How to Rapidly Build Rapport With Inbound Leads [+ Scripts]

Property Agent Basics / Follow Up

How to Rapidly Build Rapport With Inbound Leads for More Bookings [+ Scripts]1 min read

When you call up your leads, how many times in the past year have you been hung up on? How many times have you heard “How did you get my number?” or Why are you calling me?”  or "I didn't sign up for anything!" If you’re relatively new, getting hung up on or dealing with objections like these might have made you think twice about calling your leads.

What if I told you there is a way to minimize these common objections and never get hung up on again? Full disclosure, you will still get hung up on … obviously, this isn’t magic. However, my team has used these simple scripts for years to deflect the objections that lead to the most hang-ups.

The key is to use these BEFORE the objections even come up.

Of course, different leads require slightly different strategies, so I organized the scripts by lead source. Remember to let me know what you think at the end of the article, and happy calling!

Bonus Download

As a bonus, I am including a free PDF version of all these scripts under one place for your reference.

[Obviously step one is to generate the leads. Read Evergreen Guide to Real Estate Lead Generation in 2023. Getting bad phone numbers? See How to Convert Leads With Bad Phone Numbers (Email Scripts)]

1. Building Rapport Quickly With Zillow Leads

Zillow Leads - Listings agents and Premier agents

Love them or hate them, Zillow dominates our industry. Anyone who has even thoughts about buying a home has probably registered on Zillow, most likely early on in their search. Most of them are looking for something specific and very likely just want to talk with the listing agent. Did you know that the average registered lead has the potential of getting up to three phone calls almost immediately?

This is why the most repeated term in the real estate industry, “speed to lead,” is so profoundly important for Zillow leads. The lead’s information goes to the listing agent, to the Premier Agent who pays for the lead, and Zillow Concierge. No wonder Zillow leads are pissed off when we call, right?

So how do you break through and come away with a win? It is surprisingly simple. You just need to identify with the lead’s problem and be prepared for the two most common objections they will have: “I’m not really looking” and “I only want to work with the listing agent.”

Here’s a quick example script for your opening line to get as much info as possible without even talking about the home they registered for. The objection here is “I’m not really looking.”

Don’t make the mistake most agents make and say “that home is already under contract.” If you do that, they will have no reason to continue the conversation with you. Instead, practice the script I just gave you and dig into their situation. In order to empathize and build rapport quickly, you need to understand their situation.

Here’s a script to handle the “I want to work with the listing agent” objection. This one is a quick conversation ender for many agents. If they get hung up on, it’s usually going to come after this objection.

Of course, this is not how the conversation ends. You will probably get one of two responses to this question:

Note: Zillow Leads Require Multiple Call Attempts

The dirty little secret to success in real estate is that you just have to be a little bit better than your competition. Scripts help, but if you have trouble getting people on the phone in the first place, you’ve lost.

So when the speed-to-lead approach doesn’t work, meaning they don’t answer the phone on that first attempt, try and try again. Staying consistent with multiple call attempts is crucial to converting Zillow leads to customers.

The rule I train my inside sales agents (ISAs) to follow is a minimum of six to eight call attempts within two weeks. This is how you beat your competition because with this consistency you increase your chances of having a conversation. Meanwhile, the other agent lost because of the lack of follow up attempts. They tried once, maybe twice, and then they gave up. Always remember that follow up is EVERYTHING in real estate!

Read This: 15 Reasons Your Leads Aren’t Calling You Back (and How to Fix Those)

2. Building Rapport Quickly With Google PPC Leads

Google PPC Leads Dashboard

Leads from Google Ads are among the most common leads generated in the industry. I like to think of these leads much like they are walking into a store and the sales clerk asks, “Is there anything I can help you with today?” Like most of us in a store, they usually say something like, “No thanks, I am good” OR “I am just looking, thank you.”

Yet many agents get mad with leads who respond similarly. Why? That philosophy of speed to lead in my opinion isn’t relevant with Google or any pay-per-click (PPC) lead. These leads aren’t ready to be pounced on like a Zillow lead. That means your strategy to build rapport with Google PPC leads should be a little different.

Read Also How to Get Real Estate Seller Leads for Less Than $20 a Day?

As long as there is a call attempt within 12 hours, depending upon what time they register, that should be enough. Remember what I said about the Zillow leads and the amount of phone calls they get? These leads have their defenses up and are on high alert because more than likely, they didn’t just start and stop with your website. They probably registered on a few websites and probably registered on Zillow too. There is a large chance you are not the only phone call they are receiving. That means being too aggressive can result in a straight-up phone block.

In my personal experience with calling these leads, most are genuinely just looking. Who doesn’t like to look at homes? Your main goal calling them is to simply find out where they are in the process. Sure, the appointment is the ultimate goal, but you are more likely to get results from them long term with proper nurturing. So don’t get too aggressive. Save that for Zillow leads.

The way these leads usually find you is by literally typing “homes for sale in [city]” into Google and clicking on whatever comes up. Unfortunately, that means they might register on more than one website.

When I am training agents I always tell them, “He who has the conversation wins!” Keeping that in mind calling these leads and knowing they are “just looking” in several of your competitors’ databases is key.

Now that you understand where they are coming from, it makes talking to them so much easier. Here’s a quick opening script as an example:

The reason this opening line works so well is that it’s a laid-back approach. This helps drop their defenses of not wanting to be sold to. It’s quick and to the point. It also leaves less room for an immediate objection because you are directly identifying the fact they were searching online for homes … which they were! This is the first phase of breaking through with Google leads, dropping their defenses, and building rapport.

3. Building Rapport Quickly With Realtor.com Leads (& Others)

Building Rapport Quickly With Realtor.com Leads

These leads can be in a variety of situations. Just looking, wanting more information on a specific property, or wanting to see a home—and don’t forget those strange people who say, “I wasn’t looking for homes online!!” Yeah, right! Then how did I get your phone number?

Just like Google PPC leads, always frame your opening question with how they were routed into your database. Here’s a good example script for your opening line:

Don’t worry about putting much focus on the name of your website or the company you work for. Most leads will remember registering on at least one website, but might not remember every site they registered with. These leads have been web surfing in so many places so they probably don’t remember the exact sites they registered or didn’t register for. Instead, what really matters are the questions you ask finding out where they are in the process to gain a sense of urgency.

Finding the lead’s intention, urgency, and current situation is paramount to converting these leads into customers as well as building your pipeline of future business.

4. Building Rapport Quickly With Facebook Leads

facebook ads for real estate

Facebook ad leads—like Zillow leads, we either love them or hate them. When everyone first started with Facebook ads, they were pretty much only advertising listings to make the sellers happy. I know I was.

In fact, with one listing I advertised on Facebook back when Facebook ads were new, the seller shared my post with everyone in their family, extended family, and friends. That meant a ton of inquiries. Of course, most were just curious and wanted to see more photos.

So yes, I got tons of leads from that ad, but they were all over the country with no real plans for moving. That meant a lot of phone calls resulting in nothing but frustration.

It is important to understand your market dynamics and be the solution to the problem your leads have in your market. This tactic is what is going to produce more quality leads.

Read How to Create Real Estate Facebook Ads That Actually Generate Leads

Here are a few Facebook ad headlines that will actually get you leads and not random people from all over the country:

  • Get the hottest list of homes in [city] under $____ here 
  • Get a list of new construction homes here
  • Waterfront homes for sale in [your farm area]

Always use headlines that grab attention. Once you choose your audience, you are then targeting to their interests, creating a higher-quality lead. The most important thing to remember with Facebook leads is that they will have a longer turnaround time. Speed to lead is less of an issue for Facebook leads.

Read also 10 Real Estate Copywriting Secrets Professionals Don’t Want You to Know

Of course, when calling them, you should still always remind them that they were on Facebook and clicked on an ad that indicated they were interested in receiving a list of homes. Just remember to ask what specifically they would be interested in with respect to location.

Here’s a good script for Facebook leads:

You have just taken a lead that “wasn’t that serious” and by digging a little deeper, were able to turn it around to an appointment. Will this work with every lead? Of course not. However, if you want a chance of converting any leads, you need to always be thinking about solving their problem. The first step is to equip yourself with the right questions to identify their problem. The next step is to propose your solution to that problem. Simple!

5. Building Rapport Quickly With Home Valuation Leads

free online home evaluation

Using a tool like AgentLEADS to create home valuation landing pages? The first lesson I learned with these leads is that they don’t necessarily own the home they are looking to get an evaluation on. Weird, right? Also, quite a few of these leads are more curious about the value of the homes they do own for refinancing purposes and not actually selling.

The best thing about these leads is that you are building an arsenal of potential sellers in your database. I want you to think long term and big picture about these leads. My best advice for new agents is this: You are in the database-gathering industry, whether you know it or not. The biggest value you have in your business is your database. Anyone who tells you differently is lying or not very successful. Contacts = contracts. It’s as simple as that!

Now let’s learn how to have a conversation with these leads.

Option 1:

You could also run into the situation that they were looking at the value of a home they were interested in purchasing that may be a FSBO or former childhood home. This is why I always open up with the next option.

Option 2:

Taking conversations this far gives you a great indication of time frame. Remember we can’t make people move—we can only offer suggestions and see if it piques an interest.

Over to You

How do you build rapport quickly on the phone? Have a great tip or script? Let me know in the comments.

Learn How To Get More Real Estate Leads, Get More Listings, Close More Sales, with Less Resistance AND still have a LIFE!

Get more exclusive real estate agent training here 👉 https://www.yasserkhan.sg/👈

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YASSER KHAN

Author, Coach & Trainer

Yasser Khan earned less than $1,000 in his first year as a full time property agent. With no money for the $2 train fare to his Broker's office, he was forced to walk 25 kilometers on foot. Worse, he got evicted at midnight with his wife and baby son by the roadside. Desperate, he bought a $16 Sales book and took massive action. That single investment in himself gave him an OBSCENE ROI of $160,000 in just 11 months. Today, Yasser is on a mission to make the real estate great career again and helps ambitious agents quadruple their commission income within 90 days.

Yasser Khan is a real estate coach at YasserKhan.SG, trainer at PropertyAgentUniversity.com and the author of Property Agent Secrets Book who teaches Realtors how to make more Money, have more Time and enjoy more Freedom without all the B.S. plaguing the industry today.  

Yasser Khan’s approach to coaching is highly personalised, holistic, no B.S., and for “PROS ONLY… amateurs not allowed.” He believes that true success means winning in every single area of your life (like Financial, Family, Social, Physical, Mental, Spiritual and Fun).

When Yasser isn’t coaching, he loves playing GOTY PC Games with top-of-the-line Razer products and being a kid again with his 3 naughty children (actually, boss babies...), traveling to and across scenic Pakistan, enjoying hot & spicy food, taking pictures of the Milky Way with his favourite Canon DSLR and reading up all about Dinosaurs (especially T. Rex)

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