How to get more listings, one lead type at a time
Listings come from conversations with owners who have a reason to move. To get more, talk with more of those owners every day, one lead type at a time. Ask about their plans, listen for where, when and why, and make the next step easy. Then follow up until the door is closed.
Read the transcript
- Honestly, we're not ready yet.
- Maybe sometime next year, once the kids finish school.
- I'll call you when we're ready.
- Oh, totally, no problem!
- Well, I just sold two homes on your street, so keep my number handy.
- I'll send you my info, and you call me whenever!
- After every practice call, your card arrives: what worked, and the one thing to fix.
- The call trains four moves. Ask where they would go, when, and the real reason.
- Find out who else decides.
- Note what they told you, and ask when it makes sense to talk again.
- Then call when you said you would.
- Most owners are not ready on the first call.
- A not yet is still a door. Keep it about their timing, not your pipeline.
- An agent who asks about the owner's plans gives them a reason to meet.
- Practice this seller until it sounds like you.
- Each call runs as long as the conversation needs,
- and you can make as many as you want.
- Practice free at 10before10.com/try.
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.
Where do real estate listings come from?
From owners who already have a reason to move, and from the agent who reaches them first with a respectful call. Each lead type has its own reason, so each one gets its own call. Work them one at a time.
| Lead type | Their likely reason | The call |
|---|---|---|
| Expired listings | The home did not sell, and they may still need to move | Expired listing call |
| Cancelled or withdrawn | Plans paused, or the agreement is still in force | Check which it is first |
| For sale by owner | They want to sell and are trying it alone | FSBO first call |
| Absentee owners | They own a home they do not live in | Absentee owner call |
| Multifamily owners | They hold property and think in numbers | Multifamily owner call |
| Neighbors of a recent sale | A sale nearby gives them a fact they did not have | The five-part cold call |
| Your sphere and past clients | They know you, and life changes | A warm call: their plans first, then whether anyone they know is moving |
Pick the lead type you will call today before you open the list. Asking an expired owner the questions meant for a neighbor sounds careless, and the owner hears it.
What turns a conversation into a listing appointment?
Three things the owner tells you, and one small next step.
- Where, when and why. Where they would go, when they need to be there, and the real reason. The first answer is often the easy one, so ask gently for more.
- Everyone who decides. Find out who else needs to agree before you offer a time.
- A next step that is easy to say yes to. A short meeting, in person or on video, at a time that suits them, with every decision maker there.
Keep the whole call about the owner. Their goals, their timing, their home. An agent who talks about their own sales gives the owner a reason to compare.
An agent who asks about the owner's plans gives them a reason to meet.
Before you go, a short prequalification call confirms the facts so the appointment is worth both your times.
How do you get listings as a new agent?
Pick one lead type and learn its call until it is yours. Older expired listings and owners selling on their own are common places to start, because fewer agents are calling and the conversations run longer. Every long conversation teaches you something about what owners need to hear.
Tell your sphere plainly that you are in the business, and ask about their plans more than you talk about yours. Then practice every morning, so you are ready when someone says yes.
Listings come from the follow-up
Most owners are not ready on the first call. A not yet is still a door. Note what they told you, ask when it makes sense to talk again, and call when you said you would.
Keep it about their timing, not your pipeline.
The page on following up after a not yet covers how to keep that conversation going without pressure.
Know your number
More listings start with knowing how many you need. The free business plan template works backward from your income goal to listings, appointments and the contacts to make today, from your numbers only. The real estate prospecting page turns that number into a daily routine.
Practice the call before you need it
Every lead type above has a different first sixty seconds. Practice each one against an owner who pushes back, so the real owner hears someone who listens. The real estate scripts page shows the shape of each call side by side.
More listings start with the next owner who hears a call worth answering.
Honest answers
Related answers
Make one practice call. See your card.
A prospect who sounds real raises this exact moment. Ten minutes, in the browser, no account. The scorecard tells you the one thing to fix.