How to Get Clients as a Real Estate Agent

You passed the exam.

You joined a brokerage.

And the phone isn’t ringing.

That’s normal. Clients don’t come with the license. They come from a habit.

The habit is prospecting: one hour, every working day, spent starting conversations with people who might buy or sell.

Not posting. Not tidying your CRM. Starting conversations.

This guide is that hour — where to spend it, and what to say.

Why waiting for leads doesn’t work

Most new agents do one of two things.

They wait for the brokerage to hand them leads. Or they buy leads online.

Both can work. But both put you in line behind agents with more experience and faster phones.

A lead you bought may have filled in the same form for several agents.

A lead you created — someone who knows you, met you, or got something useful from you — is talking to you, not to five agents.

So the prospecting hour is about creating your own.

NextStep 1 · Block the hour before anything else ↓

step 1Block the hour before anything else

Put it on your calendar like a showing. 8:30 to 9:30, Monday to Friday.

Then give each day one source, so you never sit down wondering who to contact:

Five days, five sources.

Same hour, every week. That’s the whole system. The rest of this guide is what goes in each slot.

NextStep 2 · Write down your first 100 names ↓

step 2Write down your first 100 names

Your first clients are almost never strangers.

They’re people who already know your name: friends, family, old coworkers, neighbors, your hairdresser, the parents from soccer.

Open your phone. Go through your contacts, your social accounts and your old email.

Write down 100 people. Name, how you know them, and a way to reach them.

Then write to five of them every Monday. One by one — never a group announcement:

AR

Ana Ruiz<ana@ruizhomes.example>

to Kevin Marsh

Draft · waits for your OK

small news (and how’s the new job?)

Hi Kevin,

Last time we talked you were starting at the hospital — hope it’s going well.

Quick news on my side: I’m now a full-time real estate agent here in Sacramento, with Oak & Main Realty.

I’m not asking for anything. But if you or anyone you know ever has a question about buying, selling or what a home is worth, I’d love to help.

How are Jess and the dog?

— Ana

It starts with them. One line of news. No flyer, no “I’d appreciate your referrals!”

The goal isn’t a deal this week. It’s being the agent they think of.

Five a week gets you through all 100 in about five months. Then you start again.

NextStep 3 · Treat every open house as prospecting ↓

step 3Treat every open house as prospecting

You don’t need your own listing to hold an open house.

Ask the busiest listing agents in your office if you can host one of theirs on a Saturday. Busy agents often have more listings than weekends.

Then remember who really walks in:

• Buyers without an agent yet — out looking on their own
• Neighbors — curious what the house will sell for
• Renters from nearby — wondering if buying is possible yet

The neighbors are the hidden prize.

A neighbor who walks in to see the kitchen is often wondering what their own house would sell for.

So get every visitor’s name and email on the sign-in sheet, and promise one thing you’ll actually send.

Then send it within a day:

AR

Ana Ruiz<ana@ruizhomes.example>

to Linda Cho

Draft · waits for your OK

the house on Alder Street — I’ll send you the final price

Hi Linda,

Thanks for stopping by the open house on Alder Street on Saturday.

You asked what it would end up selling for. I’ll email you the final price the day it closes, like I promised.

And if you’re ever curious about your own place, I can put together a free comparison with the recent sales on your street.

— Ana Ruiz, Oak & Main Realty

Then really send the final price when it closes.

That second email is the one they remember. Almost nobody keeps that promise.

NextStep 4 · Write to employers who move people to town ↓

step 4Write to employers who move people to town

Most agents never try this one.

Hospitals, universities, tech companies and school districts hire people from other cities all year. Every one of those new hires needs somewhere to live.

The person who hears about them first works in HR or recruiting.

Be the agent HR sends new hires to.

Offer them something their new hires need: a short relocation guide to your area. Commute times, neighborhoods by distance to the office, what rent and homes cost, how buying works in your state.

First, the list:

Sacramento employers hiring from out of town30 employers · built by your AI team

	Employer	Type	Signal	Contact
1	Oakmont Medical Group	Hospital network	14 nursing roles, relocation offered	recruiting@oakmontmed.example
2	Delta Valley University	University	New faculty start every fall	Contact form
3	Rivergate Software	Tech company	6 engineering roles, “relocation available”	people@rivergate.example
4	Capitol County Schools	School district	Out-of-state teacher job fair in March	hr@capitolschools.example
5	Northgate Logistics	Distribution center	Opening a new site next spring	Contact form

You can find these on job boards and careers pages. Look for the word “relocation”.

Then a short note to each one:

AR

Ana Ruiz<ana@ruizhomes.example>

to Recruiting team · Oakmont Medical Group

Draft · waits for your OK

a moving guide for your new nurses

Hi,

I saw Oakmont is hiring 14 nurses and offering relocation.

Moving to a new city is a lot. I wrote a free 6-page guide to living near your Midtown and Roseville sites — commute times, neighborhoods, what rent and homes cost, and how buying works in California.

Want a copy for your new hires? No cost, no strings.

— Ana Ruiz, Oak & Main Realty

One rule for the guide itself: describe places, never people.

Commutes, parks, prices, transit. Never which neighborhoods are “right” for a kind of person — that’s steering, and fair housing law bans it.

Many employers only have a contact form on their careers page. Your AI team can write through those too.

NextStep 5 · Write to expired listings — the respectful way ↓

step 5Write to expired listings — the respectful way

When a listing expires, the owner still wanted to sell.

Something didn’t work: the price, the photos, the timing, or the agent.

They usually hear from a lot of agents that week. So don’t be the tenth call. Be the one who sent something useful.

Before you ever pick up the phone, check the number against the National Do Not Call Registry and follow your state’s rules.

A letter skips that problem. Keep it short:

AR

Ana Ruiz<ana@ruizhomes.example>

to Owner · 2215 Birch Lane

Letter · draft for your OK

2215 Birch Lane — two things I’d change

Hi,

I saw 2215 Birch Lane came off the market this week. After months of showings, that’s frustrating.

I looked at the listing with fresh eyes. Two things stood out: it never mentioned the new roof, and the photos were taken on a gray day.

If you try again, I’d be glad to show you what I’d change — 15 minutes, no pressure. If not, good luck with the move.

— Ana Ruiz, Oak & Main Realty

• Calling numbers on the Do Not Call list
• Bashing the last agent — the owner chose them
• Promising a price you can’t back up
• Mailing the same letter to every expired listing

NextStep 6 · Keep a log — and read it on Fridays ↓

step 6Keep a log — and read it on Fridays

Prospecting without a log is just being busy.

Write down every conversation: who, which source, what happened, and the next step with a date.

Prospecting log · Octoberevery conversation · updated daily

	Person	Source	What happened	Next step
1	Kevin Marsh	First 100	Replied — sister moving here in spring	Intro to his sister, Nov 3
2	Linda Cho	Open house	Wants the final sale price	Send it the day it closes
3	Oakmont Medical	Relocation	HR asked for the guide	Send guide, check in Dec 1
4	2215 Birch Lane	Expired	No reply	Second letter, Nov 10
5	Priya Shah	First 100	Renting, wants to buy next year	Coffee in January

On Friday, read it top to bottom.

Which source started the most real conversations? Do more of that next week.

Every agent’s answer is different. Yours is in the log.

NextWhat to do this week ↓

What to do this week

You don’t need all six steps on day one.

Start here:

1. 01
   Block the hour

   8:30 to 9:30, Monday to Friday, on your calendar.

2. 02
   Write your first 100

   Then send 5 personal notes on Monday.

3. 03
   Host one open house

   Ask a busy agent in your office for a Saturday.

4. 04
   Email 10 employers

   Offer a free relocation guide for their new hires.

5. 05
   Start the log

   Every conversation, every next step, every date.

Or hand the list-building and the drafts to your AI team. It won’t make calls, and it sends nothing until you say OK — you spend the hour on the conversations.

Copy this job — or hand it to your AI team now Find 30 employers within 30 miles of me that hire people from out of town — hospitals, universities, tech companies and school districts. Check each job post for relocation, find the HR or recruiting email or contact form, and write each one a short note offering my free relocation guide for new hires. Show me the first 3 before anything is sent.

Start this job free →

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Questions