With the better weather here, I've decided its a good idea to try my luck knocking on doors to find some new leads. As of now three people tell me they are thinking of making a move soon, but nobody would give me their telephone number. With the do not call list when should I contact them via snail mail.

Were the people with whom you spoke the homeowners thinking to sell or renters thinking of buying? In my area there are so many HOA's that prohibit soliciting that it is normally frowned upon to do so here. Report back as to any progress you experience.

They were all the Homeowners. My line is "Are you thinking of selling anytime in the near future?"

If they won't give you a number then they don't want you calling them. If they are talking to you then ask if it would be OK to drop off some material, or send them material for when they are ready. Don't rush them or they will never call you. You at least have your foot in the door.

How about asking them, If you had a buyer for their home would they sell it? Then proceed to check it out to see if it will work for any of your buyers. Explain to them that if it will, you will refer the buyer to someone who will do a great job with the transaction, and will be able to negotiate for the buyer. You are there to negotiate the highest possible price for the sell...Is there anything more important than getting your seller the highest possible price? Now is it really in the best interest of the seller to allow one buyer to purchase their home with no competition? Of course not let's get this house out there to everyone in this price range and all the agents with qualified buyers in that range...more exposure=more showings=more offers=chance to negotiate highest possible price!

My associate and I typically knock on doors around a new listing, saying something like "we just want to introduce ourselves, we are andy and dave, and often times we find the a buyer for a property is someone who knows someone in the neighborhood. do you know of anyone looking to buy or sell in the neighborhood?" sometimes they simply say no, other times we chat for a while and they have a couple leads. But we always follow up via snail mail.

Door knocking sucks, man. I don't envy you at all.

You want to find warm leads, and not just spend your time contacting people that don't need or want your services.

I'd suggest a blog and maybe a seminar or two for prospecting.

I like what Agentholmes wrote.

Also, if you want to try a different approach, you can tell the home owner that you are just taking appointments to come back and give a market evaluation for free to all people who are thinking of selling their home.

This may be better received as you are not looking to speak with them right now, just making an appointment for a later date.