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Ask about the plan, not just the expired listing.

Use these examples only in an independently approved, eligible campaign and within the caller’s authorized role. The wording is suggested practice, not a real customer conversation or legal advice.

Updated September 26, 2026Operational guide5 min read

Verify the record before using the opener

Check the property, the date and source of the status information, and whether the situation has changed. An old expired-listing export is not proof that the home remains off market or that its owner is unrepresented. Ask the responsible broker how current representation affects the proposed contact.

Confirm the campaign’s list eligibility, applicable permissions, suppression and local calling window before the record reaches the queue. Keep the verified facts visible to the operator. A phone number associated with a property is not permission to call it.

Prepare only the service you can actually offer. Do not claim you have a buyer, a completed market analysis or a particular reason the property failed to sell unless those facts are supported. A useful conversation begins with an accurate introduction rather than a fabricated advantage.

Introduce yourself and the actual purpose

Suggested wording, with verified placeholders:

“Hi [name], this is [caller] with [brokerage]. I’m a real estate [accurate role], calling about [property]. The status information I reviewed dated [date] shows the listing ended. Has that situation changed?”

Use the approved identity and disclosure process for the campaign. Do not say “I’m not trying to list your home” when the purpose is to offer representation. Do not pretend that a property-status question is a buyer inquiry.

If the person is willing to discuss the situation, ask about the current plan. The answer can lead to an appointment, an agreed later conversation, a status correction or no further contact. The first call does not need to end in the same branch every time.

Find the decision the owner is actually making

“What would you need to understand before deciding whether to put it back on the market?”

This question invites the owner’s priorities without claiming to know why the previous effort ended. Listen for the actual issue: timing, a change in plans, uncertainty about the process or a question the licensed agent should answer.

Reflect the point accurately before offering a next step. For example, when the owner says timing is the unresolved issue, propose a conversation about the timing decision rather than announcing a price reduction. Do not offer a valuation, legal conclusion or representation advice outside the caller’s scope.

Record the owner’s stated preference, not an embellished version designed to make the call look promising. “Wants to understand timing options” is different from “ready to list now.”

Use different outcomes for different answers

Open to an appointment:confirm the purpose, responsible agent, date, time and relevant time zone. Record what is agreed and what remains unconfirmed.Requests a later call:capture the actual time or condition and recheck eligibility before the next attempt.

Already relisted or represented:update the status, remove the contact from the current solicitation workflow and ask the responsible broker to review any further action. Do not turn that answer into an automatic long-dated prospecting callback.

Not interested:record the response accurately and follow the approved contact policy. Do not infer permission for a recurring cadence merely because the person did not use a particular phrase.Explicit stop request:acknowledge it and use internal DNC.

Wrong person or number:record the mismatch and hold the affected data for correction. Do not ask the unrelated person to help salvage the pitch.

Offer a next step you can deliver

A useful offer is specific and within the team’s actual service: a meeting with the responsible agent, a review the team has agreed to prepare, or an answer to a question that needs a qualified professional. It is not a guaranteed sale, a made-up buyer or an automatic report that no one owns.

“Would a conversation with [agent] about [the stated question] be useful? I can check [actual availability] and confirm the details with you.”

Only use availability you can verify. If the appointment cannot be confirmed in the current workflow, record it as a request rather than a booked meeting. Have a named person complete the confirmation through the supported, permitted channel.

Leave a handoff another person can use

In DialBreeze, save the outcome, note and follow-up task on the correct record. Identify the responsible person in your team’s actual process. The handoff should include the verified property, the owner’s stated question, the agreed next step and any contact restriction.

Confirm a material detail with the person before relying on it in a handoff.

If the next step belongs in a separate CRM or calendar, use the supported handoff and verify it. This guide does not promise automatic delivery of emails, reports or meeting invitations.

Finish with the correct state

The call is complete when its outcome is accurate and the next decision is clear, even when that decision is no further contact. A stop has been suppressed, a wrong number is held for correction, and an agreed appointment has an accountable confirmation path.

Practice the branches with test records before a live list. A test call during setup is not a prospecting campaign. For the surrounding work, see the real estate workflow and list preparation.

Three expired-listing openers to adapt

Replace every bracketed placeholder with verified details, confirm the listing really expired and check whether the owner has hired another agent. Suggested wording, not legal advice.

Permission-based

"Hi [Name], this is [Your name] with [Brokerage]. I'm calling about [Address], which I understand is no longer listed. Have you already hired another agent? If not, may I ask one quick question about your plans?"

Value-first

"Hi [Name], [Your name] with [Brokerage]. If you are not working with another agent, I can prepare a short review of the marketing for [Address] and discuss what you might change. Would that be useful?"

Straight to the point

"Hi [Name], this is [Your name] with [Brokerage]. Are you still considering selling [Address], or have your plans changed?"

Offer a review only if you can actually prepare it. Listen to the answer rather than forcing the rest of a script.

Day 0 / day 2 / day 7 cadence, with stop rules

Work each expired address on a fixed cadence, and check the stop conditions before every attempt. Honor a do-not-call request immediately and retain it on your suppression list. Other eligibility failures pause outreach until your policy review confirms that contact is allowed.

  • Day 0: first call, choose an opener above. If you reach the person, set the outcome from the conversation.
  • Day 2: only if day 0 was a no-answer or a voicemail. Do not imply you spoke if you did not.
  • Day 7: only if days 0 and 2 were both no-answers or voicemails. Close the calling sequence after this attempt; do not restart it automatically.

Stop the cadence immediately when any of these is true:

  • The person says stop calling, in any wording.
  • The person or number is on an applicable do-not-call list.
  • Consent for this contact type does not hold in your jurisdiction for this list. When in doubt, do not dial.
  • The property is under active representation, or the person says an agent is handling it.

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