Why did a real estate agent stop responding after I sent my pricing?

Because the quote was work. A number and a paragraph makes her figure out photo count, drone and delivery before she can reply, so she put it down between showings. Send three packages on one page with a date instead.

How long should I wait before following up with an agent who asked for a quote?

Two days, and bring a reason. A comment on her listing on day two, a before-and-after on day four, the soft ask on day seven, the breakup on day fourteen. Never "just checking in."

What should a real estate photography quote include?

Three packages on one page, what's in each, when she gets the photos, and a date to hold. Cineminn's sheet reads $390, $999 and $1,499. Put your numbers in the same shape.

Answers › Getting agents

Ask the agent

The agent went quiet after my real estate photography quote

She replied fast, asked for pricing, I sent it within the hour, and it’s been nine days. Not a no. Nothing.Asked by a photographer on the Full Time Real Estate Photographer inbox

She didn’t ghost you. She opened your quote on her phone in a driveway, between showings, and it was homework. Answering meant working out how many photos, whether drone was in it and when she’d get them, so she put it down. An agent who asks for pricing has a listing going up soon, and every day you wait is a day someone easier to say yes to can shoot it.

She opened your quote in a driveway, and it was homework

Picture where she read it. Not at a desk. On her phone, in a driveway, between showings.

Nine days feels like a verdict. From her side it’s nine days of listings, showings and a seller asking when the photos are coming. Your quote is still sitting in a thread she means to get back to.

Your quote was a number and a paragraph. To answer it she had to work out how many photos she gets, whether the drone is in there, and when the files show up. Three questions before she can type one word back.

Answering meant work, so she put it down. That’s not a no. That’s a quote she never got to.

Meanwhile the listing is going up. An agent who asks for pricing has a house about to hit the market, and if the photographer who answered her in a sentence can do Thursday, he’s shooting it.

She didn’t ghost you. She opened your quote in a driveway and it was homework.

Three packages, one page, and a date

So what does a quote look like that she can answer with four words from a driveway?

I listed houses for ten years before I shot one for money, and I deleted photographer quotes the whole time. Half the time I had no photographer. Answering meant work. The ones I answered took four words.

Our sheet is three packages on one page: $390, $999 and $1,499, with what’s in each and when she gets it. She picks. She doesn’t calculate.

One page means she doesn’t have to scroll, calculate or ask. The question stops being how much and becomes which one. That’s a four-word answer: the middle one, Thursday works.

And never send a quote without a date. "I’ve got tomorrow at 10 or Thursday at 1 for Oak Street, want me to hold one?" If she needs to think, book the thinking.

Follow up with a reason, every time

If she still goes quiet, the follow-up never says "just checking in." Every touch carries a reason to open it.

Day two, a comment on the listing. Day four, a before-and-after. Day seven, the soft ask.

Each one gives her something to open the thread for that isn’t you asking for money. A comment on her Oak Street listing is about her. A before-and-after is proof. The soft ask is a date, not a nudge.

Day fourteen, the breakup. One sentence, and it pulls more replies than anything else I send. When she answers, call. Don’t type.

The line

I’ll take the silence to mean it’s not a priority right now, no worries.

The big lesson

Silence isn’t a no. It’s homework she never got to.

Do this

Today, send the breakup to the agent who went quiet. Then work the next name on your list before the week is out.

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 scripts Get my roadmap

Straight answers

Why did a real estate agent stop responding after I sent my pricing?: Because the quote was work. A number and a paragraph makes her figure out photo count, drone and delivery before she can reply, so she put it down between showings. Send three packages on one page with a date instead.
How long should I wait before following up with an agent who asked for a quote?: Two days, and bring a reason. A comment on her listing on day two, a before-and-after on day four, the soft ask on day seven, the breakup on day fourteen. Never "just checking in."
What should a real estate photography quote include?: Three packages on one page, what’s in each, when she gets the photos, and a date to hold. Cineminn’s sheet reads $390, $999 and $1,499. Put your numbers in the same shape.