4 Lead Generating Scripts for Listing Agents

Southern California based Realtor April Kass had to get "comfortable being uncomfortable" when it came to door knocking and asking homeowners certain questions. She pushed through her discomfort, however, and signed 16 listings and closed 9 escrows in her first year in real estate.

Part of her secret to winning so many listings is how she approaches those in-person conversations with homeowners. Kass likes to door knock around properties she's just listed or just sold because that gives her a very specific reason to talk to homeowners in an area without coming across as too pushy.

During a webinar last week, Kass shared the basic scripts she uses for drumming up seller leads via open houses and door knocking. We were flooded with requests from agents who wanted a text version of her scripts. Well, ladies and gentlemen, ask and ye shall receive. Here are four scripts April uses to generate seller leads in person.

Door Knocking Before an Open House

This easy script takes only a minute or two. Kass finishes it by offering a CMA to neighbors who may be thinking of selling soon. She also says it's a great tool for trying to break into a new neighborhood. "It just starts putting your face out there so you become that local market expert."

Hi, I'm April Kass with the Dave Wright Real Estate Team. You know, we just listed a house down the street at 333 Main St. We're having an open house this weekend, so I'm just knocking the neighbors to invite you to our open house and find out who you know who might want to move in to your neighborhood. Who do you know from work, from school, etc.?

[Homeowner answers.]

Great! You know, a lot of times in this market we've got multiple buyers coming in, and this isn't going to be the right house for everybody. Who do you know around here that's looking to sell their house? Have you ever thought about selling or have any of your neighbors mentioned it?

Door Knocking After a Sale

Kass uses this script as a follow-up to the conversation above. "They know you've sold this property, and that's just such a wonderful way to connect with people," she says. It's especially effective when the listing has sold for over asking.

Hi, I'm April Kass with the Dave Wright Real Estate Team. You might remember me. I came over here about a month or two back when we had 333 Main St. for sale.

Well, we just sold it and we had seven offers on that property. That means six people missed out. I'm knocking the neighbors to find out who you know around here that could use some buyers? People want to buy in this neighborhood, so who do you know that's thinking of selling their property?

While short, the brilliance of this script is that plants the idea in the homeowner's head that their neighborhood is a hot commodity—and that selling now could be very lucrative for them.

Talking to Buyers at Open Houses

Kass loves open houses because nearly all attendees are looking to buy or sell (save for a few nosy neighbors). The first thing she does when buyers walk in is ask them to sign-in to her open house sheet. Then she starts asking questions to find out if these buyers are also homeowners and, therefore, potential sellers. Here's an example of how Kass steers the conversation:

April: What brought you in here today?

Buyer: Oh, we're just looking in the neighborhood and we saw this on Redfin.

April: Ok, so are you thinking of buying in this neighborhood?

Buyer: Yeah, we are. We like the neighborhood a lot.

April: Okay wonderful. What kind of property are you looking for?

[Buyer answers]

April: Oh, this sounds like something that's right up your alley. Where are you living now?

Buyer: Oh we live in Pasadena.

April: Oh great. Do you rent or do you own?

Buyer: Oh, we own our house.

April: Oh great. Are you thinking about upgrading to a larger house?

Buyer: Yeah, we are.

April: And are you going to need to sell in order to buy?

Kass considers calls those last three questions "money questions" because that's where she indentifies potential listing leads. "That's where I end up setting a lot of appointments or connecting with a lot of sellers," she says.

Talking to Neighbors at Open Houses

Remember those nosy neighbors we mentioned earlier? They not only be nosy—they may be thinking of selling and want to check out the neighbor's property so they can gauge how much their home may sell for.

April: What brought you in here today?

Neighbor: Oh, we're just neighbors.

April: Oh great. Where do you live?

Neighbor: We live right up the street from here.

April: Oh man, that's such a great neighborhood. What brought you in here today? You just want to check it out or are you thinking of selling your place?

If the neighbor mentions that they're considering selling, Kass continues the conversation by asking questions from the previous script, e.g. Are you going to need to sell in order to buy? If the neighbor is interested in selling, she'll offer to send them a free home valuation via a branded CMA. For leads that aren't quite ready to enter the market, Kass sets them up on nurture campaigns to stay top-of-mind in the meantime.

Your turn: What are your favorite door knocking strategies? Do you knock around specific events, like upcoming open houses or just listed/sold? What do you say to qualify and engage potential sellers? Let us know in the comments below!