Expired Listing Scripts: 4 Proven Questions to Ask First

Key Takeaways

• Most expired listing scripts fail for the same reason: they open with the agent’s pitch instead of the seller’s situation.
• Expired sellers are usually embarrassed and discouraged before they’re angry. A script that speaks to that feeling gets further than one that just apologizes for other agents.
• Build every script, call, text, or social caption, around four questions: who is the seller, what’s their problem, what are they feeling, and what do you need to say.
• According to REDX MLS tracking data, 43% of expired listings relist within 90 days, so the goal of a script is to be remembered when that happens, not to win the conversation on the first try.

You have an expired listing script. Every agent does. And it still isn’t getting you many callbacks, because most scripts have the same problem: they’re built around what the agent wants to say, not what the seller needs to hear.

A script isn’t a set of magic words. It’s a message built for one specific person in one specific situation. This post breaks down the four-question formula REDX uses to build expired listing scripts, then applies it to a phone script, a text script, and a social caption, so you have three versions of the same message ready to use.

Why Do Most Expired Listing Scripts Fail?

Most expired listing scripts fail because they open with the agent’s credentials instead of the seller’s situation. A seller who just watched their listing expire doesn’t care yet how many homes you sold last year. They care about why theirs didn’t sell.

The fix isn’t a better opening line. It’s building the expired listing script in a different order, starting with the seller’s problem and feeling, then writing the words last.

What Is an Expired Seller Actually Feeling?

Most expired sellers are embarrassed and discouraged before they’re angry. In REDX’s experience training agents on expired listing calls, the anger a lot of agents brace for is usually a seller protecting themselves from the embarrassment of a sign coming down after months of telling friends and neighbors their home was for sale.

That distinction changes the whole script. A script written for an angry person tries to defuse a fight. A script written for an embarrassed, discouraged person tries to offer a way to feel hopeful again. Those are two very different conversations, and only one of them tends to lead to a listing appointment, which is the whole point of a good expired listing script.

How Do You Build a Script Using the Audience Problem Feeling Message Formula?

Every effective expired listing script answers four questions, in this order, before you write a single word of dialogue.

1. Who is the seller? Not every expired listing is the same. A seller whose home expired after six months is in a different spot than one who just canceled after two weeks. Know which one you’re calling.
2. What’s their problem? Be literal. The home didn’t sell, and now they’re back where they started, minus the momentum they had when they first listed.
3. What are they feeling? Usually embarrassed, discouraged, or both. Some are also skeptical of agents in general after a listing that didn’t work out.
4. What do you need to say? Only now do you write the actual words. The goal is a message that speaks to the feeling first, then offers a specific, credible reason to try again.

What Should an Expired Listing Phone Script Actually Say?

Open with the situation, not your pitch. Something close to this works for most expired sellers:

“Hi, is this [Name]? This is [Agent] with [Brokerage]. I saw your home came off the market recently, and I know that’s frustrating after everything that goes into getting a home ready to sell. I’m not calling to tell you what went wrong. I’m calling because I’ve helped homes in this situation sell the second time around, and I wanted to see if you’re still open to that.”

Notice what that script does not do. It doesn’t lead with years of experience or a listing presentation. It names the situation, acknowledges the feeling without dwelling on it, and offers a specific reason to keep talking. If you’re making these calls in volume, a Power Dialer speeds up how many of these conversations you can get to in a session, since it moves through your list faster than dialing one number at a time.

What Should an Expired Listing Text or Social Caption Say?

Texts and captions need to do the same job in fewer words. For a text: “Hi [Name], saw your listing came off the market. No pressure, just wanted to reach out. A lot of homes in this situation sell within the first few weeks with a different approach. Worth a quick call?”

For a social caption or short video hook on a platform like TikTok, aimed at expired sellers browsing their feed: “Your home didn’t sell the first time. Here’s what usually needs to change the second time around.” That caption names the problem in the first sentence, which matters because generic scripts tend to get scrolled past before the viewer even registers who the message is for. That linked post goes deeper on the phone conversation side of this, including how to use silence and follow-up timing once someone actually calls back.

How Do You Turn This Into a Repeatable System?

According to REDX MLS tracking data, 43% of expired listings relist within 90 days, and the average relist window is around 45 days. That means a seller who ignores your first message this week may still be a live opportunity a month from now.

Build a simple rotation: call, then text a few days later if there’s no answer, then let a social post or two do the reminding in the weeks after that. The script doesn’t have to win on the first attempt. It has to be consistent enough that you’re still visible when the seller is ready to try again. NAR’s research on how sellers ultimately choose an agent, available at nar.realtor, backs up why repeated, consistent contact outperforms a single well-written message.

What Should You Check Before You Send an Expired Listing Script?

Run every expired listing script through four checks before you use it.

• Does it name the situation before it names your credentials?
• Does it speak to embarrassment or discouragement, not just assume anger?
• Does it offer one specific reason to try again, not a general promise to work hard?
• Would it still make sense if you removed your name from it? If it sounds like it could come from any agent, it needs one more pass.

An expired listing script that passes all four checks reads like it was written for the person receiving it, not copied from a template. That’s the difference between a script that gets deleted and one that gets a callback in six weeks instead of six months.