Why Most Agents Fail with Leads and How to Fix the First 30 Seconds of Every Conversation
Homeowners don’t like talking about selling their home. Frankly, the idea of selling is emotional and painful to think about. Yet, nearly every real estate script starts with the same question: “Are you thinking of selling soon?” WAT?
Barry Jenkins, one of the industry’s most respected team leaders, argues that’s the exact wrong approach. In his book Too Nice for Sales, Barry shares why sellers go silent, and how a simple shift in the first 30 seconds can turn a cold valuation lead into a warm conversation. He graciously allowed me to share his lessons learned on how to talk to seller leads with you here.
Barry Jenkins on Converting Leads with Revaluate
Part One (of two) Reprinted with Permission from the book “Too Nice For Sales” by Barry Jenkins
I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
Homeowners don’t like talking about selling their home.
No really, they don’t. At. All.
The only person who enjoys talking about selling a home is a real estate agent or investor. This dichotomy is so severe that it causes most real estate agents to be completely out of touch when attempting to generate and convert a seller lead.
The typical conversation goes something like this:
Agent: “Hi, John? This is Barry over at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. I was giving you a call because I saw you were interested in finding out more about your home value.”
Seller: “Yes, I was able to get the info. Thanks for your time, but we don’t need any additional help.”
Agent: “Oh, OK. The market is really great right now, so I wanted to see if you were open to selling anytime soon?”
Seller: “No, I just wanted the report. Thanks again.”
Click.
The issue in the preceding scenario is the agent is focused on what he wants to talk about versus being in touch with the homeowner and their lack of desire to discuss selling their home. Rather than focusing on what the homeowner wants to focus on, and the homeowner’s disdain for discussing selling their home, the agent just went right to it. This, in principle, is why many agents never convert seller leads.
Let’s compare this to another approach:
Agent: “Hi, John? This is Barry over at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. I was just giving you a call because I saw you asked for a report on your home value. I wanted to make sure the report landed in your inbox and not your spam.”
Seller: “Yes, I received that report and was able to open it. Thank you.”
Agent: “Oh, great. Did you have any questions concerning the information?”
Seller: “No, it was pretty straightforward.”
Agent: “OK, great! I also have [insert item of value] that could give additional information. Would you like me to text or email that?”
Seller: “Email is fine. Thank you.”
Agent: “Sure, no problem. I’m sure you didn’t wake up today thinking to yourself, ‘I think I’m going to sell my home tomorrow!’ or anything crazy like that, but I’m curious about something. I have a few buyers looking for a home like yours, and I was curious, if someone wanted to offer a very high amount of money for your home, would you be open to the discussion in the next six to twelve months?”
While the preceding script revision isn’t foolproof, you will find a conversation like this will be more effective because it eases the prospect into the topic and doesn’t get right to it. This revision also offers information of value that the seller appreciates versus just asking for the business. By recognizing the homeowner doesn’t want to talk about selling first, the agent is much more likely to engage the prospect.
We have found tremendous success with setting a pre-listing appointment with a homeowner versus setting the typical “I’d love to see your home” or “We can start planning” approaches/scripts. Our pre-listing appointment process is to help the homeowner understand what buyers are expecting to see in a home condition-wise in the current market. If it’s a seller’s market, we walk the home and help them see they don’t have many repairs that need to be done. This is always very good news for a homeowner and likely will speed them up. In a buyer’s market, we will help the homeowner prioritize repairs to ensure they are spending money on the key repairs to procure a buyer.
As you can see, the pre-listing strategy is very consistent with the previous script revisions in that it is setting an appointment for something that the homeowner perceives to be valuable today. The appointment is not for the agent; it’s for the seller. This is dramatically different than the agent who sets an appointment only to get to know the client. We both know you want to get to know the seller for your own business growth. The seller doesn’t need any more friends. However, setting an appointment to decrease the workload and stress of the homeowner is invaluable. We have found that homeowners overwhelmingly feel a sense of release when they realize that in a seller’s market, they don’t have to fix much. Preparing the home to sell is often a big blocker to someone wanting to list their home. Remember, the homeowner knows their home very well and knows every crack, squeaky floor, leaking pipe, and missing shingle. The list can be daunting and expensive. When we’ve been able to decrease this list in both length and cost, the homeowner lists much faster.
Find sellers hiding in your database.
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The Call Summary
The takeaway from Barry’s example is clear: real estate isn’t about pushing listings, it’s about earning trust through timing and value. Homeowners want to be heard, not hurried. The answer to the quesetion “How do I talk to seller leads” is simple. Listen more. Don’t sell.
The agents who master this—who focus on education, empathy, and a softer approach—create real relationships that lead to listings.
If you’re ready to stop chasing and start connecting, Revaluate can help you identify which homeowners are actually ready to talk—so every conversation starts on the right foot.
