Low-Cost Lead Generation For Real Estate Agents
Last week on the Quick Win Collective, Jimmy Burgess and I walked through five campaigns you can run before the weekend. Every one of them is copy and paste. A few of them produced results in under a week. Here they all are, with the exact scripts.
One idea frames everything below. Selling a house is a huge decision. If your marketing asks people to make a huge decision ("thinking of selling? call me"), they won't respond. Your job is to take a big decision and shrink it into a small one. Every script in this post does that.
## 1. The Maybe Price email
A ListingLeads member sent this email to a couple hundred people in her database and got 11 replies. Eleven conversations about selling, from one email.
**Subject line:** Your maybe price
**Preview text:** I'd be a terrible agent if I didn't ask...
**Body:** Is there a number where, even if you're not planning on selling, you'd pause for a second and say "maybe I'd consider it"? Just curious where your head is at.
That preview text line is a Jimmy Burgess special, and it matters. Preview text is the snippet that shows up in the inbox before anyone opens the email. Most agents leave it blank or let their email tool auto-fill it with junk. Don't. (If you don't know where the preview text field is, ask ChatGPT how to set it in Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or whatever tool you use. It's right below the subject line in every major product.)
The mistake I see constantly: agents take an email like this and "improve" it. They add their logo. They drop it into a newsletter template with split columns and graphics. Don't. This should look like something you typed in Gmail and sent to one person. The moment it looks like a newsletter, it gets treated like one. Every word here has been tested. Copy, paste, send.
## 2. The Magic Buyer Letter
If you have a qualified buyer who hasn't found a home, this is the single best move available to you right now. And if you don't have one, walk over to the busiest agent in your office and borrow theirs.
Here's what happened when Nikki Shoemaker, an agent in our mastermind group, ran it. On October 21st she mailed 300 letters to a neighborhood where her buyer, a pro football player, wants to live. The letter read:
> I know you're probably not even thinking of selling, but if you believe there's someone who's serious about buying, you're right. My clients Andy and Nikki and their two children are looking for a home in your area, and your home stood out as a potential fit. They're preapproved, they're comfortable with homes needing minor updates, and they're flexible on closing date. I promise I would do everything I can to help them find a new home, even if you're not planning on selling.
Four days later, October 25th, she got a call from a homeowner with a house valued at $1.7 million who plans to sell this spring and downsize. Her buyer wants it. The seller is even open to renting it to them in the meantime. Total investment: about $400 in postage and printing and a few hours of work. That's potentially $3.4 million in transaction volume, because she now has pole position on the listing too.
People will tell you direct mail takes 6 to 18 months to pay off. If you're farming, that's fair. But a letter about a real, specific, named buyer is not farming. It's news, and news gets opened.
Details that raise your response rate: use colored envelopes, hand-address them (do it while you're watching TV instead of scrolling), and be specific about the buyer. "I have a buyer" is ignorable. "My clients Andy and Nikki and their two kids, preapproved, $800K to $1M" is not.
Then stretch it to a second channel. Shoot a 30-second reel: "I'm begging you to share this video with someone you know who's thinking about selling. I have the perfect clients, they're pre-qualified, they're ready to move, and we've looked at every property on the market in [your area]. If the home needs some repairs, they're fine with that. You're probably not thinking of selling, but you probably know someone who is." You're working in public. Sellers see an agent who goes the extra mile. Buyers see it and ask "would you do that for me?" Yes. Yes you would.
## 3. The fried turkey video
This one is from Jimmy Burgess, and he's been doing it for years. On Thanksgiving morning, while the turkey cooks, he pulls out his phone and records a selfie video for the 10 people who impacted his business most that year:
> "Hey, it's Jimmy. Thanksgiving morning, I'm out here frying the turkey, and while I was waiting on it I was thinking about the people I'm most thankful for this year. I immediately thought of you. I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done to support me. I hope this is your favorite Thanksgiving yet."
He's had clients video-reply from the beach house he helped them buy, panning the room to show the whole family. Agents who've copied this have told him it led directly to listing referrals.
One rule: don't do it if you don't mean it. They'll know.
Why it works: psychologist Vanessa Van Edwards identifies three phrases that make you more likable, and this video runs on one of them. The three are worth writing down, because they belong in all of your outbound:
1. "Last time we talked, you mentioned..." (proves you listen)
2. "You're always so [positive label]..." (you're always so connected in our community, so I wanted you to see this first)
3. "I was just thinking about you..."
Likability isn't a soft skill in this business. Given the choice, people hire the likable agent over the more competent one. Be both and you have a real edge.
## 4. Deal of the Week: the infinite referral script
A couple years ago my mom sold an investment property through an agent I referred. Months later I asked how the agent did. "Amazing, Jimmy. Thoughtful, communicated constantly, sold it for more than we expected." I asked if she'd referred them anyone. She gasped and said, "I didn't know I was supposed to do that." Then I asked her to text me a list of people she knew who were looking to buy or sell. She sent me 13 names.
Your happiest past clients are sitting on referrals they don't know you want. This system surfaces them without you ever asking "do you know anyone?"
**Monday:** find the best deal of the week in your market. An off-market opportunity from a magic buyer letter, a pocket listing from your broker meeting, or the hottest new listing on the market. We built a free tool that finds the most viral listing in your area by save rate at automate.listingleads.com/deal. Anything with a save rate north of 10% is going to move fast.
**Tuesday through Friday:** text or DM three to five people a day from your sphere:
> Hey [name], I know you're not currently looking to move, but since you're so well connected, I wanted to reach out. I just came across a new listing that's about to hit the market that I think will sell pretty quickly. Think it might be worth sharing with someone you know?
"I know you're not currently looking to move" destroys the objection before it forms. "Since you're so well connected" is likability phrase number two. Run this weekly and you'll build a steady stream of two to three warm inbound referrals a week. There is nothing better in this business than a warm referral.
## 5. The Insider Poll
Here's your social play, and it's built on price reductions, which nearly every market is seeing right now. A reduction of 5% or more signals a motivated seller. 10% or more, the seller is telling you they want out.
Your MLS looks like a Bloomberg terminal. Consumers believe agents have access to information they don't, and in this case they're right. Use the gap.
Take a screenshot of your MLS (redact what you need to), then post a story or shoot a quick video:
> "I was just looking at our MLS. We had 35 price reductions over 10% this past week. That tells me we have some very motivated sellers, which could be a great opportunity to find a deal. Want the full list? Comment YES and I'll send it over."
The answers are always yes. And notice the listings aren't even yours. OPPL, other people's listings, turned into list growth and buyer conversations for you. Katherine Hamilton has a line I love: before your home is on the market you have comparables; once it's on the market you have competition. This post is you narrating that competition in public.
## Bonus: the "I'm sorry" script for old open house leads
An agent on the call asked how to re-engage open house leads from earlier this year. Use an apology as the bridge, one-to-one text only, never mass:
> Hey Sam, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot to mention this when we met. Part of my service as a buyer's agent is sourcing off-market deals. I know you were looking at 123 Main Street when it was listed at $550K. Are you still in the market?
When you open with "I'm sorry, I forgot to mention," the reflex reply is "oh no, it's okay, thanks for following up." You've turned a cold re-engagement into them reassuring you. The conversation is open.
## Do this before Friday
Pick one. Send the Maybe Price email today, since it's the fastest. If you have a buyer, get the magic buyer letters printed this week. If you're reading this near Thanksgiving, the turkey video costs you ten minutes and it's the right thing to do regardless of what it returns.
Whoever controls the narrative controls the market. Right now, in most inboxes and mailboxes, nobody is. And remember: if you're not in their mailbox in November, your signs won't be in their yards come March.