Top-Producing Real Estate Agents Have Mastered Real Estate Prospecting Scripts

Top-producing real estate agents have learned how to master real estate prospecting scripts to control every prospecting call’s flow, tone, and direction. In this post, we’ll look at why scripts are important and give you a few tips on how to get the most out of your real estate prospecting scripts.

The Importance Of Real Estate Prospecting Scripts

Why Scripts Matter

Many real estate agents avoid scripts, believing that they make them sound inauthentic and robotic. Many agents prefer to “wing it,” thinking they’ll sound more natural and conversational.

However, the reality is that scripts make your lead-generation efforts more effective. Here’s why:

• Consistency: Using scripts ensures that every interaction with potential leads is consistent. Consistency is crucial for building a brand image and maintaining professionalism.
• Clarity: Scripts are crafted to convey key information clearly and compellingly. This helps real estate professionals communicate effectively, ensuring they cover all necessary points and address potential concerns or objections from leads.
• Efficiency: Having a script saves time during lead-generation activities. Real estate agents often deal with a high volume of leads, and having a well-prepared script allows them to move through conversations efficiently without missing essential details.

When you master your scripts for real estate prospecting, you’ll become more comfortable with your delivery, sounding more natural and friendly to the prospect on the other end of the call. You’ll also become a more effective listener. Rather than being concerned about what you’re going to say next, you can focus on listening to the homeowner in order to understand their concerns and goals.

Working With Prospecting Scripts Real Estate

Ask Effective Questions

Proven scripts bring life to your efforts to engage a prospect. A script guides how to ask compelling open-ended questions, which are the most effective way to keep your prospect engaged in the conversation. In the second half of this post, we’ll do a deep dive into how to ask effective questions.

Never Stop Practicing

You need to know your scripts intimately and continue practicing to become more fluid and conversational. If you haven’t already done so, find yourself a role-playing partner. Take 15-30 minutes every morning to work with your partner on scripts, especially handling objections. Role-playing right before actual prospecting is the best way to get focused for the day ahead.

Embrace Real Estate Prospecting Scripts

As we suggested above, newer agents often feel uncomfortable working with scripts. This is understandable. After all, our egos tell us we’re better off being and sounding “natural.” Using a script doesn’t mean you can’t use your own words. But it’s essential, and very helpful, to begin by practicing scripts verbatim.

Building Rapport

It’s estimated that 90 percent of people will respond similarly given the same circumstances. So, buying and selling homes repeatedly puts people in the same situation. Still, the onus is on you, as the agent, to engage with them to build rapport. And there’s more to real estate lead generation script practice than just repeating the words on the page or screen. You must learn how to modulate your voice, add emphasis when needed, and use the proper phrasing. Again, mastering conversation through using your scripts is all about practice.

Handling Objections

You will hear objections no matter how good you are at delivery and voice modulation. Don’t let objections, especially the reflexive "No," take you off your game. By practicing and internalizing scripts, you will become more adept at handling the inevitable objections that come with real estate sales.

The more you work with scripts, the more comfortable you’ll become in your conversations with prospects. They will feel your comfort, which will naturally translate to them feeling confident that you’re the person to sell their home.

If you’d like to find a role-playing partner, Espresso Agent can help. Just send us an email at the bottom of our home page.

Control The Dialogue With Effective Questions

The rule of thumb when phone prospecting is to guide the conversation so that the homeowner does 70% of the talking. The more your prospect talks, the more you can learn about their goals and dreams. One of the most important skills for any real estate agent to learn is how to ask effective questions because good questions spawn deeper dialogue.

• Closed-Ended Questions: Look for a simple, straightforward answer, often yes or no. These are OK in some situations. But generally, you’ll want to move away from closed-ended questions as they do not drive dialogue:
• Did you qualify for a loan?
• Do you want me to list your home?
• Open-Ended Questions: Require thought and consideration and are great for driver and analytic personality types because they force them to engage a little more. Open-ended questions also force you to listen more carefully:
• What are you looking for in an agent?
• Where do you plan to move to?
• How much/what percentage of a down payment do you have?
• What is your decision-making process?
• Why do you feel your home is worth more than your neighbors?
• Specific Questions: These questions push the prospect to expand on previous answers. These questions take a more aggressive tact for you to guide the conversation:
• Are you looking for an aggressive agent?
• What type of loan are you applying for?
• What are the reasons you’d like to sell it on your own?
• Multiple-Choice Questions: These questions limit the prospect’s responses and are great for expressive personality types because they like to make their own choices:
• Is today at three or tomorrow better for you?
• Do you feel the market is increasing or declining?

Learn to control the pace and direction of a conversation by asking effective questions. And as you master the art of using questions to create an effective dialogue with your prospects, you’ll notice that your follow-up efforts are paying huge dividends.

Next, we will look at sample questions you might use when prospecting expired listing leads.

Expired Listing Questions

As an industry leader in providing expired listing leads for real estate, Espresso Agent understands that expireds play an essential role in the prospecting portfolio of all top-producing agents. Expired leads can be low-hanging fruit because these are the homeowners who are often motivated to sell their homes quickly. However, these may also be homeowners who are frustrated or even angry because their homes did not sell. As such, your questions need to be focused on uncovering crucial information about their previous experience. Here are a few examples:

• Open-Ended Questions: Can you share your experience during the previous listing period? What aspects of the previous listing do you feel were successful, and where do you think there could be improvements?
• Feedback Questions: Did you receive any specific feedback from potential buyers during the previous listing? Were there any common concerns or objections that prospective buyers raised?
• Market Perception: How do you feel the market has changed since your property was last listed? Are you aware of any shifts in buyer preferences or market trends that might affect your property?
• Pricing Strategy: What were your thoughts on the initial listing price, and do you think it accurately reflected the market value? Have you considered any adjustments to the pricing strategy based on recent market developments?
• Motivation And Timeline: Has anything changed in your personal or financial situation that might impact your motivation to sell? Do you have a specific timeline or deadline for selling your property?
• Marketing Approach: How satisfied were you with the marketing efforts during the previous listing? Are there any specific marketing channels or strategies you want to explore now?
• Property Presentation: Have there been any changes or updates to the property since the last listing that potential buyers should be aware of? Is there anything about the property that you feel could be highlighted differently to attract more interest?
• Agent-Client Communication: What communication style and frequency do you prefer with your real estate agent? Is there anything specific you would like to see in terms of updates and reports during the selling process?
• Competitive Analysis: Have you had a chance to review the current competition in the market, and how do you see your property standing out? Are there specific features or amenities you believe differentiate your property from others?
• Future Plans: How does selling your property align with your future plans? Have there been any changes in your goals or expectations since the previous listing?

These are a few questions that can foster a constructive dialogue with expired listing leads. It’s essential to approach the conversation with a positive and solution-oriented mindset.

Check out our blog post Dissecting Real Estate Prospecting Scripts for more expired listing questions and FSBO questions, along with other tips on using scripts.

Bonus Content

Learn From The Masters. Learning how to ask great questions while real estate prospecting is part of a larger strategy of employing real estate scripts to control the flow of every conversation you have with a potential client.

We’ve blogged extensively about leveraging the power of scripts, including this helpful post: 5 Tips To Master Real Estate Prospecting Scripts

You can also gain valuable insights from the industry’s top coaches and advocates of using real estate scripts:

• Tom Ferry: 3 Appointment Setting Scripts
• Jackie Kravitz: Download Her Free Script Book Here

The Espresso Agent Difference

Leaders In Real Estate Prospecting Software. Of course, regardless of how good you are at asking the right questions, it won’t matter unless you find the right prospects to whom you can ask those great questions. That’s where Espresso Agent comes in. Our industry-leading real estate lead generation and CRM system can get you to the right prospects using the best contact information in the business. At that point, you can begin to put your question-asking skills to the test.

Contact Us Here to learn more about Espresso Agent.