A solid real estate prospecting plan is an essential part of any strategy for getting listings. It helps generate the best listing leads and directly impacts a real estate agent’s ability to close listing appointments. Just ask Blake Cantrell.
In just one month, Cantrell managed to list over 70 homes in the Springfield, Missouri, market. Cantrell credits his success to hard work and a proven prospecting plan that his team applies day after day.
Read on for an overview of the prospecting strategy that gets Cantrell so many listings. To learn the details and hear exactly what Cantrell says to win over sellers, listen to the podcast below.
What a good real estate prospecting plan covers
A good real estate prospecting plan covers canceled listings, FSBO listings and expired listings. These three categories of listings are Cantrell’s bread and butter when it comes to getting listing appointments via prospecting, but circle prospecting also has its place.
For best results, ensure your plan accounts for each of the aforementioned listing types as well as circle prospecting.
How to get listings via real estate prospecting
Now that you know what a good real estate prospecting plan covers, let’s get into how to generate quality listing appointments and increase chances of closing with sellers.
Make calls purposeful
It’s not necessary to go for each and every potential listing. Create some type of criteria for desired listings (Cantrell uses price range), and avoid making calls on homes that don’t meet it.
To get phone numbers, addresses and other information for real estate prospecting purposes, use a service.
Gauge seller interest
Don’t set listing appointments with uninterested sellers; it’s a waste of time for both parties.
Prequalify prospects by gauging their interest with the best real estate scripts or a few free-flow questions.
If someone seems unlikely to list at this time, you can always reach out again at some point in the future.
Plan ahead
Before walking into a listing appointment, take some time to create a strategy specific to that seller.
If you have a hunch concerning their DISC personality profile, consider altering your approach accordingly.
Also, though you don’t have to come with a complete set of comps, you should know enough about their area and the market to come across as an expert.
Cantrell’s real estate prospecting tips
Real estate prospecting is never easy, but advice from experienced agents helps make the process a little less intimidating and a lot more productive.
Increase your chances of getting listings with these final prospecting tips from Cantrell:
- If your market has a high number of one listing type in particular, put more time into planning for it. Cantrell’s market, for instance, has a higher-than-average number of expired listings, so he dedicates additional effort to strategizing for them specifically.
- Cantrell has two inside sales agents (ISA) working for him Monday through Friday, and he wouldn’t be able to get as many listings as he does without them. If other real estate tasks frequently take time away from prospecting, you need an ISA.
For more information and tips on real estate prospecting, listen to the complete podcast interview with Blake Cantrell.
Pat Hiban is the author of the NYT bestselling book “6 steps to 7 figures: A Real Estate Professional’s Guide to Building Wealth and Creating Your Destiny,” the founder of online real estate sales training site Rebus University, and the host of Pat Hiban Interviews Real Estate Rockstars, an agent-to-agent real estate podcast with Hiban Digital in Baltimore, Maryland. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.