We talk a lot about online marketing and other indirect channels for getting listings, but sometimes, plain old door-knocking can be much more effective. A lot of people might not be willing to trust social media ads or real estate flyers, but if you can talk to them face-to-face, it’s a whole different story.
In this article, we’ll go over three real estate scripts for door knocking that you can copy and practice if you’re not sure what to say to customers. Knocking on doors can be stressful, so rehearsing what you’ll say is a great way to come across as more prepared. Let’s discuss some templates and scripts!
1. Focus on Opening a Conversation
It’s very rare to be able to close a sale on the spot, regardless of what you’re selling. In most cases, you need to guide customers through a journey, with the sale or conversion being the last step.
For you, that conversion translates to getting a listing. However, unless you’re a miracle worker, convincing homeowners to list their properties the first time that you knock on their door will be near impossible.
When knocking on someone’s door, your goal should be to connect with a decision-maker within that household, introduce yourself, and walk away with a lead. Let’s check out what a simple script for that scenario would look like:
Hello Mrs./Mr., my name is John Doe and I’m a local realtor. I’ve talked with several of your neighbors about rising home values in the area, and I hoped to get a minute of your time to talk about what your house is worth.
That’s about as simple as a real estate template for door knocking gets. You establish who you are, why you’re knocking on the owner’s door, and what your goal is for that conversation.
It’s important to understand that in a lot of cases, you’ll need to adapt your script on the fly, at least partially. Two common situations that you might run into are:
- The person who answers the door might not feel comfortable talking to you or they don’t have the time for it
- The owners of the house aren’t in, so you’ll have to come back later
Templates are just that, templates. However, the person on the other side of the door will often interject while you’re talking and they might not be open to a sales pitch. That’s why it’s essential for the first part of your pitch to be all about getting owners comfortable talking to you.
2. Establish Trust and Don’t Push for Conversions
In a lot of cases, you’ll get firm nos and doors closed on your face. However, door knocking is all about numbers and once you find a homeowner that wants to talk to you, the next part of your script should be all about establishing trust:
I’ve been talking to your neighbors because we’ve been keeping an eye on real estate prices in your area and they’ve risen significantly throughout the past year. I’ve been working with local homeowners for X years now and I wanted to introduce myself in case you had any questions about the local market and what your options are.
The first part of your script included a little hook to get owners interested. Once you know they’re listening, you want to double down on what your main value proposition is.
Within our real estate script for door knocking example, we talked about rising house prices in the area. However, there are a lot more reasons why an owner might be interested in selling, including:
- Their neighborhood is changing drastically and they might want to relocate
- Houses in the area might be selling fast, which presents an opportunity to earn to money and purchase a better property
That’s all information that you’d never find out using online ads or flyers, which is what makes face-to-face interaction such a powerful tool.
3. Get the Lead and Discuss a Follow-Up
Once you’ve assessed if the homeowners are interested in your pitch, it’s time to go in for the lead. That would be a phone number or an email, so you can reach out to them again later:
If you have any questions about property values in your area or you’re interested in a home valuation, you can reach out to me at any time. I’m going to give you my business card which includes my personal number and email address. If you want to give your contact information, I can get in touch with you if we have any updates about the local market.
It’s always a good idea to offer your contact information first so the person on the other side of the door will feel more open to reciprocating. Even if they’d rather not share their contact information, few people will turn down a business card.
Conclusion
Knocking on doors is always scary but so is selling your house. As a realtor, it’s your job to reassure homeowners that you know how to get the best value for their properties and that you have their best interests in mind.
An effective real estate script for door knocking is all about establishing a connection, building trust, and collecting leads. In some rare occasions you might find owners interested in moving forward right away, but that’s seldom the case.
Do you have any questions about how to get more real estate leads? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!
