Hey guys and gals!

Just joined the forum and must point out that I am not yet an Agent. I will be completing the classes next month and expect to be licensed in December. I am currently trying to figure out my "game plan" for marketing and had a question about direct mail and cold calling. My background is in Direct sales and I also own a small Custom Home company. I am very familiar with both types of marketing but I needed to know what the average response rate to each of these programs was in this industry. In other words:

If I send out ____ amount of postcards how many calls shall I expect to receive? Of those received calls, how many should I on average be able to "sign" with?

Same thing with cold Calling:

If I make _____ amount of calls, how many should I on average be able to sign with?

Now I know there are "ability" variables, but lets just assume the average agent.

Seems to me that these numbers atleast in my current industry are pretty consistent regardless of region or demographic.

Thanks for the help, i did do a search for this info, but could not seem to find these specific answers. thanks again!

Hey Rich,

I'm not a new agent, but new to prospecting. I'll be starting tomorrow and keeping track of my #'s - so in a week or so you can use them as a small scale example. I've heard that for FSBO's and Expireds 50 contacts can equal one appointment, but it varies a lot depending on skill. From there better agents will probably list 1 out of 2 - I've been told to expect to get 1 out of 4 when first getting used to the scripts and dialogues. I hope this helps, I'll post my results tomorrow.

Thank you and yes, please keep me posted! I as I am sure you would also like to hear the results of others as well.

I find that in my current industry, that the response rate to both cold call and direct mail is 3%. From that, a newer or less skilled individual will sign about 1 out of 4.

I would imagine that in Real Estate that if marketing FSBO and expired's that your response would be very much the same or better.

I am very curious as to what these numbers are for true cold call and blind direct mailing. I think that 3% response would be quite exceptional.

Thanks again for your input. Hopefully we can get some input from the prospecting pro's here on the forum!

first,

if you are thinking 3% you are highly mistaken..

in real estate 1% is a good response and thats mailing a targeted list and a direct response offer..
good marketing piece..

here is how i base my numbers..mail 1000-targeted..not some blind shotgun approach-
use solid offers that is beneficial to seller-not lame branding stuff

send 1000- cost $400
get 10-15 calls..
using a proven conversion script..
book 5 appointments..
using a proven listing presentation
take 3 listings..
1 sale- between $5,000= $10,000


on prospecting again calling targeted people..
book an appointment 1 in 50-100
250-500 calls calls
5 listing appointments
take 3 out of the 5
1 sale

these numbers assume..

1. you dont wing it
2. you are using a proven conversion script
3. you are using a proven listing presentation like a professional
4. you are not sending lamre name recognition branding stuff
5. you are pricing and marketing the home correctly
6. you are using direct response and making direct offers
7.you are using a call to action
8. you are going somewhat targeted either geographic, demographic or both

response rate to a wild untargeted list
just winging it

might bring you a zero percent response rate..

response rates on both have and continue to fall in real estate
because the economy is forcing more people to stay put..

Thank you Lindenmoe! This is the exact info I was looking for! If there are others out there that have differing numbers or opinions, I would love to hear from you as well. Thanks again!

Having been in sales for over 30 years (last 10 in real estate) I agree that Lindenmoe's numbers are what you couls accomplish with the given of a script and listing presentation that has proven to be successful - good luck!

great topic...

i work expirds. they have different numbers.

for example, i know that 20% of the expired listings will relist within 10 days of exp or withdrawing, so you gotta be fast. my numbers for people talked ot is this. when i talk to an exp, i can set up 1 listing appt for every 10 people that i prospect. i prospect pretty hard.

the day that a property expirs, they get a market trend report taht is about 80 pages along with a cover letter adn a 20 or so page prelisting package. this is mailed in a 10x13 envelope with 12 forever stamps. They get it in the mail about 2 days after they expire. the day that is mailed out (same day they expire), they get a call from me telling them that im mailing the package and if it makes sense, call me. something liek that. if i get them, i try and schedule an appt. wehn the package gets there, i call to make sur ehtey got it, read it and work on getting an appt. if i dont get them i leave a message. the next week, they get a postcard, the next week they get a personal letter.

i know after the first call if i have a working number...so i know how exactly to proceed.

bottom line is that i get a better response than the typical 3% because they are scrubbed....they all wanted to sell...im not prospecting short sales or foreclosures.

if i marketed to a random 100 people, i would not expect to get teh same numbers.


imagine this....if you could prospect to 100 buyers who just filled out an online mtg app or 100 random people. what would your numbers look like in regards to conversion???its a no brainer

am i bothering people? i honestly dont believe in my heart that i am.....i truly feel i am helping them. imagine a patient going ot a doctor, but the doctor did not prescribe the correct medicine because it tasted bad....guess what, the cure sometimes doesnt go down easy, but it gets you where you want be!

if i were broke down on the highway and a towtruck driver stopped and asked if i needed help, i would say yes.

if i were in front of my house and a tow truck driver stopped and asked me if i wanted tow while i was out starting my car to warm it up on a cold day, i would not want to talk to him..

bottom line is that im selling something that people have raised their hand to get, they just have nto gotten it yet, for whatever reason.


know who you are marketing to and pick a niche or several and owrk them hard and master them and track your numbers.

new is relative...i love the agents who have been in the biz for 35 years and talk down to new agents and if you look them up adn the 35 year vet sells 3 homes a year and the "new agent" sells 30 homes a year and has done it for 2 years, who is the better agent???

new or old, your competency in the current market will show if it is there an "experience" is measured in experience, not years....

Great point.
Thanks for sharing.

I've recently started with cold calls and don't understand where people are acquiring the numbers. There's a guy near me that hired a telemarketer and this telemarketer calls 200 people a day. I am purchasing expired/cancelled but when you factor in the DNC, you only come up with about 10-15 leads per day. I don't understand where other brokers are getting hundreds of leads per day.

Was surfing and saw this thread and was getting ready to respond when I hit estatereal's post. Right on target, the response rate depends on the specific targets your shooting at and what kind of ammo your using. You get a basic rate and try to improve your score.

I personally have never liked the do 100 of this and get 10 of that to get one of that. To much accounting, I do 78 of this and get one of that is close enough, but of course I may not score on the first 78 but score twice on the next 78, so all is well, and maybe I can think of something to let me hit that target every 70 times and that is even better.

Bill W

Think survey instead of soliciting, surveys are allowed under the DNC which was poorly written. It was to kill off the telemarketers but an expired basically had a previous business relationship with us as far as I'm concerned when they used the MLS. And in most cases they still want to do what they set out to do when they listed, which means us and our activities.

The MLS could have a signed form saying not to contact them via phone if they expire which is referred to on the expired output sheet and allow a fine for agents that do. I don't need the Feds intruding into everything we do, they seem determined to create the 1984 in the book.

I believe California should give up statehood and become an independent Republic, a much better future for it's citizens considering the path the Feds are on, and a thought I would have never had many years ago.

You have to be a survey company not selling a product to qualify for that.

However I just spoke to a former MFO one-on-one trainer this Wednesday for about a half hour. He flat out said that 99.99999999995% of the MFO agents dial DNC's on Expireds and FSBOS (but not on Just Listed/Sold cold). Many get started at 7am or 7:15-30am. I spoke to him to make sure what I was doing wasn't gonna set me on fire so to speak. He said "it is what it is" to get the numbers you need.

In general, the more persons you call or more direct mail you send out - the better your results. I have a friend in the industry now who has begun sending out direct mail to promote his website that picks up expired listings. Many agree that this is a fantastic marketing strategy.

Numbers vary greatly from prospecting source to source and market to market. My coach sells real estate where there are 300 agents in his town. My MLS has 36,000 and growing by 4,000 each year. Also, turnover influences the ratios a lot on things like listed and solds. Expireds in my market get contacted before they expire. The day of, they are contacted by 50 plus agents promising the lowest commish.

To use general ratios for response rates from market to market is silly. You have to pick your poison and swallow it and get to work. Become the best at it. Then keep getting better every month. The ratios are good for measuring and keeping score against yourself.

For example in my low turnover town, I take roughly 1 listing per 1000 contacts. That one listing can make me 1.25 deals. These ratios will not apply in a higher turn over market or where the prices are declining, for example. Every market place is different.

All excellent points and GREAT ideas! Thanks, since I will be out there knocking on doors (literally and figuratively) soon, I need this kind of info to help me get started.