Skip to content The first 30 days in real estate can determine the trajectory of your entire career. While many new agents spend this critical time setting up business cards or designing the perfect logo, top producers focus on what truly matters: building a pipeline of potential listings. Without a structured approach to lead generation, even the most impressive business card won’t pay your bills.
This 30-day real estate prospecting plan is designed specifically for new agents who want to hit the ground running. By following this structured approach, you’ll develop consistent marketing habits, build your confidence engaging with potential sellers, and lay the groundwork for your first listings—even if you have zero experience.
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Week 1: Building Your Foundation (Days 1-7)
The first week is about setting up systems and developing the right mindset for successful lead engagement.
Day 1-2: Setting Up Your Systems
Before contacting your first lead, you need the right tools in place:
- CRM setup: Choose a simple system to track leads and follow-up activities. Check out this guide to choosing a CRM.
- Create a dedicated marketing space in your home or office
- Set up your REDX account to access high-quality lead data (or any other quality lead provider).
- Download activity tracking sheets to monitor your daily outreach (or let Vortex track them for you).
- Block dedicated time on your calendar (minimum 2 hours daily)
The Right Data Matters: New agents often waste time chasing poor-quality leads. Focus on opportunities with the highest list rates:
- Your Sphere of Influence: Start with people you know
- Expired Listings: 43% list rate (compared to SOI’s 3-5% turnover rate)
- FSBOs: 38% list rate (88% will eventually use an agent)
- Pre-foreclosures: 15% list rate
Day 3-4: Script Preparation & Mindset Training
As a new agent, your confidence when engaging leads makes all the difference:
- Select 2-3 simple scripts for each lead type (don’t overcomplicate)
- Practice each script 25+ times until it feels natural
- Record yourself and listen for areas to improve
- Role-play with another agent or your broker
- Create responses for common objections:
- “I’m working with another agent”
- “How many homes have you sold?”
- “I want to sell on my own”
Basic FSBO Script: “Hi, I’m [your name] with [your brokerage]. I noticed you’re selling your home yourself and I was wondering… how’s that going so far? [Listen] Great! I’m curious—if I had a buyer who might be interested in your home, would you be willing to pay a buyer’s agent commission?”
Basic Expired Script: “Hi, I’m [your name] with [your brokerage]. I noticed your home was on the market but didn’t sell. I’m just calling to see if you’ve relisted with another agent or if you’re still interested in selling?”
Once you’ve mastered the basics, come back to this post and check out this Dan Elzers expert scripts to get more listings.
Day 5-7: Start With Your Sphere of Influence
Before tackling cold leads, build confidence with people you know:
- Make a list of 100+ people you know personally
- Contact 10-15 people daily (friends, family, old colleagues)
- Use multiple channels including calls, texts, and social media
- Use this simple script:
- “Hi [name], it’s [your name]. I recently got my real estate license with [brokerage]. I’m excited about helping people in our area with their real estate needs. I’m not calling to ask if you’re selling—I’m just letting people know what I’m doing now. Do you know anyone who might be thinking about buying or selling in the next year?”
- Track every conversation and note any potential leads
Week 2: First Steps With High-Probability Leads (Days 8-14)
Now that you’ve built some confidence with your sphere, it’s time to expand to higher-probability leads.
Day 8-10: Adding FSBOs to Your Marketing Mix
FSBOs (For Sale By Owner) are excellent leads for new agents:
- Start with just 3-5 FSBO contacts daily
- Use multi-channel marketing – don’t rely solely on calling
- Focus on asking questions, not selling your services
- Your goal: understand their situation and build rapport
- Key questions to ask FSBOs:
- “What methods are you using to market your home?“
- “What’s your timeline for getting the home sold?“
- “What will you do if the home doesn’t sell in that timeframe?“
- Offer value: Provide a CMA or marketing advice without pushing for a listing
Pro Tip: FSBOs expect aggressive agents. When you focus on helping rather than selling, you stand out immediately. As a bonus, looking up FSBO’s that have been on the market 9+ months might be more open to getting the help of an agent.
Day 11-14: Expanding Your Marketing Routine
Time to increase your lead engagement volume:
- Gradually increase to 2-3 hours of lead engagement daily
- Morning block: 9:00-10:30 AM
- Evening block (if possible): 5:00-6:30 PM
- Daily targets:
- 10 SOI contacts
- 5 FSBO contacts
- 5 Expired listing contacts
- Use multiple channels for each lead type
- Focus on having conversations, not just making calls
- Set a goal of 2-3 meaningful conversations daily
Track These Daily Metrics:
- Number of contacts attempted
- Conversations held
- Appointments set
- Follow-ups scheduled
Week 3: Developing Systems & Multi-Channel Approaches (Days 15-21)
By week three, it’s time to enhance your approach and develop consistent systems.
Day 15-17: Implementing Multi-Channel Marketing
Don’t rely solely on phone calls:
- Create simple follow-up emails for prospects (check out these 11 templates)
- Design a basic follow-up postcard for FSBOs and Expireds
- Connect with prospects on social media
- Schedule your first door-knocking session in a neighborhood with active FSBOs
- Send handwritten notes to warm leads
The Multi-Channel Advantage: Research shows prospects need 7-10 touches before converting. By combining calls with emails, social media, and direct mail, you dramatically increase your chances of success.
“REDX has been a fundamental tool for me for the last eight years. I use them every day, without REDX I would be homeless because I wouldn’t have any numbers to call. They provide me a great tool to find me the most accurate information they can on owners so I can contact them,”
— David Ernst of Keller Williams in New Orleans.
Day 18-21: Refining Your Schedule & Scripts
After two weeks of marketing, optimize your approach:
- Analyze your results: Which time blocks and channels are most productive?
- Refine your scripts based on actual conversations
- Create a written follow-up system with specific actions for:
- Day 1 after initial contact
- Day 3 after initial contact
- Day 7 after initial contact
- Day 14 after initial contact
- Monthly follow-up plan
- Pre-schedule all follow-up activities in your CRM
- Adjust your daily schedule based on what’s working
Week 4: Scaling Up & Preparing for Success (Days 22-30)
The final week is about increasing volume and preparing for your first appointments.
Day 22-25: Maximizing Productivity
Now that you’ve established a routine, increase your efficiency:
- Aim for 20-30 conversations daily across all lead types
- Start marketing to Expired Listings as a significant portion of your outreach
- Prepare listing presentation materials
- Practice your listing presentation with your broker or mentor
- Schedule follow-ups with your warmest leads
- Target specific neighborhoods with high turnover
Tips to Avoid Burnout:
- Break marketing into 45-minute sessions with 15-minute breaks
- Set specific, achievable daily goals (e.g., “5 quality conversations”)
- Celebrate small wins daily
- Connect with other agents who market consistently
- Review your “why” every morning before starting
“I truly believe that massive prospecting can solve 90% of your business’ problems. REDX expireds are the sole lead source that I use. In the past 45 days I have listed 12 homes, five of which are sold or pending, all from five hours of prospecting each week. On average I take one or two listings a week from prospecting REDX, my goal is to close more than 50 transactions this year.”
— Maria Barr, Saratoga Springs, NY
Day 26-30: Preparing for Appointments & Ongoing Success
The final days focus on converting your marketing efforts:
- Continue daily multi-channel marketing (minimum 2-3 hours)
- Practice your listing presentation until it’s second nature
- Prepare answers for tough listing appointment questions:
- “Why should I hire you with no experience?”
- “Will you reduce your commission?”
- “How will you market my home?”
- Create a system to track monthly results:
- Contacts made
- Appointments set
- Listings taken
- Closed transactions
- Schedule a 60-day marketing plan to maintain momentum
Conclusion: Consistency Creates Success
This 30-day plan isn’t just about immediate results—it’s about building the marketing habits that will sustain your entire real estate career. By dedicating yourself to consistent lead generation, you’re positioning yourself for long-term success while many other new agents struggle to find business.
Remember these key principles:
- Consistency trumps perfection: Daily lead engagement, even imperfectly executed, beats sporadic brilliance
- Focus on high-probability leads: Expireds and FSBOs have the highest list rates (43% and 38% respectively) compared to your SOI’s typical 3-5% turnover rate
- Multi-channel marketing works best: Combine calls with emails, social media, and direct mail
- Track everything: You can’t improve what you don’t measure
- The first 30 days build the foundation: The habits you develop now will determine your success for years to come
Ready to implement this plan? REDX provides the high-quality data and integrated marketing platform you need to connect with motivated sellers across multiple channels—just like you do with your Sphere of Influence.
“I’m going into my second year of real estate and I was looking for something that would separate myself from the pack. That is when I found REDX. I have been using REDX for one week and already have my first listing appointment from an expired call, and multiple sellers interested in what I have to say. At the end of the day we are people talking to people, no reason to be nervous. Most of the people I talk to had a bad experience with another agent. Music to my ears. The opportunities are out there to be successful, sometimes you just need a little guidance. That is what the RedX has done for me”
— Chris Peters from Fresno, CA.
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