Ask the agent
How many times should I follow up with a real estate agent?
Seven to eleven touches. Our data says eleven. You quit at two. Most of the jobs you lose aren’t a no; they’re touch three through eleven, the ones you never sent. And the agent who said yes and went quiet didn’t change her mind.
Seven to eleven touches. You quit at two
Seven to eleven is the range. Our data says eleven.
Monday’s call was touch one. Waiting two days or seven matters less than whether touch two exists at all.
Most photographers stop at two and decide outreach doesn’t work. A DM, an email, a text and a call is four already, so eleven isn’t as far as it sounds.
Count what you actually sent to the last agent who went quiet. Most people get to two, maybe three.
An agent’s week has forty people asking her for something. I had that week for ten years. Silence isn’t a no. It’s a queue, and you’re not at the front yet.
The jobs you’re losing aren’t the ones she said no to. They’re touch three through eleven, the ones you never sent.
Every touch carries something new: useful, proof, ask, breakup
You have the number. Now what goes in each touch, because touch three can’t be "just checking in."
The reason each touch needs something new is simple: a message with nothing in it asks her to do the work of remembering who you are. A comment on her listing does that work for her.
Day 0, first touch. Day 2, something useful: a comment on her listing, a quick tip.
Day 4, proof: a before-and-after. Day 7, the soft ask again.
Day 14, the breakup. One sentence. It pulls more replies than anything else I send.
Day 0, 2, 4, 7, 14. Five touches in two weeks, each one with a reason to exist, and none of them a nudge.
After day 14, play the long game, and move fast on the yes-then-silent
The schedule gets you replies. This part gets you the ones who said yes and then vanished.
Long game: an email drip is my most effective follow-up. Case studies plus a soft ask like a free PDF, never "book now." No case studies yet? Send "5 GPT prompts every agent should use." It’s useful and it isn’t about you.
The drip runs on its own, which is the point. Your ten a day goes to new names. The drip keeps the old names warm without costing you a morning.
Yes-then-silent: she didn’t change her mind. She got busy. Text her, and when she answers, call that minute. Not after lunch. That minute.
Breakups pull replies because they’re the first message that doesn’t want anything. Send it on day 14, mean it, and let the ones who were busy come back on their own.
I’ll take the silence to mean it isn’t a priority right now, no worries.
Silence isn’t a no. It’s a queue.
Tonight, put every open lead in a sheet with a next-touch date, and send the day-two touch tomorrow.
The agent opener scripts
One observation, one question, and the day 3 and day 10 follow-ups. Free. Then take the sixty-second roadmap quiz and I tell you what to fix first.
Get the scriptsGet my roadmapStraight answers
- How many times should a photographer follow up with a real estate agent?
- Seven to eleven times. Our data says eleven. Most photographers stop at two, which is where most of the lost jobs are.
- What do I say in a follow-up message to a real estate agent?
- Something new each time. A comment on her listing on day 2, a before-and-after on day 4, the soft ask on day 7, the breakup on day 14. Never "just checking in."
- An agent said yes and then went silent. What do I do?
- Text her. When she answers, call that minute. She didn’t change her mind, she got busy.
Related questions
Julian Lundgren sold real estate for ten years before he shot a listing for money. He runs Cineminn, a Minneapolis real estate photography studio, and writes these answers from the agent’s side of the table. Send a question to info@cineminn.com.