How to Get More Real Estate Leads When the Ones You Have Went Cold (2026)
If you think you need more real estate leads, look at your phone first. Most agents who tell me they need leads have a phone full of people who know them and haven't heard from them in months. Buying more leads doesn't fix that. It adds names to a list nobody's calling. Build a list of 50 names from your recent calls and texts, not your CRM. Text each one a local sales number about their place, and ask for nothing. Then ask everyone who replies for the name of someone who complains about their home. The first step takes twenty minutes and costs nothing.
- The leads are already in your phone. Not in a CRM you stopped updating. In your recent calls and texts, which is a list you can build tonight.
- Fifty names, not five hundred. A list you'll work beats a database you feel guilty about. Stop at fifty and that's your month.
- The text has to ask for nothing. The moment it asks for business it becomes a solicitation and gets ignored. Offer a number about their place instead.
- Ask for the complainer, not the mover. Everyone knows someone who complains about their place. Few people can name a "mover." Same question. People can actually answer this one.
- Quitting follow-up after one or two tries is the leak. That, more than lead volume, is why the leads you already paid for produced nothing.
On this page
The real problem: you don't have a lead problem
Here's what I hear on almost every call with an agent who says they need leads. They've bought Zillow leads, or they're thinking about it. They've got a CRM with a few hundred contacts in it that they stopped updating around the time the free trial ended. And they can't tell me the last time they had a one-to-one conversation with twenty people who already know them.
The people who already know you are the people most likely to hire you, and they're free. They know your name, they've met you, and some of them are going to move next year. The only reason they won't move with you is that they'll forget you sell real estate. The last time they heard from you was a post they scrolled past.
The 30-second self-check
Three questions. Takes thirty seconds.
- How many people in your phone know you sell real estate? Guess low, then scroll your texts. It's always more than you guessed.
- When did the last twenty of them hear from you, one to one, not a post? A story view isn't a touch. An email blast isn't a touch.
- How many times do you follow up with a new lead before you stop? Be honest about the real number, not the number you intend.
If you answered "a lot," "not sure," and "twice," your leads are already in your phone and you don't need to buy any. If the second answer bothered you, read the companion page on how to stay in touch with your sphere next. It solves the part where you have nothing to say.
Move 1: build the list off your phone, not out of a CRM
Open your recent calls. Open your texts. Scroll back ninety days. Every name you'd stop and say hi to in a grocery store goes on a list.
Stop at fifty.
The stopping is the important half. Agents fail this step by trying to build the complete database. It takes hours, produces six hundred names, and gets abandoned. Fifty is a number you can work in about a month at ten a week.
Two notes on who belongs on it. Renters count, and most agents leave them off. A renter facing a rent increase is closer to buying than a homeowner who is perfectly happy. People who already used a different agent count too, because some of them didn't love the experience and most agents never ask them about it.
Where you keep the list barely matters. A note on your phone is fine. The lead follow-up system page covers the version of this that survives volume, but you don't need it to start fifty names.
Move 2: send the no-ask text
All fifty, over five days, ten a day. Not a blast. Individual messages, sent from your phone, to one person at a time.
For homeowners:
Hey [first name], quick one. Prices in the neighborhood are up over last year. Want me to run what that means for your place? Either way is fine. The no-ask text, homeowner version
The number you cite has to be yours, not a national headline. Pull three solds within a half mile from the last ninety days out of the MLS. That's a two-minute job. A specific local number is the reason the text gets a reply, and a general market statistic is the reason it doesn't.
For renters:
"Rents keep climbing. Want me to have a lender run what a mortgage would be on the same money? Just curious if it's close."
Not sure which of the fifty rent? Send the homeowner version. They'll tell you.
Three things make this text work, and all three are things agents remove when they rewrite it:
- It asks for nothing. No call to action, no "let me know if you or anyone you know," no calendar link. The second it asks, it's a solicitation and it reads like one.
- "Either way is fine" gives them an exit. That single clause is why people answer. You've made saying no free, which makes saying yes cheap.
- It offers them information about their own asset. Everyone wants to know what their place is worth. Most won't ask an agent, because they assume asking starts a sales process.
Some won't answer. The ones who do are the start of your month. Most replies won't be "yes, sell my house." They'll be conversations, and conversations are the point.
Move 3: ask for the complainer, not the mover
Every reply, good or bad, ends with the same question:
Who's the last person who complained to you about their place? Just a first name. I'll take it from there and you'll never have to sell me. The referral ask people can answer
Compare that to what agents normally ask, which is some version of "do you know anyone thinking about buying or selling?" Most people can't name a mover. "Mover" is a category that exists in an agent's head and nowhere else. But everyone knows a complainer. The cramped kitchen, the commute, the upstairs neighbor, the third kid in the second bedroom. Those are the conversations people have with their friends.
The second half matters as much as the first. "You'll never have to sell me" removes the real objection: referring you is embarrassing for them if you turn out to be pushy. You've just told them you won't be.
If the referrals side of your business is the bigger gap, the page on getting referrals from past clients goes deeper on teaching clients how to refer you.
Do this today
Build the 50-name list. Not tomorrow, today. It takes twenty minutes and it's the only thing on this page that makes the rest of it work. Open recent calls, open texts, scroll back ninety days, stop at fifty. Then send the first ten texts in the morning.
The twenty minutes is the whole thing
Every agent I've talked to about this already suspected the answer was in their phone. What stops them is that building the list feels like admitting they should have been doing it all along. Build it anyway. Nobody's keeping score except the people who haven't heard from you.
Talk it through with me for 10 minutes
Have your contacts open. In ten minutes we'll pick your first ten names and I'll tell you which text each one gets. It's a 10-minute broker solution chat. I call you, we talk about your business, and I won't bring up Kale unless you do.
What's in it for me: I recruit agents for Kale Realty, and I'd rather say so than have you wonder. If you ever leave your brokerage, I hope we're your first call. The help is yours either way.
Rather text? 312.238.9796
Not ready for a call? Take the one-pager.
This page as a single printed sheet you can keep next to your phone while you work the list. First name and email. It opens right here and I'll email you a copy too.
Here's your one-pager
Download the printable sheet (PDF)
A copy is on its way to your inbox as well. If it doesn't land in a few minutes, check spam or just email me.
The sheet is the general version. On a 10-minute call I'll give you the version for your market and your deal count. Book 10 minutes with D.J.
Who this works for, and who should read something else
Do this first if
- You've been licensed long enough to have a phone full of people who know you.
- You've bought leads before and they didn't convert.
- You can't remember the last one-to-one conversation you had with a past client.
- Your pipeline is empty but your contact list isn't.
- You want something that costs nothing and starts tonight.
Read something else first if
- You're brand new with almost no contacts. Start with what to say when you call your sphere, which begins from a standing start.
- You have plenty of leads and lose them. That's the follow-up system page.
- You have buyers but no inventory. That's finding off-market homes.
- You know all of this and don't do it. That's honest, and it's the accountability page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way for a real estate agent to get more leads?
Text fifty people who already know you, one at a time, with a local number about their own place and no ask attached. It's faster than any paid channel because there's no setup, no spend, and no warm-up period. The audience already knows your name. Send the first ten today and read the replies.
Should I buy real estate leads from Zillow or Realtor.com?
Not until you've worked the people who already know you. Paid leads magnify whatever your follow-up habit already is. If you stop after two attempts, buying leads means paying to stop after two attempts. Build the habit on free contacts where a mistake costs nothing, then decide whether you still need to buy.
Why is fifty the right number of contacts to start with?
Because fifty is a list you'll finish and six hundred is a list you'll abandon. Ten conversations a week is a pace you can keep alongside showings and closings. Building the complete database first takes hours, produces a number too big to face, and ends with nothing sent. Stop at fifty and start texting.
What do I say when I text someone I haven't spoken to in two years?
Name the gap first, briefly, and don't over-apologize. Try "it's been way too long and that's on me," then go straight into the no-ask text. The silence is only awkward if you pretend it isn't there. A cheerful message that ignores the gap leaves them wondering what you want.
Does the no-ask text work for renters, or only homeowners?
It works better on renters, and most agents leave renters off the list. A renter holding a renewal notice with an increase has a deadline and a payment to compare. The renter version asks whether they'd like a lender to run what a mortgage would be on the same money. They're probably already wondering.
Where do I get the local number to put in the text?
Pull three sold comparables within a half mile of their address from the last ninety days out of your MLS. It takes about two minutes. Don't swap in a national headline. A local number gets a reply because it's about them. They've already scrolled past the national ones this week.
How many follow-ups does it take to convert a real estate lead?
Every open lead gets a next date on the calendar, or it isn't a lead, it's a name. There's no magic count of touches. Leads die when an agent stops after one or two tries and nothing on the calendar brings them back. Go through your open leads today and give each one a next date.
Isn't texting my sphere about real estate going to annoy them?
Not when it's information about their own place with an exit built in. "Either way is fine" makes no free to say. Bad reactions usually mean the agent cut that clause and added a call to action, which turns a favor into a pitch. Send ten and read the replies before you decide it doesn't work.
Do I need a CRM to do this?
No, and reaching for one is a common way to avoid starting. A note on your phone with fifty names is enough for the first month. A CRM is worth the setup once the volume outgrows your head, and fifty doesn't. If leads are already getting lost at higher volume, that's the follow-up system page.
Why ask for a complainer instead of asking for referrals?
Because people can answer it. "Do you know anyone looking to buy or sell" asks them to search a category their memory doesn't keep. Most people don't file a friend under "mover." Everyone can name someone who complains about their space, commute, or neighbors, and that complaint is the earliest sign a move is coming.
Can I use these texts if I'm not in Chicago?
Yes. The wording travels. The paperwork rules are the part that changes, so check your state and your office policy.
What do I send when someone says yes to the numbers?
Send the three solds you already pulled and one plain line on what they suggest for their place, the same day. Keep it short and still ask for nothing. If they come back with questions, offer a quick call. Then ask the complainer question from Move 3, because a warm reply is the easiest place to ask it.
Still stuck on this one? Book 10 minutes with D.J. I'll call you, and I won't bring up Kale unless you do.
About this guide. Published September 2026. This page describes prospecting and business development practices for licensed real estate agents. It is general professional guidance, not legal, financial, tax, or career advice, and it is not a substitute for direction from your own managing broker. Your brokerage's office policy takes precedence over anything written here.
Figures referenced reflect publicly available information, industry research, and agent reports as of the publication date. Rules governing agent-to-consumer texting and calling, including the National Do Not Call Registry and its exemptions for existing relationships, vary by situation and by state. Illinois requires a written brokerage agreement with anyone you represent. Your managing broker has the form.
Kale Realty reviews and updates this page periodically. If you believe any information above is inaccurate, email dj@kalerealty.com. Published by Kale Realty, Chicago, Illinois.