What do I say in the first thirty seconds of a real estate cold call?

In the first sentence, say your name, your brokerage and that you are a licensed agent. Say why you are calling in one more. Ask a fair time check: "Do you have two minutes, or is there a better time today?" Then ask your first real question. Match the owner's pace, let your voice drop at the end, and smile.

Drafted with AI by the 10before10 team, reviewed and approved by Grant Freer and Gia Freer, licensed Florida real estate brokers. Updated October 25, 2026. También en español.

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What is really being said

The phone rings once, twice, and the owner picks up already guarding something. Nobody is waiting by the phone hoping an agent calls. The owner is finishing dinner, driving, or just saw a number they do not recognize.

In the first two seconds they are deciding one thing: is this worth my next ten seconds. Everything in the opening answers that question or it does not.

This is also where most call reluctance lives. Not in the whole conversation, in the first thirty seconds of it. An agent who handles the middle of a call well can still freeze before dialing, because the mind replays every awkward opening and forgets every smooth middle.

Knowing the first thirty seconds cold is the fastest cure for that dread, and the page on call reluctance covers why the dread shows up in the first place.

The owner is not evaluating your market knowledge yet. They are listening for whether you sound like a person or a script. Four short parts, said plainly, in order, settle that faster than any clever line.

What to say

These are examples in plain words, not lines to memorize. Say them the way you actually talk, and let your voice go down at the end of a question, not up.

The order is always the same: who you are, why you are calling, a fair time check, then your first real question. Follow your state's rules on what must be disclosed at first contact, and say the brokerage when the owner asks or when your state requires it.

"Hi, this is your name, a licensed agent with your brokerage. I saw your listing came off the market and I wanted to check in. Do you have two minutes, or is there a better time today?"

This works for an owner whose listing expired because it names the one thing they are already thinking about, without guessing why it did not sell. The time check hands the owner control, which lowers the guard that "expired" calls usually raise.

"Hi, this is your name, a licensed agent with your brokerage. I'm not calling to talk you out of selling it yourself, I had one quick question about your plan. Got two minutes, or is now a bad time?"

This works for an owner selling alone because it says what you are not doing before the owner has to wonder. The owner has taken calls all week from agents who opened by pretending to be buyers, so naming your intent plainly earns the next sentence.

"Hi, this is your name, a licensed agent with your brokerage. I work in the area and noticed a home nearby just sold. I had a quick question for you, is this an alright time?"

This works for a homeowner near a sale because it is true and small. No prediction about their home's worth, just a reason that fits a short call on an unplanned afternoon.

After the time check, move to your first real question, something like "Have you thought at all about where you'd go if you did sell?" One question at a time, then listen.

When the first word is no

Owners often say no before they have heard the whole sentence. It is a reflex, not a verdict. Do not argue with it and do not go quiet and hang up either.

Ask one honest question.

"No problem, can I ask if that's a bad time right now or selling isn't something you're thinking about?"

This separates a timing no from a real no in one sentence. Turn a timing no into an appointment with a day and a time. Most first noes are a reflex: ask what is behind it, then ask again a different way.

Take the answer you get as information, then answer what is behind it and close again. End the call only if they ask not to be called or have signed with another agent, and thank them. Pushing past a clear no costs more than one call.

The owner remembers the pattern, and every agent who calls after you pays for it.

What not to do

Do not open with "how are you today." It is the fastest way to sound like every other call the owner hung up on this month. Do not lead with the brokerage name either, since a brand can carry a bad memory for an owner who has never met you.

Save it for when they ask or when your state's rules require it at first contact.

Do not stack three questions into the opening. One question, said once, voice down at the end. Do not fill silence after the time check with more talking.

The pause after "do you have two minutes" is doing real work. Let it sit.

How to practice it

The mechanics of rehearsal, how often, with whom, and how to score yourself, are covered on the page about how to practice cold calls. This page is about the words themselves, so practice the four-part opening until it needs no thought at all.

Have a colleague play three different owners in one sitting: one whose listing expired, one selling alone, one living near a home that just sold. Your job each time is the same order: name and license, one sentence on why you are calling, a fair time check, then your first real question. Run it five times, changing the owner's reaction each round, a reflex no, a flat no, a rushed yes, a question back at you, and silence.

Record yourself and listen for whether your voice goes down at the end of the time check or climbs up like you are asking permission. That steady, downward close is the habit 10before10™'s scorecard listens for on this drill.

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