Colleen · 3:48
Handling “Not interested”
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12 real estate cold calling scripts for sellers, plus 5 rebuttals
The exact framework our callers use across millions of dials — openers, discovery, objection handling, and voicemails. Copy it, use it, and if you'd rather have pros run it for you, we're a call away.
In this guide
The 12 scripts, plus 5 rebuttals
- The opener
- The motivated-seller discovery script
- The voicemail
- Absentee owners
- Probate
- Pre-foreclosure
- Expired listings and FSBO
- High-equity, long-tenure owners
- Booking the appointment
- The follow-up call
- For agents: circle prospecting
- For agents: setting the listing appointment
Plus answers to the five objections you will hear every day. All of it is in the free printable script pack. Calling as an agent? See our expired listing scripts and FSBO scripts.
Get all of this as a printable PDF. The free Cold-Calling Script Pack has both of our scripts, all 11 rebuttals, and the voicemail and text templates — name and email, no phone number.
Get the PDF →STEP 1
The opener: earn ten seconds, not a sale
The first ten seconds decide the call. Sellers hang up on telemarketers, not neighbors — so sound like a neighbor. Say their name, name the property, and ask permission. That's it.
You: Hi, is this [First Name]? ... Hey [First Name], my name's [Caller] — I know I'm calling out of the blue. I'm reaching out about the property on [Street Name]. Do you still own that one?
Seller: Yes… who is this?
You: I work with local buyers here in [Market]. We're picking up a couple of properties in the area this month, and yours came up. Would you be at all open to an offer if the number made sense?
Two rules: never pitch before they confirm ownership, and never argue with a "not interested" on the opener — log it, tag it, and let the follow-up cadence do its work.
STEP 2
The motivated-seller discovery script
Once a seller says "maybe," your only job is discovery: condition, timeline, motivation, price — in that order. Price always comes last; a seller who has told you about the roof, the tenant, and the divorce has already justified a discount to themselves. All twenty discovery questions, with what a motivated answer sounds like, are in questions to ask motivated sellers.
You: So I can give the buyers an honest picture — if we walked through today, what would we be dealing with? Any repairs or updates it needs?
You: Is anyone living in the property right now — you, a tenant, family?
You: If you did sell, what's the timeline that would actually help you — 30 days, 90, end of the year?
You: Last one, and there's no wrong answer: if a buyer showed up with cash, as-is, no fees — what number gets it done?
Write everything down. A seller who gives you condition + timeline + a number is a motivated seller lead — that's the moment you book the appointment or the follow-up call, while you're still on the phone.
STEP 3
Objection handling: the five you'll hear every single day
“I'm not interested.”: Totally fair — most folks aren't the day I call. Quick question before I let you go: if a serious cash offer showed up next month, would you even want to hear it, or is this one a keeper for good?
“What's your offer?”: Honest answer — I'd be guessing until I know the condition. If the place needs nothing, we're in one range; if it needs a roof, another. Give me 60 seconds on the property and I'll give you a straight range instead of a lowball.
“Zillow says it's worth more.”: Zillow's pricing a fixed-up retail sale with agents, fees, and 90 days of showings. I'm pricing cash, as-is, on your timeline, no commissions. Different product — want me to walk you through the math side by side?
“How did you get my number?”: We use public property records, same as any investor or agent — and if you'd rather not be contacted again, I'll take you off our list right now. While I've got you though: any interest at the right number?
“Call me in six months.”: Absolutely — I'll set that now. So the next call is useful instead of annoying: is it timing, price, or the tenant that makes six months the right window?
Real calls
Hear these scripts on real seller calls
Unedited recordings from live campaigns: an objection handled, motivation uncovered, condition and price drawn out. More on the audio proof page.
Lily · 4:39
How we uncover timing & motivation in under 2 minutes
0:00 / 4:39
Stephanie · 9:48
Condition & price discovery
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STEP 4
Voicemail + follow-up cadence
70%+ of your dials go to voicemail. Keep it under 15 seconds, say the street name, and give one callback number — curiosity does the rest.
Voicemail: Hi [First Name], this is [Caller]. It's about your property on [Street Name] — I work with buyers in [Market] and wanted to run a number by you. No pressure either way — [Phone]. Again, that's [Phone]. Thanks!
Cadence that wins: day 1, day 3, day 7, day 14, then monthly. Rotate call times (morning / lunch / early evening). Most contracts come from touch 4–8 — the callers who quit after two dials are handing you their deals.
STEP 5
The same call, five different lists
The framework above doesn't change. The first two sentences do. A probate call that opens like an absentee call gets hung up on, because the seller's situation is the context they're hearing you through. Swap the opener, keep everything else.
Absentee owners
They don't live there, so "your property on [Street]" may not even register at first. Anchor the address and the city before anything else. Most are tired landlords who have never been asked.
You: Hey [First Name] — quick one, I'm calling about the house you own over on [Street] in [City], not the one you're in. Do you still have that one?
You: Is it rented right now, or sitting empty? ... And how's the tenant been — easy, or the kind that makes you think about selling?
The tenant question does the work. A landlord venting about a tenant has just told you their motivation. See what these lists look like on absentee owner leads.
Probate
Slow down and lead with the person, not the property. You are calling someone who may have buried a parent recently. If you sound like a script, you lose — and you deserve to.
You: Hi [First Name] — my name's [Caller], I work with local buyers here in [Market]. I'll be quick and I'm sorry to call about this at all: I understand you may be handling the property on [Street] for the family. Is that right?
You: I'm sorry for your loss. If it's not the time, tell me and I'll go. If it is something you're dealing with, is the house sitting empty right now?
You: Has anything gone through the court yet, or is that still ahead of you?
Never push a timeline on a probate call. Ask whether the estate has been opened, note it, and set the follow-up. Many of these turn into contracts months later — that is normal, not a failure. More on probate leads.
Pre-foreclosure
Assume they've been called all week by people who opened with their problem. Don't. Open with the house, let them raise the situation, and make the first thing you offer be options rather than an offer.
You: Hi [First Name], I'm [Caller] — I work with buyers here in [Market] and I'm calling about [Street]. Is that still yours?
You: I'll be straight with you: your address came up in the public county filings, so I know you've probably had a rough week of phone calls. I'm not here to pitch you — some people in this spot want to sell, some want to stay. Which one are you?
"Which one are you?" is the whole call. If they want to stay, thank them and go — you have kept a reputation. If they want out, you are now the one person who asked instead of assumed.
Expired listings and FSBO
These sellers already tried. They have a price in their head and a bad taste from the last attempt, so skip the compliments and go straight to what didn't work.
You: Hi [First Name] — I saw [Street] was on the market and came off. Are you still hoping to sell it, or are you done with the whole thing for now?
You: What do you think actually stopped it — the price, the showings, or something about the house itself?
Let them diagnose it. Whatever they name is the objection you have to solve, and they have just handed it to you unprompted.
High-equity, long-tenure owners
No distress, no deadline — just someone who has owned a paid-off house for twenty years. There is no urgency to borrow, so the only honest play is a soft, no-pressure future-pace.
You: Hey [First Name] — you've been in [Street] a long while, so I'm guessing you get these calls a lot. I'm not going to pretend this is anything but a cold call. Is selling something you'd even think about in the next year or two, or nowhere near the radar?
"Nowhere near" is a fine answer — tag it and call back in six months. This list pays on the cadence, not the first dial. It is also the list where a properly filtered motivated seller list earns its cost back fastest, because most of the names should never have been dialed at all.
BEFORE YOU DIAL
The rules that keep the campaign alive
A great script run carelessly gets your numbers flagged and, in the worst case, gets you sued. None of this is legal advice and the rules differ by state — have your attorney confirm what applies to you before you dial. But these are the habits that separate an operation that lasts from one that gets shut down in month three.
Scrub against the Do Not Call registry, every time
The federal National Do Not Call Registry exists, plus a number of states run their own. Scrubbing is not a one-time step at list purchase — numbers get added continuously, so a list scrubbed in January is not a list scrubbed in June. Rescrub before every campaign and keep the timestamped record. The full set of federal and state rules is in our guide is real estate cold calling legal?
Respect the calling window — in their time zone
Federal telemarketing rules limit calls to 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the called party's local time, and several states are stricter. This is the single most common mistake for teams dialing multi-state lists from one office: a 7:30 a.m. start on the East Coast is a 4:30 a.m. call in California. Set your dialer by the lead's time zone, not yours.
Say who you are and why you're calling
Name yourself, name the company, and name the property in the first breath. Beyond being required in many contexts, it is also just the reason the opener on this page works — anonymity is what makes a call feel like a scam.
Honor an opt-out on the spot, permanently
"Take me off your list" ends the call. No last pitch, no "just one question." Mark it as DNC in the CRM, not just in that day's notes, so a different caller doesn't dial the same number next quarter and turn an annoyed homeowner into a complaint.
Keep records you could actually hand someone
Written policy, scrub dates, opt-out log, call recordings where recording is permitted. Recording consent rules vary by state — some require every party to consent — so confirm the rule for the state you are dialing into. Records are what turn a complaint into a closed file instead of a problem. It is also why every call we run is recorded and QC-audited, and why our cost breakdown lists compliance as its own line item rather than hiding it in the hourly rate.
THE HONEST PART
A script is 20% of it. Reps are the other 80%.
Every operator who's scaled will tell you the same thing: scripts don't book appointments, thousands of disciplined daily dials do. That means skip-traced data that actually connects, a dialer, DNC scrubbing, QC on every call, and someone who does nothing else all day.
That's literally what we sell. A dedicated, trained caller runs this exact framework on your list and your market — Texas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Arizona, North Carolina, Tennessee, California, or anywhere in between — and hands you the warm conversations. Hear real calls here. Shopping around? See how real estate cold calling companies compare.
AFTER THE YES
The appointment-setting script and the follow-up call
Discovery is not the finish line. A seller who gave you condition, timeline and a number still has to end up on a calendar with whoever makes the offer — and most of the leads that go cold go cold right here, in the last thirty seconds of the call.
Booking the appointment
Offer two specific times, not an open question. “When works for you?” gets “I'll call you,” and nobody ever does.
You: Based on what you've told me, the next step is a short call with [Closer], who makes the actual offer. They can do tomorrow at 11 or Thursday at 4 — which is better for you?
You: Perfect. So [Closer] isn't starting from zero: it's [Street], it needs [repairs], you're looking at [timeline], and you'd want around [number]. Did I get that right?
You: Would it help if I sent you a text with the time and [Closer]'s name? ... Great, you'll see it in a minute.
Reading the details back does two jobs: it catches your mistakes, and it makes the seller hear their own reasons for selling one more time. Only text if they said yes to it on the call. Our appointment setting service runs this exact hand-off.
The follow-up call script
Every follow-up call should open with something they told you, never with “just checking in.” It proves you listened, and it gets them talking about the problem instead of about you. The full schedule, with six more follow-up scripts, is in our guide on following up with motivated sellers.
You: Hi [First Name], it's [Caller] — we spoke a few weeks back about [Street]. You mentioned [the tenant / the roof / the move]. How did that end up going?
You: Last time the timing wasn't right. Has anything changed on your end, or should I check back again in [month]?
Log the answer and the next date before you hang up. That is the whole day 1, 3, 7, 14, then monthly cadence from Step 4 — it only works if every call leaves a note the next one can open with.
FOR AGENTS
Real estate agent cold calling scripts: the listing version
Everything above is written for investors buying houses. If you are an agent, the framework holds — permission opener, discovery before price, a specific next step — but you are offering to list the home, not to buy it, so two things change: what you lead with, and what the appointment is.
Circle prospecting (a nearby home just sold)
You: Hi [First Name], this is [Name] with [Brokerage]. The house at [Nearby Street] just sold, and I'm letting a few neighbors know what it went for. Have you been keeping an eye on prices on your street?
You: Out of curiosity, if the number was right, is selling something you'd consider in the next year — or are you planning to stay put?
The sale is the reason for the call, so it has to be real: name a recent sale you can talk about. Four more neighbor calls, from just listed to the open house invitation, are in our circle prospecting scripts.
Setting the listing appointment
You: The honest way to answer “what's it worth” is to see it. I can come by Tuesday at 5 or Saturday morning, take fifteen minutes, and leave you a written price range either way. Which works?
Expired and FSBO sellers use the opener in Step 5 above; only the offer changes, from a cash purchase to a better-run listing. The calling rules are the same for agents as for investors: scrub against the Do Not Call registry, stay inside the calling window, and never claim to be something you are not.
Keep reading
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best cold calling script for real estate?
The best scripts sound like a neighbor, not a telemarketer: a soft opener that names the property, one permission question, and discovery questions about condition, timeline, and price. The framework on this page is what our callers use across millions of dials.
How many calls does it take to get a real estate lead?
Expect about 1,500–2,300 dials per qualified motivated-seller lead, depending on list quality and market; one full-time seat's month (about 69,000 dials, 30–45 leads) typically produces 1–2 signed contracts. Those figures assume skip-traced, filtered lists and consistent daily dialing; stale data moves them the wrong way.
Can I hire someone to cold call for me?
Yes — LeadsUp provides dedicated, trained real estate cold callers with skip-traced data, QC-audited calls, and weekly reporting. Campaigns go live in under 72 hours, month-to-month. Book a 15-minute strategy call.
Do I need a different cold calling script for wholesaling?
Same framework, different middle. A wholesaling call has to qualify for assignability and clear title, and it has to present a price as a range with the math out loud, which a straight seller call never does. The full word-for-word version is on our wholesaling cold calling script page.
What time of day should I cold call sellers?
Late morning and early evening in the seller's time zone tend to connect best, with a mid-afternoon block as the third choice. Rotate the times across the cadence rather than calling the same number at the same hour four times — and keep every dial inside the 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local window.
What is a good appointment setting script for real estate?
Offer two specific times instead of asking when they are free, name who they will be talking to, and read the details back — the property, its condition, the timeline and their number — before you hang up. The full wording is in the appointment-setting section on this page.
Do these cold calling scripts work for real estate agents?
The structure does: ask permission, run discovery before price, and end on a specific next step. What changes is the offer and the appointment — an agent is offering to list the home and books a listing appointment rather than a call about a cash offer. The agent version, with a circle prospecting opener, is on this page.
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