The Lead Generation Moves That Still Work in Real Estate

What should real estate agents kill, keep or change as they build a stronger business? Lauren, Brooke and Karlton turn that question into a lively conversation about the prospecting activities that still create real opportunity. They discuss replacing generic cold calls with intentional warm conversations, using open houses as a low cost way to meet buyers and sellers, approaching door hangers and neighborhood outreach with more value and respect, and building a real system for paid internet leads. They also explain why for sale by owners are one of the clearest opportunities for agents who want more listings, why buyer consultations set the tone for a professional client experience, and how focused neighborhood farming can compound over time. The through line is simple: choose a strategy that fits your business, bring real value, and follow up consistently.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) Why the kill, keep or change game matters
• (00:01:08) Cold calling becomes intentional warm calling
• (00:07:13) Why open houses still create opportunity
• (00:10:01) Replacing door knocking with value driven outreach
• (00:14:32) When paid internet leads make sense
• (00:20:15) Why agents should keep working with FSBOs
• (00:26:52) The case for buyer consultations
• (00:34:12) How neighborhood farming compounds over time
• (00:39:52) The next generation of real estate prospecting
• (00:40:32) Final thoughts and an invitation for feedback

Episode breakdown: kill, keep or change for seven prospecting habits

Lauren, Reside’s director of client experience, and her teammates Brooke and Karlton coach agents and teams across the US and Canada. In this episode Karlton runs a game called kill, keep or change. He names a prospecting activity, and each of them decides whether it still works as is, needs a new approach, or should go. Here’s where they landed and why.

Turn cold calling into warm calling

Brooke would change cold calling, not drop it. Working down a phone book will produce something, but it’s a poor return on time. She’d rather call a list with a reason attached, such as an open house neighborhood, a farm area, for sale by owners or expireds, and open with something of value, like recent sales in the neighborhood.

Lauren agreed, and added a practical step for solo agents who are new to calling strangers. Find a community, or another agent in the office, to practice scripts with.

Karlton killed the term altogether. In his view there’s always a warm reason to call. Rates moved, buying power shifted, a home just listed that fits someone, or a market is short on inventory and needs sellers.

Keep open houses, kill door knocking

All three kept open houses. Karlton built his business on them, and when his pipeline was thin he sat three or four a week. He gives three reasons. You serve your seller and might find the buyer yourself, you get a virtual office in any neighborhood you want to work, and you meet a pool of future buyers and sellers. Brooke called them one of the cheapest lead sources for a solo agent with a small budget, on one condition. A follow-up plan has to be in place before the event.

Door knocking went the other way. Lauren and Brooke both said they wouldn’t open the door to a stranger, and Karlton said knocking on doors in the middle of the day is largely over. In its place they suggest door hangers, a flyer for a nearby open house, and walking the neighborhood in the evenings and on weekends with something useful to hand out.

Buy internet leads only with capacity and tracking

Brooke keeps paid leads, with conditions. Before a team buys them, she asks whether the agents have the capacity to work them, and whether a follow-up system and a speed-to-lead process sit behind them. Adding more leads to one slammed agent is wasted money.

Lauren would track every lead source, compare it to the P&L, and then ask whether the team is scripting enough. She told the story of an agent who followed up with one lead for five years without a response, until the lead was ready to sell.

Is this an actual conversion problem, or is this a true lead problem?

Lauren

Karlton warned that teams can get addicted to the next lead and stop working the opportunities they already have. Lauren’s rule is that every lead gets the same service, however it was sourced.

Go all in on for sale by owners

This was the strongest keep. Brooke pointed out that a FSBO has already decided to sell, which is the hardest step with most seller leads.

When I see that for sale by owner sign, I see a help wanted sign.

Karlton

Karlton’s approach is to get face to face without making anything up. He tells the owner he owes it to his business to know all the available inventory, and asks whether he can come preview the property today or tomorrow. He also asks directly how long they plan to try selling on their own. Brooke recommends bringing something useful, such as a seller’s disclosure the owner will need anyway.

Keep buyer consultations and farming

All three kept buyer consultations. Brooke uses them to set expectations for every stage. That covers the timeline, a search narrowed to maybe five homes that fit instead of a hundred, earnest money, inspection reports that will look long and are normal, and the options if an appraisal comes in low. Early in her career, a client wasn’t ready when she asked for $5,000 in earnest money, and she has prepared buyers for it ever since. Karlton’s point is that a buyer agent who skips the consultation risks becoming just a key to the front door.

Farming stayed too. Brooke called it slow to pay off, but one of the channels that compounds. Karlton remembers about six months of farming before the calls started. In three years in his current home, he has received one mailer from a realtor. If he went back to selling full time, his first job would be making sure all 175 homes in his neighborhood know he’s in real estate. He’d use mail, digital, word of mouth and community events like an ice cream truck at the pool.

Key takeaways for team leaders

• Give every call a reason, whether that’s a market change, a new listing, a neighborhood sale or a specific list.
• Open houses are a low-cost lead source only if follow-up is planned before the event.
• Before buying more leads, confirm agent capacity, speed to lead and source tracking against the P&L.
• Treat FSBOs as sellers asking for help, and lead with a preview request and real value.
• Use buyer consultations to set expectations on earnest money, inspections and appraisals up front.
• Pick one farm, expect a slow start, and stay in front of every home in it.

Links and Resources:

• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

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