Why Expired Listings Are the Fastest Way to Get a Listing in 2027

By Jackie Kravitz, real estate coach and creator of 24 Listings in 12 Months. Jackie personally listed 150 For Sale By Owners and expired listings a year, selling 125 homes annually for ten consecutive years.

Why are expired listings the fastest way to get a listing? Because a brand new expired is a seller who already wants to sell and no longer has an agent. Call them at 8 a.m. local time with a one-line script, text the ones who don't answer at 10 a.m., call again between 6 and 7 p.m., and close for an appointment the same day.

Key Moments in the Video

  • 0:00 Finding leads that turn into listings quickly
  • 1:12 Why expired listings are the fastest way to a listing
  • 2:25 Expired vs. cancelled listings
  • 4:35 Call old expireds and cancelleds
  • 5:43 Start dialing new expireds at 8 a.m.
  • 6:12 Text the ones who didn't answer
  • 7:12 The expired listing script
  • 9:20 How you deliver the script
  • 10:50 Mirror and match
  • 12:10 The 30-day mastery model
  • 13:19 Four traps to avoid
  • 14:34 The letter for door knocking

Work with me → 24 Listings in 12 Months: https://www.salesxtraining.com

10 Reasons Expired Listings Are the Fastest Listings

The agents taking listings consistently aren't chasing every lead. They're speaking with homeowners who already want to sell. Here are the 10 reasons:

1. They already want to sell. 2. They don't have an agent representing them anymore. 3. You can call a new expired in the morning and list the house that afternoon. 4. There are new expireds in your market every day. 5. You'll have more to call if you expand your area and drive 45 minutes to an hour to a qualified appointment. 6. Call cancelled listings too. They cancelled before the expiration date, usually because they weren't happy with their agent, and they still want to sell. 7. It doesn't matter if you have one a day or 20. Call the ones you have. 8. They're not tough once you use the right words. 9. 40 to 50% of new expireds relist within 72 hours. 10. Call old expireds and cancelleds too, up to two years back, newest first.

Once I got better at it, 80% of the expireds I listed, I listed the same day they expired, and I was taking about 50 expired listings a year.

Your Daily Action Plan

Be consistent. Call new expireds every day, Monday through Friday, and maybe Saturday morning. Some days you won't set an appointment, and the next day you may get two.

Start dialing new expireds and cancelleds at 8 a.m. local time. If you call at 10 a.m., the motivated ones have probably already set appointments, and many stop answering. At 10 a.m., text all the ones who didn't answer. Call them again between 6 and 7 p.m. Your goal is a same-day appointment. You are not collecting leads.

The One-Line Expired Listing Script

"Hi, this is Jackie. I'm a local real estate agent. I'm sure you know your house came off the market today and I'm calling you because I am confident that I can sell your house and I'd like to meet with you for just 20 minutes and show you what I do differently to get houses sold in today's market. Would three o'clock work for you today or would four be better?"

Don't use your last name or your company name. The script works because it establishes instant authority, acknowledges their frustration, makes them curious about what you do differently, and asks for the appointment.

How to Deliver the Script

93% of communication is in the delivery, from your tonality and body language. Use downswings: your tonality goes down when you say "I am confident that I can sell your house." Mirror and match their emotion, rate of speech and volume for the first few seconds, because rapport comes before influence. Stand up when you call so you sound more energetic.

The 30-Day Mastery Model

To own the scripts, read them out loud as fast as you can, 100 times a day. My first few years, I spent an hour a day reading scripts out loud in 15 to 20 minute blocks. Within a couple of months I knew them like the back of my hand.

Four Traps to Avoid

1. Don't waste time previewing expired listings. 2. Don't offer to work for free, because it makes you look weak. 3. Don't use long scripts with 10 or 15 questions they don't want to answer. 4. Don't get stuck in busy work. At 8 a.m., you're dialing.

The Door-Knocking Letter

For the expireds and cancelleds that didn't answer or have no phone number, print a letter on premium letterhead, fold it in three with your business card in the center, and handwrite their name on the envelope with: "I thought you would want to see this." On Saturday morning starting at 9 a.m., door knock them on a route from closest to farthest. If they're not home, leave the envelope between the door and the frame. Never put anything in their mailbox, because that's against the law.

The letter says, in part: "You deserve better communication, a better plan, and most of all, a result... I am confident that I can sell your home quickly and successfully by doing what most agents simply don't do."

FAQ

What is the difference between an expired and a cancelled listing

An expired listing's agreement ran out. A cancelled listing was cancelled before the expiration date, usually because the seller wasn't happy with their agent, and Jackie says those sellers are even more motivated.

What time should I call expired listings

Start at 8 a.m. local time, text the ones who didn't answer at 10 a.m., and call again between 6 and 7 p.m.

How far back should I call old expireds

Up to two years, in reverse chronological order, always newest first.

Can I put a letter in an expired seller's mailbox

No. Jackie says that's against the law. Leave it between the door and the door frame instead.

 

 

Full Video Transcript

Are you struggling to find leads that turn into listings quickly? Most agents think that finding immediate business is hard. But there is one group that's easier than you think. Expired listings. I'm going to share with you the exact system that I used to call expireds in the morning and go list them that same afternoon. and the system that helped me close 120 transactions a year. And it also happens to be what I teach in sales X training. The agents who are taking listings consistently. They're not chasing every lead. They're speaking with homeowners that already want to sell, specifically expired listings, because these are sellers who had their house already listed with an agent before and the house didn't sell.

I'm going to give you the critical foundational strategies for you to start listing expireds immediately. And then at the end of this video, I'm going to give you a brand new powerful tool for you to dominate expireds in your market. So, we're going to start with the 10 reasons why expired listings are the fastest way for you to take listings right now. Reason number one, they already want to sell. Number two, they don't have a real estate agent representing them anymore. Number three, they are the easiest and fastest way for you to take a listing immediately. You can call a brand new expired in the morning and you can go list their house that same afternoon.

Number four, there are new expireds in your marketplace every single day. I don't know where you're selling real estate and it really doesn't matter wherever you are. There are new expireds every day. Reason number five, you can have even more expireds to call on a daily basis if you expand the geographic area where you're searching expireds and you drive 45 minutes to an hour to a qualified listing appointment. I'm going to talk I'm going to give you so much information here you'll know. Qualified listing appointment. Will you drive an hour for it? I do it every day. Number six, you should also be calling cancelled listings. These sellers are even more motivated than expireds because an expired listing, their original listing agreement ended.

A cancelled listing, they cancel the agreement before the expiration date usually because they're not happy with their agent and they want to sell. Number seven, how many expired listings you have doesn't matter. It doesn't really matter if you have one a day, five a day, 10 or 20. Call all of the ones that you have. Calling your new expired should be your number one priority. Over all of my years of experience with coaching real estate agents, I have heard so many times that you say, "Oh, why don't you call expired?" Because I don't have that many expireds. How many do you have? Oh, I have like maybe two or three a day. Are you calling those two or three?

No, I'm not. So, what difference would it make if you had 200 a day? You're not calling the ones that you have. Start where you're at. Expand your area. Make sure you're pulling the cancels. Number eight, don't avoid expireds because they're tough. They're really not. When you understand where they're coming from and you use the right words and the right communication, and the better you become in your conversations with expireds, the easier these conversations will get. And when you master the conversation, you literally have no competition. Number nine, reason to call. 40 to 50% of new expired listings relist their property within 72 hours. Starting my third, fourth year in real estate, first two years, I had no idea what I was doing.

When I started getting a little better at it, 80% of the expireds I listed, I listed them the same day. It's what I told you earlier. I called in the morning and I took the listing before the day was over. 80% and I was taking about 50 expired listings a year. Number 10 reason, expireds and cancelleds, the new ones every day, are your number one priority. But you should also be calling old expireds and cancelleds up to 2 years old. In reverse chronological order, meaning always the newest ones first, but up to two years of old canceleds and expireds can also be a great source of business for you. Now, I'm going to give you your daily action plan for expireds.

And I wrote down five points. Number one, consistency is critical. You have to call these new expireds every day, Monday through Friday, and maybe even a Saturday morning. Saturday mornings are an amazing day to find people at home and to prospect. So consistency, not every other day, not one day a week. That's not going to work because some days you may call and speak with all the ones you have and not set an appointment. The next day you may get two appointments. So which day are you going to miss? If you are not consistent, you're not going to be able to master expireds and start taking them consistently. Number two, you have to start dialing the new expireds at 800 am local time.

Expireds and cancelled. 8 a.m. local time. If you call at 10:00 a.m. or in the afternoon, a lot of them already set appointments if they want to sell. They're they're getting calls from other agents. You're not the only one calling. So, the ones that are motivated and want to sell probably already set appointments and a lot of them stop answering the phone. Number three, text the ones that didn't answer the phone at 10 a.m. So, you're not going to dial they don't answer you text. No, you're going to dial all the ones you have at 10 a.m. You could actually copy paste and text all the ones that didn't answer. Number four, call them again.

The ones that you couldn't speak with between 6:00 and 700 p.m. on the day that they expired. That's the second best time to call them. And number five, remember that your goal is to set an appointment for the same day. If you're calling between 6:00, 7 p.m., probably be the next day. But when you're calling at 8 a.m. local time, same day appointments, you are not collecting leads. But knowing who to talk to isn't enough. You need to know exactly what to say to catch their attention and show them that you are different from other agents. I'm going to give you a simple script straight to the point that when you use it, you will set appointments.

So, here we go. I'm going to walk you through it. It starts with you introducing yourself. So, they answer the phone. Hello. Hi, this is Jackie. I'm a local real estate agent. That's your introduction, not Jackie. You use your name. So, don't use your last name and don't tell them your company name. You're required to disclose your real estate agent. I am a local real estate agent. That's it. Keep it simple. I never use my last name because every time I say my last name to anybody, I have to spell it. What was that? Can you spell it? And then I I spell it and they is that a is that a a V? Is it a B?

Just complicating your life. Why? Like the simpler your introduction is, the better off you are. Now, if you're a super well-known and you have huge name recognition, then great, say your last name. Other than that, stay away from it. Next, you're going to acknowledge their situation. I'm sure you know your house came off the market today. Speak with no hesitation. This is a simple script. It's one line. You can memorize this script very quickly. The next part is stating your confidence. So, I'm calling you because I am confident that I can sell your house and I'd like to meet with you for now. This is the close for just 20 minutes and show you what I do differently to get houses sold in today's market.

Would three o'clock work for you today? Would four be better? Simple. You do everything you're supposed to. You state your confidence. You close for the appointment. All of it is here. This script is effective because it establishes instant authority. You show your confidence. You acknowledge their frustration. I'm sure you know your house came off the market. It makes them curious about what you do differently to sell the house and you ask for the appointment. That's all that is required. Having the words on paper is one thing, but how you deliver the words is critical for you to sound knowledgeable and confident. How do you master the delivery so you sound like an authority even if you're not yet?

Point number one, understand that 93% of communication and persuasion is in the delivery. It's from your tonality and your body language. Number two, the easiest way for you to sound confident and like an authority when you are not is using down swings. Meaning your tonality goes down when you speak. I am exemplifying to you in everything that I've said in this video. Your tonality doesn't go up. You don't talk like this and everything you say is like this. Nobody can hear that for more than a second or two without cringing. Your tonality goes down. When you say, "I am confident that I can sell your house." That's the downswing. It's not I am confident that I could sell your house.

That's just weird. It's in congruent what you're saying and how you're saying it. Don't match. And if you do that, sellers are going to hang up on you very quickly. Number three, mirror and match their emotion, rate of speech, and volume for the first few seconds of the call to build instant rapport. Rapport comes before influence. For you to be able to influence them, you need to be in rapport. And mirroring and matching their emotion, rate of speech, and volume is the easiest way for you to do that because people feel comfortable speaking with people who talk like them. If you're calling an expired listing and they're angry and frustrated and they answer the phone, hello.

And you go, hi, this is Jackie. They'll hang up on you instantaneously. When you match that emotion, the way that they're speaking, you're familiar to them. They feel comfortable. You're not sounding angry and frustrated at them. You're angry and frustrated with them. Number four, stand up when you're calling. You sound more energetic and more powerful when you're sitting down and you're I if you sound wishywashy, if you have low energy, expired listings are not going to set appointments with an agent that sounds like that. And number five, use my 30-day mastery model for you to own the scripts. Internalize them so you don't have to think about what to say and you don't have to read them anymore.

And the 30-day mastery model requires you to read the scripts out loud as fast as you can a 100 times a day. Every day, a 100 times a day, maybe a total of 20 minutes every single day. But if you're doing all of the scripts that are in my script book, every single script, it might take you longer. My first few years in real estate, I spent one hour a day reading scripts out loud as fast as I could over and over. Not all not an hour all at once. 15 minutes here, 15 20 minutes, but I actually put in an hour a day. And within a couple of months, I knew all of the scripts like the back of my hand.

I didn't need to read it anymore. you're going to have so much more fluency and speak confidently and be able to focus on the delivery once you own your scripts. But there are some traps that many real estate agents fall into, things that they do that can stop them from setting appointments. So, let me share with you four traps for you to stay away from. Number one, do not waste your time previewing expired listings. Your goal is to set an appointment, go out and have them list the property with you. You do not preview properties. Number two, don't offer to work for free. It make you look weak like what you do has no value.

So, do not offer free work. Number three, don't use long interrogative scripts with 10 or 15 questions that they don't want to answer. I already gave you my script. Use it and you will set appointments. And the last one, don't get stuck in busy work. 8 a.m. local time. While all the other agents are probably still hitting the snooze button or are on social media organizing their database, you're dialing and your goal is to set appointments. Now, I'm ready to give you that brand new strategy that I told you that is going to really, really help you dominate expired listings. So, this is going to be for the expireds and cancelled that did not answer the phone or the ones that you don't have a phone number for.

And here's the secret. You're going to write a letter. I'm going to give you this letter word for word in just a moment. So, hang in there, okay? You're going to write a letter. You're going to print it in premium paper in your company letter head. Then, you're gonna fold this letter. Let me show you. Fold it in three. It's very simple. You know how to fold a letter. Three parts. And here in the center, you're going to put your business card. That's it. Very simple. Then you are going to hand write the envelope. So in the envelope, you're going to just handwrite their name and the following phrase right below. I thought you would want to see this.

That's it. You're not going to put your name, company name, nothing. It's just their name. I thought you would want to see this. On Saturday morning, starting at 900 a.m., you're going to Did you hear that knock? You're going to door knock the expireds and cancelleds that didn't answer the phone during the week and the ones you didn't have a phone number for. If they are home and they open the door, you're going to use my door knock for expireds. the the expired door knocking script. You're going to speak with them. If they're not home, you're going to leave that envelope with their name on it on their door between the door and the door frame right there.

Do not open their mailbox and put anything in their mailbox. That's against the law. You cannot do that. And to be more efficient in your door knockocking and delivering of these letters, you're going to take the addresses that you're going to door knock, put it on Google Maps, and you're going to create a route from closest to farthest. So, you're not jumping from here to there. You have a route that makes sense. You go from one to the next to the next to the next, and you could spend as many hours as you can. Powerful tool. This strategy is going to give you an unfair advantage. Other agents are not doing that. First of all, the letter you're going to write is powerful.

It's right here. I'm going to read it to you word for word. Unfair advantage. The sellers didn't answer the phone during the week. Many don't have a phone number for right there. So, I'm going to read this letter to you. If you want to write it, great. You could do that. But also know that there will be a link in the description of this video where you'll be able to download this letter. So, here's your expired letter. At the top, the seller's name, then you start, I was in the area and noticed your home recently came off the market. You probably already heard from a few agents, some calls, maybe even texts. I get it.

But I'm not writing to ask for your listing. I'm writing because I know how frustrating it is to go through the listing process, hope, wait, and then not get the result that you expected. You deserve better communication, a better plan, and most of all, a result. My name is Jackie and I'm a local real estate agent who specializes in selling houses that didn't sell the first time. I am confident that I can sell your home quickly and successfully by doing what most agents simply don't do. There's a reason why so many listings expire, and it's not the house. If you have 15 minutes, I'd be happy to show you what I do differently. No pressure, no sales pitch, just a simple conversation about what actually works in today's market.

Even if we don't work together, you'll walk away knowing exactly what went wrong and how to fix it. Sincerely, Jackie Kravitz, my phone number. P.S. I'll be in the area in the next couple of days. If you'd like to talk, just send me a quick text or call me. No pressure, just offering some helpful information. You already know that using this system alone isn't enough because homeowners come with objections and push back. That's why I put together this video for you where I'm going to show you exactly how to handle the most common expired objections so you can start calling them, setting appointments, and take listings immediately. And if you are ready to build a predictable business and take your career to the next level, check out the link to SalesX training in the description of this video to join a powerful community of agents who are using proven strategy, scripts, and accountability to take listings consistently.

 

 

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