Five messages that actually get replies (part one)

Eight years ago, Merrill and I built a system for our team to solve one very specific problem.

Agents would sit down for their hour of power, open their CRM, find a lead… and freeze. Twenty minutes later, they’d moved on without making a single call. Not because they were bad at real estate. Because they didn’t know what to say.

1. The Review Redirect

Let your past clients do the selling for you.

“Most people find it really helpful to know what it’s like to work with an agent before they commit. Here’s what our clients say: [URL]. Give me a call back — I think you’ll find it helpful.”

Pro tip: create a simple URL that redirects to your Zillow, Google Business, or even a Canva landing page with your best reviews. Make it easy to say out loud in a voicemail.

2. The Mirror Match Story

Tell a story about someone just like them.

“I’m calling because we’re working with a [buyer/seller] right now who reminds me a lot of you. They were looking for [criteria] in [area], and we just [specific outcome]. It made me think of your situation. Give me a call back.”

Start every week by writing down one win — a contract, a negotiation, a creative solve. That’s your Mirror Match story for the week. Your closed deals aren’t just closings. They’re content.

3. The Market Snapshot

One stat. Their area. Their price point. That’s it.

“Quick update — I was just looking at the numbers in [area] and [specific stat]. I know you’ve been thinking about [their goal], so I wanted to make sure you had the latest. Call me back — I’ve got more where that came from.”

Lead with a number. Make it hyper-specific to their search. “The market’s hot” is not a stat. “There are only 14 homes under $400K in Gilbert right now” is.

Bonus move from Hunter Kirkman: screenshot one of those listings and TEXT it first — no context. When they’re wondering why you sent them a house photo, THEN send the stat. Pattern disruption at its finest.

4. The “Just Sold” Proof

Show, don’t tell. Share the one detail that made the difference.

“I just wanted to share a quick win — we just closed in [area] and [specific achievement]. What most people don’t realize is strategy matters more than luck in this market. I’d love to walk you through what we did. Give me a call back.”

“What most people don’t realize is…” — say that before the win. Watch them lean in every time.

5. The Money-Saver Story

Show them the dollars and cents of having you in their corner.

“I just have to tell you about something that happened this week — we saved a client $[amount] because [specific tactic]. These are the things that add up. How would you feel if we could do something similar for you?”

Don’t have a number yet? Hunter Kirkman did something brilliant here — he uploaded his closed transactions into Claude and had it calculate his average buyer and seller savings. Now when he leaves this voicemail, he can say “we save our buyers an average of $23,000.” That’s a real number. That’s a conversation starter.

One more thing before you go

Notate these in your CRM. We’d label ours LVM1, LVM2, LVM3 — so the next time you pull up that lead, you know exactly where you left off and what to say next.

Messages 6–10 are the ones that bring cold leads back to life — you’ll find them in part two.