How to Master Circle Prospecting to Grow Your Real Estate Leads (+ Scripts)

Whether you’re in a slow season or not in your real estate business, there’s one constant pressure looming over your head: finding your next client.

There are several marketing strategies to help promote your business from real estate farming to door-knocking, but what if you combined those into one strategy known as circle prospecting?

Circle prospecting is a terrific lead generation tool for realtors since it connects you with prospects in your service area who might just be ready to buy… or sell.

If you’ve been on the hunt for your next client and want to be seen as the go-to expert in your area, then this may just be the tactic for you.

Here’s everything to know about circle prospecting and how to master this strategy in eight steps.

What Is Circle Prospecting In Real Estate?

Once you’ve narrowed down your real estate farm, you’re one step closer to finding your real estate circle. Circle prospecting is a strategy realtors use to generate leads from recent listings or sales by honing in on a smaller nearby circle or radius of homeowners. Within this circle, realtors go around the area and introduce themself to homeowners to ask if they or someone they know is interested in buying or selling a home.

5 Benefits of Circle Prospecting

Circle prospecting can be a lucrative strategy for bringing in more clientele to your business now or in the future. But other than connecting with potential customers in your local area, there are other benefits to this strategy to be aware of:

• Build local authority: The more you market your services to homeowners in your area, the more you become seen as the area’s go-to realtor. 

• Leverage recent sales: Sharing with other homeowners the insights of your recent sales can entice prospects to have the same results by deciding to work with you.

• More referral opportunities: Informing homeowners in the area about your business may bring in referrals from those who aren’t ready, but know someone who is.

• Increased brand awareness: Creating meaningful relationships with those in your area builds a community around your brand.

• Cost-effective versatility: This strategy can be altered to fit any budgets, making it a cost-effective marketing tool. 

Before You Begin 

In order to ensure your circle prospecting strategy pays off, there are a few steps to take before you begin. These five steps help you prepare to make the most meaningful connections with homeowners in your circle by knowing what to say and how to strategize the campaign.

• Research your target area: While speaking to homeowners, have insights ready about the local area to entice them more. This information can be anything from market insights, special amenities, luxury listings, home prices, or more.

• Know who not to contact: Some homeowners in the area do not want to be contacted for any campaign. Make sure you pinpoint those on a do-not-call list so you leave them out and only speak to those who want to hear from you.

• Establish goals: Think about the main goal of this campaign so you can reach homeowners accordingly. Do you want to land more clients? Increase brand awareness? Invite those in the area out to an open house?

• Practice your scripts: Have scripts ready to know what to say for any scenario that might arise, and practice your scripts to feel more confident when speaking to homeowners.

• Set up a follow up system: The first contact is great for introducing yourself, but the follow up is where the money’s at. Make sure you set up a follow up plan in a CRM tool to remind prospects who you are and how to contact you.

8 Tips & Tricks for Successful Circle Prospecting (+ Scripts)

Make the most out of your circle prospecting outreach with these 8 tips.

1. Do Your Market Homework First

Before you hit the streets (or keypad), make sure you come to every conversation prepared with insights about the local market. 

Even if you’re vastly familiar with your real estate circle, it’s still an important task to refresh your knowledge on current listings and offers homeowners would want to take advantage of. Freshen up on home values, special local amenities, and more to entice homeowners into buying or selling.

Plus, coming into every conversation with valuable information about the local market increases your professionalism and looks like the know-it-all expert of your area. 

2. Keep Your Circle Size Realistic 

We know that real estate is a numbers game but before you get too eager, remember to keep your circle size on the smaller scale. 

Keep your circle within the immediate area of your recent listing or transaction. This helps you to focus on homeowners who are nearby instead of starting with a broad circle. 

The ideal rule of thumb is to have a real estate circle of about 20-50 homes in your circle. This smaller size allows you to connect with homeowners who are more invested in the area and might be more likely to take advantage of your services. 

3. Find Clients Beforehand 

One of the best tips for making your circle prospecting strategy more effective is knowing specific homeowners to target beforehand. 

Leveraging tech tools like Cole’s Realty Resource provides you with a database of homeowners in your circle area who perfectly align with your campaign.

This takes the guesswork out of finding your next client since it provides you with homeowner names and addresses along with specialized home information to use for your outreach. 

4. Know What to Say Before the Door Opens

Like door-knocking, actually speaking to prospects is what makes realtors too scared to initiate this strategy in the first place.

So, to alleviate the stress and come to every conversation prepared, it’s important to have scripts ready for every possible scenario, and to practice them beforehand! 

If you need some inspiration on what to say to prospects as you scour the area, here are 6 scripts to customize and use based on possible scenarios:

Just-Sold Script

Have you recently just sold a home in the area? Break the ice with this script:

“Hello, sorry to bother you. My name is [YOUR NAME] with [YOUR AGENCY], and I’m calling because I recently just sold a home for [SALE PRICE] in your area on [STREET NAME]. There is a lot of interest in your area and with high home values, I wanted to reach out to see if you or anyone you know is currently thinking about selling their home in the near future?”

If the homeowner says yes, then continue the conversation by going into detail about your services and how to set up a meeting/consultation. 

If the homeowner says no, then close the conversation with this script:

“Thank you for letting me know. Would you like to stay updated on home values for when the time is right?”

Open House Script

If your circle prospecting consists of inviting those in the area to an open house event, here is a script you can use to entice prospects to come:

“Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] with [YOUR AGENCY]. I’m calling because I wanted to let you know that I’m hosting an open house this [DAY AND TIME] at [HOME ADDRESS] for nearby neighbors only. I wanted to personally invite you to get a sneak preview of the house first, especially since interest is picking up in the area.”

Just-Listed Script

Just-listed scripts can function similar to open house scripts since you’re informing nearby homeowners of an available house in the area. But, the difference in this script is leading with details about the home to entice buyers.

Here’s a script to use for houses you’ve just listed:

“Hello, I’m [YOUR NAME] and I’m with [YOUR AGENCY]. I’m calling because I recently listed a property on [HOME ADDRESS] and wanted to see if you or someone you know is interested in moving to the area. The house is gorgeous; with [NUMBER OF BEDROOMS & BATHS] and in a widely popular neighborhood. I don’t think it’ll be on the market long.” 

If the prospect says yes, then you have the perfect entrance into setting up a private showing or inviting them to your open house!

If the prospect says no, here’s a script you can use to stay in touch for possible future opportunities:

“I totally understand that you’re not looking to buy or sell at the moment. It’s a big decision. However, I like to offer all my clients a chance to receive market updates to stay informed about property values in the area. Is this something you’d like to receive as well?” 

Voicemail Script

Sometimes homeowners will miss your call and open the door for leaving a voicemail. When this happens, here’s a script to use that covers the important information, like your name, your agency, and why you’re calling:

“Hello! I’m [YOUR NAME] and I’m with [YOUR AGENCY]. I’m calling because [REASON FOR CALLING], and I wanted to see if you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in the area. Whenever you get a moment, please call me back at [PHONE NUMBER OR OTHER CONTACT INFO]. Thank you for your time!”

Market Insight Script

If you don’t have any listings or are looking for another one, leading conversations with market insights can be very powerful. This tactic works since not a lot of homeowners are up-to-speed on the industry, and this is where you get to let your expertise shine while convincing prospects to work with you.

Here’s a script to use if you’re strategy focuses on sharing market insights:

“Hello, I’m [YOUR NAME] and I’m with [YOUR AGENCY]. I’m calling because there’s been a significant increase in home values in your neighborhood, and I have several buyers who are looking at making the move to your area. This can be really valuable to those who are looking to sell. Are you or someone you know looking to list your home any time soon?”

If the homeowner says yes, then continue the conversation on next steps, which could be setting up a time to talk more.

If the homeowner says no, here’s a script to use to close the conversation:

“I completely understand. If you change your mind and decide you’re ready to sell, don’t hesitate to reach out at [YOUR PHONE NUMBER OR OTHER CONTACT INFO]. I’d love to help you sell your home!”

Follow Up Script

Unfortunately, many prospects will not be ready to buy or sell upon the first conversation. Prospects sometimes require nurturing and frequent contact to feel persuaded to make the next move.

Within circle prospecting, following up after every call or event is key to nurturing your leads. Here’s a follow up script to customize and use after phone calls or events to stay fresh in prospects’ minds:

“Hello! This is [YOUR NAME] with [YOUR AGENCY]. Thank you so much for taking the time to come out to [EVEN NAME] on [DATE]. We had a wonderful turnout and lots of interested buyers. I wanted to reach out to see if you had any questions about the property or if you are interested in purchasing the home?”

5. Connect With the Homeowners

Another key part in making your circle prospecting strategy effective is connecting with the homeowners.

Don’t go into every conversation with the intent to sell; go into with the chance to connect and form relationships.

Instead of being overly sales-y, try to be more friendly and helpful. This helps you appear genuine and personable, which prospects will appreciate. 

As you go into your conversations, here are some things to keep in mind to help you connect with homeowners:

• Keep a positive, bubbly attitude.
• Don’t be pushy.
• Offer valuable insight or answer all questions. 
• If a homeowner is not interested in talking, respect their wishes.
• Be yourself.
• Try to keep conversations short and to the point.

6. Share Valuable Insights

Regardless of the reason you’re calling, remember that your conversation must seem valuable to prospects instead of a waste of time.

A good way to do this is include valuable pieces of information about the homes you’re selling, the current market, or what’s in it for the homeowner if they work with you.

Some of the scripts on our list, like the just-listed and market insight script, do a good job of indicating value.

To make your offer seem worth it to your leads, try to include one or more of the following in your conversation:

• Recent home sale prices.
• Home value percentages.
• Lots of interest.
• Quick-selling homes.

7. Pass Out Memorable Extras

If your circle prospecting has you knocking on doors instead of making phone calls, remember to bring along with you something tangible to give to the homeowners.

This can be anything from a business card, to informational flyers, door hangers, or even goodies!

Passing out these memorable extras goes the extra mile and be converting for your business by:

• Providing prospects with contact information.
• Sharing homeowners with valuable insights.
• Making a strong first impression.

If you come upon a house where no one answers the door, always leave behind one of your extras for the homeowner to see later!

8. Remember to Follow Up

As we mentioned in our script section, following up is a big component to making this tactic work. 

After making your rounds of door knocks or calls, wait about a week or two before reaching back out to prospects about property listings or if they’re ready to make their next real estate move. 

Following-up with leads reminds them once again about your business and services, and might just be the final push they need to take their next step.

The Bottom Line

Circle prospecting is a highly effective real estate marketing strategy every realtor should take advantage of. Not only does it lead to more transactions, but it also sets you up as the go-to expert in your area.

The good news is that this strategy is customizable based on your budget, so even if you’re operating with a smaller plan, you can make this tactic work for you.

But as you get to ready to set out on your circle prospecting journey, remember the key points:

• Keep your circle size small.
• Research the area beforehand. 
• Find specific leads to target first.
• Practice scripts and have them ready.
• Approach every lead with a positive attitude.
• Remember to follow up.