Prospecting has returned to the forefront as the market becomes more competitive and listings become harder to secure, testing agents who only relied on favourable conditions to keep their pipeline full. Here is how to get your next listing.
As the market experiences a downturn, prospecting has once again become the defining factor between agents who continue to win listings and those who struggle to maintain momentum.
According to TAG RE principal Vedant Agrawal, today’s market presents a unique challenge, particularly for newer agents, as the gap between vendor expectations and buyer sentiment continues to widen.
"Owners still want the price that properties were selling for six to 12 months ago, but buyers don’t want to pay that price,” Agrawal told REB.
At the same time, he said that fewer investors are bringing properties to market, leaving agents competing for a smaller pool of potential listings.
“Listing numbers are more challenging to get more listings because more agents are going into fewer doors, which increases competition.”
With fewer opportunities available, Agrawal said prospecting was no longer optional but a lifeline for building future business.
As prospecting had become significantly more challenging, he said that agents needed stronger conversations and a deeper understanding of owners’ motivations.
“At the moment, you also need to double the amount of numbers you’re doing prospecting for to have the same amount of appraisals that you were having 12 months ago.”
“You need more conviction and more convincing, and that’s why understanding customers’ motivations needs to be a lot stronger than before.”
To ensure a consistent pipeline through prospecting, Agrawal said agents needed to return to the basics: door-knocking, cold calling, and letterbox dropping.
“Prospecting is essentially the oxygen of the real estate industry in sales because if you stop, then it all cascades.”
Door knocking
According to Agrawal, door knocking remains one of the core pillars of prospecting, with success determined long before a home owner answers the door.
“A good door knock would be going to the door with energy, having a reason why you’re at the door.”
Rather than leading with a sales pitch, he encouraged agents to arrive with a genuine reason for the conversation, whether that’s discussing a recent sale, a nearby listing or offering an update on the property’s value.
By focusing on helping owners better understand their assets, he said that agents were more likely to build trust and open the door to future opportunities.
“It’s more so adding value to their asset and giving them an idea of what it may be worth.”
Cold calling
When it comes to cold calling, Agrawal said the process requires a different approach as agents don’t have the benefit of speaking face-to-face.
Agrawal recommended acknowledging that the call is unexpected before reassuring home owners that the purpose is to provide useful market information, not to deliver a sales pitch.
“Agents need to reassure owners that they are not a cold caller in the sense of a telemarketer but instead calling to add value to their home.”
“They also need to take an approach of apologising for inconveniencing owners because they’ve answered the phone.”
From there, he said that agents should use the conversation to uncover the owner’s circumstances and identify whether there’s an opportunity for an appraisal now or in the future.
Letterbox drops
While letterbox drops remain a valuable prospecting tool, Agrawal said, too many agents waste the opportunity with generic marketing material.
Instead, he encouraged agents to include information home owners are likely to keep, such as comparable sales, suburb records or complex records, which are more likely to stay on the kitchen bench rather than end up in the bin.
He also believes agents should be transparent about their results.
“There is no interest in putting only ‘block record’ on the pamphlet; put the price instead.”
Handle rejection
As fewer home owners look to sell, Agrawal acknowledged rejection has become a much bigger part of prospecting.
Rather than trying to push through objections, he encouraged agents to quickly identify each owner’s motivation.
“Every single home owner has a why.”
“The way to navigate around rejection is by ensuring that you have found their why in the 20 to 30 seconds they give you at the door or on a phone call.”
Whether it’s family, relocation, or lifestyle, understanding why someone may eventually sell gives agents a much stronger foundation for future conversations.
Follow up
According to Agrawal, once the prospecting was done, agents needed to block dedicated prospecting time every day to build short-, medium- and long-term pipelines.
He said that short-term prospects require more regular contact, while longer-term prospects can receive periodic market updates.
“Every interaction, however, should have a genuine purpose rather than simply checking in.”
He said agents should also avoid thinking of persistence as being a nuisance.
“The word annoying is incorrect. The word proactive is correct.”
Social media advantage
While Agrawal remains committed to traditional prospecting, he said digital channels have become an increasingly valuable addition to the mix.
Alongside door-knocking, cold calling and letterbox drops, his team also generates leads through Meta advertising and social media, with digital platforms contributing around 20 per cent of new business.
Rather than posting the same content as every other agent, he encouraged agents to focus on producing content that stands out and gives audiences a genuine insight into the business.
“Be different. Don’t be stock standard. What everyone else does, be different.”
“Think outside the box. So you post stuff that will hook people’s attention instead of just hoping that it gets their attention.”
Build the business before the market returns
Additionally, rather than waiting for market conditions to improve, Agrawal said agents should use the current slowdown to strengthen their businesses’ foundations.
By refining systems, improving prospecting processes and building stronger habits now, agents will be in a far stronger position when activity returns and competition intensifies.
“Probably the most important thing is to try and optimise systems and processes now while the market is going through a bit of a corrective phase.”
“So when the market lifts back up, you can then thrive again and get back to writing big commissions.”
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