Every single month, a wave of expired listings hits the MLS. Homes that didn’t sell. Homeowners who are frustrated, confused, and — whether they know it or not — in need of a DIFFERENT approach. And every single month, the vast majority of agents either ignore those expireds completely or make one weak attempt and move on.
That’s a massive mistake. Because expired listings are one of the most PREDICTABLE, most CONVERTIBLE lead sources in all of real estate — if you know how to work them.
I coach agents on this every week inside Agent Success Academy, and the pattern is always the same. Agents tell me expireds are “too hard” or “everyone calls them” or “they’re angry.” And I tell them — GOOD. That’s exactly why you should be calling. Because 90% of your competition just talked themselves out of the opportunity you’re about to take.
Why Expired Listings Are Gold for Your Business
Let’s get the facts straight. According to industry data, nearly 40% of expired listings relist with a NEW agent within 30 days. Not their old agent — a new one. And when you zoom out further, roughly 70% of homeowners whose listings expired do NOT go back with their original agent.
Read that again. Seven out of ten homeowners are choosing someone DIFFERENT. That someone could be you — but only if you’re in the conversation.
Here’s what makes expireds so valuable compared to other lead sources. These people have already DECIDED to sell. You don’t have to convince them to list their home. The motivation is already there. What they need is someone who can show them WHY it didn’t sell the first time and what’s going to be DIFFERENT this time around. That’s a completely different conversation than cold calling a random homeowner and hoping they’re thinking about moving.
The motivation piece is already solved. Now you just have to demonstrate the ability and dial in the price. That’s the MAP framework — Motivation, Ability, Price. With expireds, the M is already checked. Your job is proving the A and getting agreement on the P.
The First 24 Hours: What Most Agents Get Wrong
On the first of the month — or whenever a batch of expireds drops — every agent with a pulse is making calls. The homeowner’s phone is ringing off the hook. They’re getting texts, emails, door knocks, carrier pigeons. They’re overwhelmed and irritated.
Most agents call during this chaos, get a voicemail or a sharp “we’re not interested,” and they’re done. One and done. Checked the box. On to the next thing.
Here’s what the TOP agents do differently. Yes, they call on day one — because you HAVE to make initial contact. You want your name in the mix early. But they understand that day one is not where the deal gets done. Day one is where the SEED gets planted.
Your goal on that first call isn’t to get a listing appointment. Your goal is to have a HUMAN conversation. Acknowledge what they’re going through. Don’t launch into a pitch about your marketing plan. Nobody wants to hear that right now. They just went through a frustrating experience. Meet them where they are.
Something as simple as: “I saw your home came off the market and I know that’s not the outcome you were looking for. I’m not calling to add to the noise — I just wanted to introduce myself in case you decide to explore a different approach down the road.”
That’s it. Low pressure. Professional. Human. You’ve now separated yourself from the 47 other agents who called with a scripted pitch about their “proven marketing system.”
The Follow-Up Sequence That Wins Listings
Here’s where the REAL money is. The follow-up. Because that initial call — whether you reached them or not — is just the beginning.
We teach a minimum of 6 contact attempts before you move a lead to a lower priority. Six. Not one. Not two. SIX. And here’s why that matters: most conversions happen after the 5th or 6th contact attempt. The average agent quits after 1 or 2. Do the math on where the opportunity sits.
Here’s what a solid expired follow-up sequence looks like:
Day 1: Initial Call + Voicemail
Make the call. If they answer, have a genuine conversation. If they don’t, leave a SHORT voicemail — your name, that you noticed their home came off the market, and that you have some observations about what’s happening in their neighborhood. That’s it. No 90-second pitch.
Day 2-3: Video Email
Send a personalized video email. Stand in front of your computer, mention their address, and share ONE specific insight about their market. Maybe a comparable that sold while their home sat. Maybe a pricing trend. Something that shows you actually did your homework. This is where a tool like Exact Dial helps you reach the right people with the right contact information so your outreach actually lands.
Day 5-7: Second Call + Market Report
Call again. Different time of day than your first attempt. If you don’t reach them, follow up with a market report for their specific neighborhood — active listings, recent sales, price trends. Let the DATA do the talking.
Day 10-14: Third Call + Text
By now, the noise from the initial expiration has died down. Most other agents stopped calling a week ago. Your third call is hitting at exactly the right time — when the homeowner has had time to think and the competition has disappeared. Follow up with a short, professional text: “Hi [name], I sent over some market data on your neighborhood last week. Happy to walk through it with you if you’d like a second opinion on what happened.”
Day 18-21: The Circle Back Call
This is the MONEY call. Two to three weeks after expiration, the homeowner’s emotional state has completely shifted. The anger and frustration from day one has been replaced by reflection. They’re asking themselves what went wrong. And they’re far more receptive to having a real conversation about strategy.
Your script here is simple: “Hey, I reached out a couple weeks ago when your home came off the market. I’ve been watching your neighborhood closely and I have a couple of observations I think you’d want to hear. Do you have a few minutes?”
Day 25-30: Final Attempt + CMA Offer
Make one more call. If you still haven’t connected, send an email offering a complimentary updated CMA with no strings attached. Position it as a professional courtesy — because it is. Some of these will convert to appointments weeks or even months later.
Handling the Objections: What They Say vs. What They Mean
If you’re calling expireds, you’re going to hear objections. That’s not a problem — it’s an OPPORTUNITY. Because most of what homeowners say in the first conversation is a smoke screen. They’re testing you. They’re protecting themselves. And the agents who crumble at the first objection are handing listings to the agents who know how to navigate them.
“We’re going to relist with our agent.”
This is the most common thing you’ll hear — and it’s true less often than you think. Remember, 70% of expireds do NOT go back to their original agent. When they say this, they’re usually saying it because it’s the easiest way to get you off the phone.
Your response: “I totally understand loyalty to your agent. Can I ask you one thing — are they planning to do anything differently this time around? Because the market data suggests there may have been a pricing or positioning issue, and I’d hate to see you end up in the same spot 90 days from now.”
You’re not attacking their agent. You’re planting a question that’s already in the back of their mind.
“We’re taking the home off the market.”
Sometimes this is real. Sometimes it’s another smoke screen. Either way, respect it — but don’t write them off.
Your response: “I completely understand. The market can be exhausting. If things change down the road, I’d love to be a resource for you. Mind if I check in with you in a month or so?”
Now you have permission to follow up. And when you call back in 30 days, you’re not a cold caller — you’re someone they already spoke with.
“We’ve already talked to a dozen agents.”
Good. That means they’re evaluating their options. Your job is to stand out from the dozen by NOT doing what the other twelve did.
Your response: “I’m sure you have, and I respect your time. I’m not looking to be the thirteenth agent who gives you the same pitch. I actually pulled some specific data on your home and your neighborhood that I think explains exactly why it didn’t sell — and what would need to change. Would it be worth 10 minutes to walk through it?”
“What would you do differently?”
This is the BUYING question. When they ask this, they’re interviewing you. This is your moment. Don’t wing it.
Come prepared with a specific analysis of their listing. What was the pricing strategy? How did it compare to recent comps? What did the photos look like? How was it marketed online? Where were the showings falling off? When you can point to SPECIFIC, DATA-DRIVEN reasons the home didn’t sell and articulate a clear plan for fixing those issues, you become the obvious choice. Track your conversations and pipeline in a system like Top Agent Tracker so nothing slips through the cracks.
The Mindset Shift: Separate Emotion From Action
Here’s what separates agents who succeed with expireds from agents who give up after one call. It’s not skill. It’s not scripts. It’s MINDSET.
When you call an expired and they’re rude, dismissive, or hang up — that has NOTHING to do with you. They don’t know you. They’re reacting to the situation. And if you let that emotional response dictate your next action, you’ve just let a stranger control your business.
Separate emotion from action. That’s the core principle we live by. You don’t have to FEEL like making the next call. You don’t have to be in the mood. You just have to DO it. Feelings are irrelevant to production. Activity is everything.
Zero is your friend. Every day resets. Yesterday’s rejection doesn’t carry over into today. Yesterday’s listing appointment doesn’t carry over either. You start fresh, you do the work, you let the numbers compound. That’s how this business works.
The agents who take this approach — who make the calls regardless of how they feel, who follow up regardless of the initial response, who treat this like a BUSINESS and not an emotional experience — those are the agents taking 3, 5, 10 expired listings per month. And they’re doing it in the same market, with the same leads, that everyone else says are “too hard.”
Building Your Expired Listing Machine
If you want to turn expireds into a consistent, reliable source of listings, you need a SYSTEM. Not motivation. Not inspiration. A system. Here’s the framework:
Daily generation from 8 to 11 AM. Part of your morning block should include expired calls — both new expireds from today and follow-ups on expireds from previous days and weeks. This is non-negotiable. It’s not something you do when you feel like it. It’s what you do because it’s Tuesday.
ABCD segmentation on every contact. After every call, categorize the lead. A leads — they’re ready to list now and open to meeting. Daily follow-up. B leads — likely in 1-3 months, interested but not urgent. Follow up every 3-5 days. C leads — 3-6 months out. Every 2-4 weeks. D leads — long-term nurture. Don’t waste daily follow-up energy on a D lead, and don’t let an A lead go a week without a call.
Track your numbers. How many expired calls are you making per day? What’s your contact rate? How many contacts does it take you to set one appointment? What’s your appointment-to-listing ratio? If you don’t know these numbers, you’re guessing. And guessing is not a business strategy. The agents inside our Backstage coaching library hear me say this every week — track without emotion, adjust based on data, and let the numbers tell you where to focus.
Pre-call research. Before you pick up the phone, spend 2-3 minutes looking at the listing. What was the list price vs. comps? How long was it on market? How many price reductions? What do the photos look like? Were there agent remarks that hint at issues? This preparation is what separates a professional consultation from a cold call. When you can reference THEIR specific situation, you immediately have credibility.
When You Generate, You Don’t Have to Tolerate
Expired listings are not a side project. For the agents who master this lead source, it becomes the ENGINE of their business. A consistent stream of motivated sellers who have already committed to selling — they just need the RIGHT agent to get it done.
And here’s the bigger picture. When your pipeline is full of opportunities — when you’re converting expireds, working your database, prospecting FSBOs — you don’t have to tolerate bad clients, low commissions, or desperation deals. When you generate, you don’t have to tolerate. That’s freedom. That’s what a real business looks like.
The work isn’t glamorous. It’s repetitious boredom. It’s making the same calls, running the same follow-up sequences, handling the same objections, day after day after day. But that repetition is what builds something predictable and scalable. The agents who embrace the boring work are the ones building real wealth in this business.
If you’re ready to build a system around expireds and stop leaving listings on the table, that’s exactly what we work on inside Agent Success Academy. Weekly coaching, accountability, and the execution framework that turns activity into closings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of expired listings relist with a new agent?
Approximately 70% of homeowners whose listings expire do NOT relist with their original agent. Nearly 40% of expireds relist within the first 30 days, and the majority of those choose a different agent. This creates a massive window of opportunity for agents who follow up consistently and professionally.
When is the best time to call expired listings?
Make your initial call the day the listing expires to get your name in the mix. But the highest-conversion calls typically happen 2-3 weeks later, after the initial flood of agent calls has stopped and the homeowner has had time to process what happened. Your 8-11 AM generation window is ideal for these calls.
How many times should I follow up with an expired listing?
A minimum of 6 contact attempts using multiple touchpoints — phone calls, video emails, market reports, texts, and CMA offers. Most conversions happen after the 5th or 6th attempt, but the average agent gives up after 1 or 2. The business is sitting between attempt 2 and attempt 6.
What do you say when an expired listing says they’re relisting with their current agent?
Don’t argue or attack their agent. Instead, plant a strategic question: ask if their agent plans to do anything differently this time. This addresses the concern that’s already in the homeowner’s mind without being confrontational. Data shows most will ultimately choose a new agent, so staying in the conversation through follow-up is key.
How do I prepare before calling an expired listing?
Spend 2-3 minutes researching the listing before every call. Look at the original list price versus comparable sales, days on market, number of price reductions, photo quality, and marketing approach. When you can reference their specific situation with data-driven insights, you immediately separate yourself from every other agent who called with a generic pitch.
What’s the MAP framework for expired listings?
MAP stands for Motivation, Ability, and Price. With expired listings, the Motivation is already established — they’ve already decided to sell. Your job is to demonstrate your Ability (your marketing plan, strategy, and track record) and get agreement on the right Price based on current market data. This makes expireds one of the most efficient lead sources because you’re starting with one-third of the equation already solved.
— Abe Safa, Real Estate Sales Solutions
