Is Door Knocking Dead?

Most agents prefer to market on the telephone because it is easier to cover more territory deal with rejection on the phone. However, the Do Not Call law and the prevalence of private phone numbers has made it nearly impossible to connect with the entire neighborhood using just the phone.

Good news - door knocking still works – as long as you carefully select the doors you knock on and you are prepared with an effective, well rehearsed script. Most agents try to wing it, and get discouraged by poor results.

Remember that rejection will not be your only problem. It may be difficult to catch someone home during the day because in many families, both husband and wife work outside the home. That’s why it’s important that you use many methods to generate leads, including the telephone and direct mail. No matter what, face to face conversations are always better than cold calling.

Here’s how it’s done. When you or someone in your office secures a new listing in your farm area, knock on at least ten doors to the right and ten on the left of the newly listed property. Then knock on twenty doors across the street. Research shows that when a property goes on market, someone else on the block will likely be preparing to move. Plus, neighbors will want to speak with you to keep track of the market value of their own home.

Be prepared and have this dialogue memorized:

“Hi. I hope you can help me. Are you the owner of this property? (yes/no – if not, find out when the owner is home and come back another time, don’t introduce yourself too early)

“Hi, my name is with XYZ Realty. Are you Mr./Mrs. Soandso?” – (use their name but always clarify, to make sure that is their name and you use it correctly)

“I hope you can help me. One of your neighbors up the street, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, just listed their house for sale. I am their listing agent (or “our office is in charge of the listing” if you aren’t the listing agent) and I want to know as much as possible about that property and this neighborhood. Could you please give me a few minutes of your time and tell me what you like the most about this area(use specific neighborhood name)? I don’t live here, so your opinion will be very helpful.”

The key to success is to be humble and human. Don’t even think about starting the conversation with the usual real estate prospecting question, “do you plan to make a move now or in the near future?” This will quite often offend people. You want to make a favorable impression.

A similar approach can be used to prospect around sold listings.

“I hope you can help me. As you probably noticed, you neighbors up the street had their house on the market. The problem is that it just sold a couple of days ago, and I’m working with a couple of buyers who are interested in buying a property in this neighborhood. Do you know someone who is thinking about making a move now or in the near future?”

People usually respond well to this type of approach. You will often learn a great deal from them. If they plan to make a move they will usually tell you without being asked. Or, later in the conversation, you can ask, “How about you? Do you plan to make a move now or in the near future?” But don’t begin your dialog with this direct question. It is too salesy to begin the conversation with.

Remember that prospecting doesn’t stop with door knocking. Let everyone you meet know what you do. The more contacts you have, the more referrals you will get. Use this script for your face-to-face prospecting as an added tool to your existing prospecting efforts and watch your commission checks grow!