkansas.

AGENT: Oh, congratulations. And when will you need to be in Arkansas?

LEAD: We need to be in Little Rock in 90 days.

AGENT: Gotcha. So the clock’s ticking for you. And if the house doesn’t sell in 90 days, what’s your plan B?

LEAD: Well, we’re going to have to go — the house will just be empty.

AGENT: Oh, yeah, I’d hate to have that happen to you. If I could sell the house, have you break-even, and get it done before you get to Arkansas, would that be a win for you?

LEAD: Yeah.

AGENT: OK, perfect. Why don’t we meet? I’d love to see if I can do that for you. I’ll be 100% honest with you. If I can do it, I’ll let you know. If I can’t, I’ll let you know that as well. How does that sound?

LEAD: Yeah, that’s fine. If you want to give it a shot, you can come on over.

AGENT: Awesome, thank you. I’ll see you this afternoon at four. Will that work?

LEAD: Sure, see you then.

Note that in the script, there’s no haggling over the commission. Try to refrain from making any commitments regarding numbers, but be sure that the prospect’s wishes and concerns are heard. You can always say, “I’m making a note of that…,” which shows that you’re listening but you’re not making any promises.

If you want to dive deeper and expand your FSBO prospecting skills, check out The 7 Best FSBO Scripts & Why They Work to learn how to get more listings in 2022.

3. Circle Prospecting Script

Circle prospecting is a great way to increase your exposure in neighborhoods where you’re already active. Remember, though, you don’t have to limit your prospecting to only areas where you’ve already listed or sold property.

Deploy this circle prospecting script from the indelible Ricky Carruth’s Zero to Diamond real estate coaching program to go after homes in neighborhoods where you’re the nearby listing agent or not.

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AGENT: Hello, is this [Mr./Mrs. Name]? Hey, [Mr./Mrs. Name], this is [your name] with [your company].

[Pause]

AGENT: How are you today? That’s good. Me too. Just enjoying this good weather outside. Isn’t it gorgeous today?

[Pause and let them talk. Listen to what they say. Chances are high that you get into a conversation about the weather, back and forth. This will set the comfort level of the call. If it’s raining, talk about how nasty it is today. Adjust your opening to what the current weather is doing. When this part of the conversation is over, transition into the reason for your call.]

AGENT: Well look, I don’t want to take up too much of your time today, but [market information, e.g., “a house/condo was just listed in your neighborhood/complex” or “a house/condo just sold in your neighborhood/complex”], and I didn’t know if there was anything I could do for you regarding buying or selling real estate at this time.

[Pause and listen. If they say YES, follow up and make a deal happen. If they say NO, continue below.]

AGENT: I gotcha. Well, is there an agent in the area that you would work with if you did buy or sell in the area?

[If the answer is no…]

AGENT: OK, well one day you will want to buy or sell, and I would like the opportunity to work with you when that day comes. Would it be OK if we stayed in touch?

[If they say yes…]

AGENT: Great! What is your email address?

AGENT: Awesome. Thanks so much. I look forward to speaking again soon!

Learn more about the power of circle prospecting in this profile of Christina Griffin, a Tampa Realtor, who generated 200 leads in a single day. You can also access our collection of actionable tips and scripts for knocking-on-doors prospecting by clicking here.

Download Your Cold Calling Scripts

4. Voicemail Script

According to Pipedrive, 80% of calls go to voicemail, which means leaving the right message needs to be an important part of your real estate cold calling strategy.

What does the right message sound like? For starters, it’s between eight and 14 seconds long, but definitely less than 30 seconds. The optimal voicemail establishes who you are and why you’re calling in a warm and friendly tone. But don’t include your pitch—the goal should be securing that next conversation when they call back or you make a follow-up call.

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AGENT: Hi [first name], this is [your name] with [your brokerage]. 

I’m calling because [your reason for calling] and I would love to hear your thoughts. I will follow up with you [how and when] or you can give me a call back at [your number]. I look forward to connecting with you soon!

Or, if it’s a second call:

AGENT: Hi [first name], this is [your name]. When we spoke last week, you mentioned [fill in the blank]. I just wanted to follow up with you and see how things went [OR I gave you a call last week and wanted to follow up OR fill in the blank, make it personal].

Some real estate cold calling strategists argue that a voicemail is a great way to turn a completely cold call into a lukewarm call. If you want to skip the (sometimes chilly) cold call altogether and dial straight into a warm voicemail, there are companies that help you do that.

The absolute leader in the field is Slydial, which allows you to dial directly into a phone number’s voicemail. These Ringless Voicemails (RVMs) are becoming more common and socially acceptable, so don’t shy away from using them. You can even acknowledge it by saying something like, “I know you’re busy, so I wanted to drop a quick voicemail and be respectful of your time.”

7 Steps in Real Estate Cold Calling

Real estate cold calling is so much more than picking up the phone and dialing a random number. Now that you have these real estate cold calling scripts in hand, use these tips to be more organized and confident in your approach.

1. Set Goals

Most real estate agents think the goal of every cold call is a listing appointment, but even meeting someone for a handshake can turn into a real lead. When your prospect isn’t ready to set a listing appointment, find any excuse to stop by and introduce yourself in person, even if it’s just for a minute or two. A good goal may be to cold call for an hour each day and meet with one new prospect in-person each week.

2. Be Professional

People will always respond best to warmth, enthusiasm, and empathy. The more time you spend listening to your prospects, the better you can address their pain points. Respect people (and their time) and show them that you are the Realtor who will solve their problems.

3. Provide a Service

Yes, cold calling is about building your business, but remember, you’re serving your community with your experience, education, and knowledge. The reason cold calling works is that there are people out there who need your help.

4. Prepare

Get comfortable with your cold calling scripts by practicing them out loud with a friend or colleague. You want to be prepared enough so that you’re not focused on what you’re saying but what they’re saying. Do your research and comb through MLS data. Be sure that you’re zeroing in on prospects who can really benefit from your services.

5. Start Calling

Make sure you are focused, have space to walk around, and maybe do some stretches to be limber and keep that mind sharp. It’s helpful to have an auto-dialer, like REDX (more about this below). It’s important to keep track of your calls and responses. You also might want to look into a customer relationship manager (CRM) to help you keep track of your outreach and take notes on your conversations.

6. Get Past the ‘No’s’

Let’s be clear: If you’re cold calling, you are going to hear a lot of “no” (and maybe even worse). If you’re afraid of this word, you aren’t going to get very far. Watch how cold calling expert Beverly Ruffner overcomes common objections like “I’m just looking—I’m good,” and “I already have an agent.”

7. Follow Up

Be ready to take the next steps with leads to keep the conversation going. Here’s Beverly again with her tried-and-true scripts for the follow-up call.

6 Tips for Leveling Up Your Real Estate Cold Calling

Now that you’re armed with these pro-level scripts and have a step-by-step plan, let’s dive into some more specific advice if you want to go beyond the basics and master the art of cold calling.

1. Spend Less Time Talking & More Time Listening

2. Let the Math Motivate You

3. Memorize Your Scripts & Rebuttals

4. Use an Auto-dialer Like Power Dialer From REDX

5. Strategize Your Call Times

6. Track Your Results

Watch the Experts Reveal Their Real Estate Cold Calling Secrets

YouTube is chock-full of videos from real estate agents who are crushing the cold calling game. Whether you’re looking to learn how to interact with prospects or just need to get hyped up for your next calling session, these videos are a great source of inspiration. Here are five of our favorites.

Bryan Casella is an expert at dealing with objections. He is clearly using a script and is crushing it every step of the way.

Chastin J. Miles shows us how it’s done with a FSBO prospect. We love how ​​Chastin takes the act of LISTENING to the next level rather than doing all the talking. You can see how effective his approach is with his soon-to-be client.

Our own Real Estate Coach, Beverly Ruffner, has put together several live examples of cold calls and offers her best cold calling tip: Treat everyone you’re calling like they’re your best friend.

Here’s one where Ricky Carruth coaches agent Emily Wood as she attempts cold calling for the first time. This one is a 50-minute commitment, but it’s super-valuable to watch someone starting out to see how she improves and gains confidence.

Loida Velasquez speaks honestly about how nerve-wracking it is to get started and offers her tips for first-time real estate cold calling. She has several additional videos on calling expired listings and FSBOs, including one where she critiques her first FSBO cold call.

Bringing It All Together

If you’ve questioned if cold calling is right for you, start with the right mindset and tools to conquer your fears. With some proven real estate cold calling scripts and lots of determination, you have the power to make cold calling a crucial part of your lead generation strategy.

Have any cold calling questions or tips you’d like to share? Anything we missed? Leave us a comment below!

The post 4 Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts + Tips to Conquer Your Fears appeared first on The Close.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably decided to learn how to take real estate photos the right way—yielding pro-level results that will impress agents and buyers on both your local MLS and on Zillow. We curated this list of the best real estate photography tips from experts across our industry to help you level up your skills.

Get Your Listing Photography Prep Checklist

Real Estate Photography: Preparation & Planning

1. Schedule Adequate Time for Your Shoot

“The same goes for photo editing. Don’t scramble at the last minute to find a professional image editor, if that’s not in your skill set. And don’t rush this process. Plan ahead by pinpointing a skilled photo editor to polish your images on sites like Fiverr, where talented freelancers look for work.”

Visit Fiverr

2. Neutralize & Declutter Before You Start Shooting

3. Always Stage a Home, Even if It Means Simply Rearranging Current Furniture

[Related article: The Best Virtual Staging Software & Tips for 2022]

4. Ask the Homeowner to Keep Pets Out of the Home

5. Pay Attention to the Smallest Details

6. Shoot Your Virtual Tour on the Same Day as Your Listing Pictures

Visit Asteroom

7. Always Notify the Neighbors Before Drone or Exterior Photography Sessions

Real Estate Photography: Choosing the Best Equipment

8. Invest in a Wide-angle Lens

9. Keep It Steady With a Tripod

Emile L’Eplattenier, Managing Editor, The Close

“Today’s cameras are so impressive you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. However, I recommend that you invest in a good tripod in addition to a wide-angle lens. Real estate photography is all about precision. A tripod will keep your camera steady and your photos clear.”

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Real Estate Photography: Lighting, View Planes & Framing

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10. Keep Your Verticals Straight (by Holding the Camera Level)

(Source: Adam Taylor, Interior Architecture Photographer in Hawaii)

(Source: Adam Taylor, Interior Architecture Photographer in Hawaii)

(Source: Adam Taylor, Interior Architecture Photographer in Hawaii)

(Source: Adam Taylor, Interior Architecture Photographer in Hawaii)

Adam Taylor, Interior & Architecture Photographer in Hawaii

“If you decide not to hire a professional photographer, make sure your verticals are straight. If your camera isn’t level, the vertical lines like walls and cabinet edges will appear to be slanted and the entire room will start to look like a fun house. Sometimes you’ll have to raise the camera higher or hold it a bit lower to capture your intended subject, and that’s OK … just make sure to level out the camera instead of tilting it up or down. Most cameras (even smartphones) have an option to turn on grid lines that will help guide you.”

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11. Get Your Lighting Right

Anne Jones, Owner & Realtor, Windermere Abode

“Make sure the sun is on the front of the house. Your cell phone camera is good, but you lose the details when homes are backlit. I also love high-contrast homes. Bright colors photograph better than neutral ones—almost the opposite of interior photography rules. You may not like the fake grass and clouds, but blue skies and green grass make compelling thumbnails!”

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12. Be Mindful of What’s in Your Line of Sight Through Windows

Michael Edlen, Edlen Team Coldwell Banker

“Photographers and agents sometimes neglect to consider what is in the line of sight through windows when shooting interior spaces. If one is not careful, the shot may inadvertently include scruffy landscaping across the street, an old van in someone’s driveway, or a patch of weeds in the sidewalk area. Worse yet, it may be a shot that includes a window with a large bush blocking most of the outlook, making the room feel closed in.”

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13. Never Fake Views Through Windows

Emile L’Eplattenier, Managing Editor, The Close

“Although it may be tempting to Photoshop in a pastoral green meadow or weeping willow to cover up a drab backyard visible through the windows, don’t!

“First and foremost, you will likely be flirting with violating National Association of Realtor (NAR) rules, but more importantly, you’ll be starting your relationship with a potential buyer with a lie. A white lie to be clear, but a lie nonetheless.”

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14. Make Sure the Windows Are Clean

Kenneth Er, Compass

“I think one of the little details that a lot of people miss is to remove the window screens and clean the windows inside and out. This just makes rooms look so much bigger in photos and in person with the right light.”

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15. Open All Curtains & Blinds

Daniel Tirado, Aerial Photographer

“As a professional drone photographer in the real estate business, I always recommend opening all of the interior window blinds. While these may be outdoor photos, opening the blinds makes the house look more inviting and bigger from the outside by allowing potential buyers to see the exterior and interior of the home in one picture. From a photographer point of view, opening the blinds dramatically reduces any glare that may shine back at the drone camera when capturing pictures and videos.”

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Real Estate Photography: Marketing Your Listing

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16. Include Images of the Lifestyle Your Listing Exemplifies

AJ Canaria, Creative Producer, MoxiWorks

“Include community images to give a feeling of the neighborhood,” says AJ Canaria, Creative Producer at MoxiWorks. “People don’t only want to envision their life in that home, but also want to envision the life they can live around the community. This is especially important for homes with great walk scores and for consumers who aren’t as familiar with the community.

“As a photographer for the industry, it’s always important to give a sense of the location, especially when I travel for real estate events. If a listing is near a notable landmark and the community photos present it appropriately, it can help increase the value and help the consumer envision a life in that community. Also, showcasing nearby recreational areas, amenities, gyms, pools, and schools can influence the homebuyer’s decision to purchase that home.”

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17. Avoid Using Stock Photos Provided by Developers

James McGrath, Co-founder NYC Brokerage Yoreevo

“The vast majority of the time, interior stock photos are terrible. When someone has been looking long enough, they’ll associate these irrelevant pictures with a low-quality listing. The same can be said for stock photos of the building’s amenities—you’re diverting attention from what the viewer actually cares about—which looks suspicious.”

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18. Ask the Homeowner if They Have Shots of the Home in Different Seasons

Angel Pointek, Associate Broker | VP of Marketing Coldwell Banker Elite

“Ask the sellers for any photos they may have showing the home in different seasons. Show off that beautiful winter wonderland scene in the winter or the gorgeous red maple in the fall. Our job is to tell your home’s story, and those seasonal photos can be used in creative ways.”

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19. Sometimes Less Is More

Todd Andrew, Red Oak Realty

“Sometimes less is more. Don’t show too much. For instance, if the floor plan isn’t ideal, show individual spaces. The goal is to get buyers into the home. Let them decide when they get there whether they want to make any compromises the property may entail.”

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20. Post Just the Right Number of Photos

Katie Messenger, Realtor With Keller Williams Realty

“There is a quantity sweet spot. Too few photos may leave buyers wondering what isn’t being shown, or confuse them on the layout and features. Too many photos may cause buyers to lose interest.

“Around 20 pictures will give a pretty accurate depiction of most homes without being too overwhelming. However, a lot of it depends on the size and square footage. For instance, 10 would be far too few on a 10,000-square-foot house, but could be just fine for a one-bedroom condo.”

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21. Take Photos of Your Photos

Christopher Linsell, Real Estate Writer, The Close

“Documenting the real estate photography process is a great way to build excitement about a new listing. Use your social media platforms to let everyone know that there is something new on the horizon, and give just a little glimpse of the work behind the scenes.”

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Real Estate Photography: When to Hire a Pro

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22. Hire a Pro to Edit Your Photos for Just $5

Christopher Linsell, Senior Real Estate Writer, The Close

“The gig economy is flourishing, and experts who are ready to take your photos to the next level are just a click away. That means prices are lower than ever, making it possible to have all your listing pictures edited by a professional.

“At last check, there are 960 freelance editors on Fiverr (and that’s just in the United States) who will take your DIY real estate listing photos and give them the polish your listings deserve. With prices starting at just $5, how can you afford not to?”

Visit Fiverr

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23. Whenever Possible, Hire a Professional Listing Photographer

We think Sunny Lake Hahn, Partner at 7DS Associates, the most well-respected (and trusted) real estate consulting firm in the country, explained it best:

“Professional photographers understand the importance of light and how to capture a space at the right time for the highest visual impact. Based on the position of the property, they know if it’s best to shoot at sunrise, sunset, or anywhere in between. They also have the ability to blend the same photo taken with different exposures to create the perfect image.

“In our digital, mobile world, professional photographs have the ability to stop the consumer from scrolling through listings. Beautiful images capture attention and get people to click through. Being able to get and keep the consumer’s attention is highly valuable in our instant-gratification world.”

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24. Relax!

Emile L’Eplattenier, Managing Editor, The Close

“Believe it or not, one of the keys to real estate photography or any photography, for that matter, is to leave the stress from your day in the office. When you’re stressed out and rushed, everything you need to do to take great listing photos becomes harder. Choose angles to shoot from, keep a steady hand to keep pictures sharp, and especially coordinate with homeowners about dogs, cats, clutter, and all the other annoying things that will get in between your camera and the beautiful pictures of your listing on Zillow.

“So relax. Schedule your shoot on a day when you’re not frantically rushing from showing to showing, and take a few deep breaths before you walk into the house, camera in hand. You already got the listing, so the hard part is over, right?”

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Over to You

What do you think: Is real estate photography something that amateur agents should try on their own? If so, what are some great real estate photography tips our experts missed?

[Related article: 33 Cringe-worthy Bad Real Estate Photos Agents Actually Posted]

The post Real Estate Photography: 24 Tips for Stunning DIY Photos appeared first on The Close.

Of course, for newer listing agents who can’t brag about their past success, preparing for a listing appointment can be very stressful. That’s why we asked some of the most successful listing agents we know to tell us what they do to prepare for listing appointments.

They provided a ton of hard-won knowledge, but if you’re short on time, you can simply download the listing appointment checklist (plus scripts) as a PDF here:

Get Our Listing Appointment Checklist & Scripts

1. Write & Practice Delivering Empathy-driven Closing Lines (Scripts)

Pitching a homeowner is a bit like walking a tightrope over a canyon—it doesn’t matter how well you do in the middle if you lose your balance and fall a foot away from the other side. The closing line, when you ask for the listing, is where most new agents fall. If you want to get better at delivering closing lines, you need to focus on empathy: What are your homeowner’s goals and how can you help them realize those goals?

Nile Lundgren, licensed associate real estate broker at SERHANT and capstone consultant for the Sell It Like Serhant Pro Membership, tailors his closing lines to what is important for the homeowner:

“If you ask for the seller’s goals, you should already know what is important to them in the sale. Is it price? Time? Is it an agent who over communicates, or is it overall experience? Once you uncover what’s important to the seller, use that to close:

“What I hear you saying, Mrs. Seller, is that you want an agent to over-communicate due to past experiences with other realtors. As I mentioned, I have a weekly report that gives you a snapshot of the showings, feedback, listing analytics, and more. Why wait to sign with me, meet another agent, when my seller communications program is exactly what you’re looking for?”

Here are a few more closing lines you can use once you know the homeowner’s goals:

Price:

“After everything we’ve gone over today, are you confident that I am the best fit to sell your home quickly and for the best price?”

Honesty & Empathy:

“Thanks again for taking the time to allow me to talk to you tonight, _________. I am ready to go to work if you’ll have me.”

A Quick Sale:

“I think the best strategy would be to get the paperwork out of the way tonight so we can get your house up on the MLS by Friday. I would love to go over the listing agreement with you so we can make that happen.”

Marketing:

“Since you seemed to like the idea of virtual staging so much, I would love to have my photographer come by this weekend to take some pictures that we can virtually stage for you.”

or

“I am 100% sure that the marketing strategy I laid out for you tonight will sell your home quickly and for the most money. If you agree, can we take the next step and go over the listing agreement?”

Information:

“Have we gone over enough information today so that signing the listing agreement would be the next step?”

If you don’t already have a listing presentation ready to go, check out Chris’ step-by-step article: This Buyer Presentation Converts Leads to Clients in 15 Minutes.

2. Learn How to Anticipate & Overcome Emotional Seller Objections (Scripts)

Even if they’re a hundred percent sold on hiring you and ready to sign, most homeowners will throw up at least some objections. They’re not doing this to intimidate you or poke holes in your pitch, and chances are they are not all that concerned with saving a few thousand dollars in commissions. Like anyone making an important decision, they just want to make sure they are doing their due diligence.

This is why it’s crucial to anticipate and prepare your objection handlers before you even think about sitting in their living room and asking them for the listing. Here are a few objection handlers to address the most common objections you will get on a listing appointment.

While memorizing a few common objection handlers is a great way to perform better on your listing appointment, learning how to anticipate emotional objections is a skill that takes time to learn. Top-producing agent, broker-owner, coach, and Close contributor Sean Moudry has an excellent guide to learning how to do just that: How to Anticipate & Overcome Emotional Seller Objections.

3. Make Sure Your Listing Presentation Looks Polished & Professional

No matter how you deliver your listing presentation at your listing appointment, it needs to look polished and professional. Even if your content is amazing, a poorly designed presentation will take the focus off what you’re saying, and put it on your lack of graphic design skills—a key component of digital marketing today.

Along with hundreds of social media templates, Lab Coat Agents Marketing Center has a very attractive and professional listing presentation template that’s super easy to customize. Check it out here:

Visit Lab Coat Agents Marketing Center

4. Preview Every Nearby Listing You Can, Then Preview Some More

Luckily, the best way to prepare for your listing appointment is also the easiest: go out and preview every listing you can, then preview some more. This is one thing every top-producing listing agent we know works into their daily schedule. Previewing listings helps you get a sense of what’s really on the market competing with the listing you’re pitching, instead of what other listing agents show on your MLS. Let’s face it—many MLS listing pictures are about as accurate as a Tinder profile. Knowing what’s really out there will give you an edge.

If you make time to preview homes every day and take notes, in a few years you will even be able to comment on details of the comps you present in your CMA. So instead of saying, “Like your home, 1234 Main Street has three bedrooms and sold for $550,000,” you could say “1234 Main Street sold for $550,000, but when I toured it last year I noticed the bedrooms were very small. Your bedrooms are much larger, so this makes your home more attractive to buyers.” Which response do you think a homeowner is more likely to be impressed with?

[Related article: How to Do a Comparative Market Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide]

5. Practice Gratitude to Build Genuine Confidence

While it might seem a little woo-woo, one of the best ways to get over the pre-listing appointment jitters is to practice gratitude. You worked hard to get to this point, and someone has recognized your hard work and is considering you to help them with the largest transaction of their lives.

So instead of panicking, be thankful! If you find yourself getting stressed when preparing for your appointment, remind yourself how lucky you were to be able to get where you are today. On the day of your listing appointment, make sure to express that gratitude by thanking the homeowner right away.

Many new listing agents get so caught up in pitching homeowners they forget they’re actually dealing with a human being who let a stranger into their home. In order to break the ice, the very first words out of your mouth on your listing appointment should be “thank you.” If you focused on gratitude while preparing for the appointment, that thank you will be genuine and they will feel it.

You don’t have to gush—just say something like:

6. Schedule Your Listing Appointment on a Busy Day

While this one might seem counterintuitive, scheduling your listing appointment on a day that you’re busy can actually help you perform better. Think about it. Which cold call do you perform better on? Your first cold call of the day or your last? If you’re like most agents, you’re going to do much better on that last call.

So instead of sitting around worrying and running over scripts the morning of your listing appointment, practice the night before, make sure your listing presentation is solid, and spend the day of your appointment doing what you do best—working with people who want to buy or sell real estate.

7. Create a Custom Listing Marketing Plan for the Home

Even though your listing marketing plan will probably not change much if you get the listing, you should still work to create a custom marketing plan for the homeowner. Every homeowner wants to believe that their home is unique enough to warrant customized marketing. Indulging that emotional need will help build rapport with the homeowner.

A great way to do this is to start with a multi-pronged listing marketing plan, then decide which marketing strategies you will use if you get the listing. Present this to the homeowner and explain why you are choosing some marketing strategies and not others.

[Related article: Sean’s 47-Point Ultimate Real Estate Listing Marketing Plan (PDF Checklist)]

Bonus Tip: Stick to Your Daily Wellness Routine on the Day of Your Appointment

One of the best ways to stay fresh and confident for your listing appointment is to stick to whatever wellness routine you normally do. If you normally work out in the morning and then meditate before breakfast, then this is exactly what you should do on the morning of your listing appointment.

The morning of your listing appointment is not the time to try a new meditation technique or do another mile on the treadmill. Instead, stick to whatever wellness routine is already working for you. This won’t eliminate the stress, but it will help trick your brain into thinking it’s just another day doing what you love.

Over to You

How do you prepare for listing appointments? Let us know in the comments.

The post 7 Ways Top Agents Prepare for Listing Appointments (+ Checklist & Scripts) appeared first on The Close.