You walk out of an appointment feeling good.
Then your phone goes quiet, and after a few days, you accept that this one just disappeared.
I hear this complaint from agents constantly.
“I got ghosted. They didn’t talk to me or call me back again.”
In almost every case, the problem traces back to one of three moments:
- You didn’t prepare for the appointment properly.
- You didn’t run the appointment well once you were in the room.
- You skipped the follow-up that keeps the deal moving afterward.
I’ve spent close to three decades building a system to fix this, tested and refined across thousands of closed transactions. It breaks down into three phases, and each one plays a different role in getting you back in front of that client for round two.
What To Do Before You Ever Walk In The Door
Once you’ve got an appointment on the books with a buyer or seller, there are four moves that set the tone before you ever meet in person.
I’ve tested these across enough appointments to know they work.
#1. Start a property drip.
Whether it’s a buyer or a seller, get them seeing homes that are relevant to where they are in the process, either properties they’re considering buying or comparable homes selling near their own house.
#2. Send a pre-appointment video.
I know agents get tired of hearing me bring this up, but I keep bringing it up because it works. It’s a play I’ve been running for decades.
Record yourself in person, let them know how excited you are to earn their business, and show them your resume and reviews while you’re at it.
They’re going to find out what you look like eventually anyway. If someone who looks like me can put out this many videos, anyone can do it.
A short, personalized video like this sets the tone and separates you from every other agent they might be interviewing for the job.
#3. Hold a real strategy meeting or buyer consultation.
This looks different depending on who you’re working with. With a seller, it’s usually easier, since a listing appointment already means meeting in person to see the house.
With a buyer, it takes more intention, especially if you’ve already shown a home or two without ever sitting down for a real conversation.
The data backs this up. Buyers who go through a proper strategy meeting, where you walk them through the entire process and everything you’re going to do to help them, become stickier clients with a much higher rate of actually working with you than buyers you just drive around to see houses.
The same holds true on the listing side. During these meetings, make sure you cover:
- What you’re going to do differently from other agents
- Your communication plan going forward
- The client’s specific goals
- What’s happening in the market, from financing conditions to pricing trends
#4. Walk through the buyer agency agreement in full.
This one’s specific to buyers. I’ve heard the stories of agents getting these signed on the porch, right before walking in for a showing.
People blow past the details in that moment. Nobody reads the contract, and it never gets properly explained.
Take the time to go through it before you’re standing at the front door.
Handle these four moves right and you’ve done everything you can before the appointment even starts.
What To Do Once The Appointment Happens
Once the appointment itself happens, the real work becomes keeping the relationship moving.
The core moves stay the same for buyers and sellers alike, just applied a little differently depending on which one you’re working with.
Start with a full debrief of the property. Ask what they thought, how they’d rate the home, and pull out real, specific feedback. This applies just as much to a listing appointment, where you’re walking through what you could sell the home for, what the competition looks like, and getting detailed reactions to all of it.
The next piece is booking a meeting from a meeting (BAMFAM). If you don’t walk out of a listing appointment with a signed contract, don’t leave the next step open-ended. Ask directly:
“When would be a good time for me to follow up?”
I ask this on the buyer side too, every single time. Skipping that question would be doing my own business a disservice.
The buyer version works a little differently. Once you’ve shown three houses, if it’s the first time meeting this client, pull them in for a strategy meeting before you show anything else.
If it’s the second or third round of showings and the ratings keep coming back low, that’s a sign these particular homes aren’t the right fit.
Instead of just moving on, say something like:
“I’ve got a couple more in mind. When would be a good time to head back out and go look at some properties?”
Either way, you want the next meeting booked before you leave the current one.
The last piece of this stage is the post-appointment video, and it might be the most important one. My video includes a message like this:
“Hey, we’d love the business. Thanks for the opportunity. Really appreciate it. We doubt you’re going to find anybody who will be as focused as we will on getting the job done.”
I’ve gotten client texts back after sending it that say:
“Hey, Tom, you’re hired. Great. We want to work with you.”
Every appointment should end with:
- A property debrief and honest feedback
- A follow-up meeting already booked
- A personal video sent afterward
What To Do While You’re In The Room
The appointment itself is where you build the relationship that makes everything above it possible. This is your chance to build rapport, and if you didn’t get every answer you needed the first time around, it’s also a chance to circle back on your qualifying questions.
A few things matter here more than people realize. Keep these in mind while you’re in the room:
- Make real eye contact and smile. It’s simple, and it still sets the tone for the whole conversation.
- Ask about what’s actually important to them, not just what’s on your script.
- Keep it a two-way conversation instead of talking at them from a stack of presentation materials.
- Put your phone away and take notes with a pen and paper instead, so it’s obvious you’re paying attention.
Handle each of these phases well and you’ll get back in front of that client for a second meeting.
