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Happy Agent Co. - Real Estate Agent Podcast for Women - Hosted by Lindsay Dreyer, Real Estate Coach
The Happy Agent Co. Podcast is the real estate podcast for real estate agents, team leads and brokerage owners who are ready to build a business that actually feels good.
Hosted by longtime real estate broker, coach, and founder Lindsay Dreyer, this show delves beyond surface-level marketing tips to explore what it truly takes to achieve sustainable success in real estate.
Each week, you'll get a blend of real talk and real strategy — from aligned lead generation ideas and mindset shifts, to business plan breakdowns and behind-the-scenes stories from other real estate agents.
If you're tired of coaches who tell you to make more calls and are looking for a fresh, honest take on how to grow a business that supports your life (not the other way around), you're in the right place.
Learn more at www.happyagent.co
Happy Agent Co. - Real Estate Agent Podcast for Women - Hosted by Lindsay Dreyer, Real Estate Coach
Ghost Listings & Zombie Leads — How to Breathe Life Back Into Old Opportunities
It’s Halloween week, which means it’s the perfect time to talk about ghosts and zombies—not in your neighborhood, but in your real estate business.
In this episode, Lindsay shares how to stop obsessing over new leads and instead re-engage the ones you already have. From past clients who’ve gone quiet to buyers and sellers who vanished after showing interest, there’s gold hiding in your database if you’re willing to go back and take another look.
You’ll learn simple ways to reconnect, shift your mindset about follow-up, and turn old opportunities into fresh momentum.
Think of this as your resurrection ritual—low pressure, zero cringe, and a reminder that you don’t need more strangers, just more follow-through.
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Let's stay connected!
💼 Coaching with Lindsay – happyagent.co/coaching
Get personalized strategy, support, and mindset shifts to scale your real estate business without sacrificing your joy.
🎓 Happy Agent Academy – happyagent.co/academy
Your go-to resource for freebies, on-demand courses, templates, and tools to help you grow a thriving real estate business.
📩 Join the Happy Hustle Newsletter – happyagent.co/subscribe
Weekly insights, strategies, and real talk to help you build wealth, lead boldly, and create a business you love.
📲 Connect with Happy Agent Co. on Instagram or Facebook – instagram.com/happyagentco
📲 Connect with Lindsay on Instagram or Facebook – instagram.com/lindsaydreyer...
It's Halloween week and you are going to get a special Halloween episode of this podcast, so Halloween is one of my favorite holidays always has been, because my birthday is November 2nd, so inevitably I would always have the birthday Halloween smash up, so it kind of feels like Halloween is like my pre-birthday party. So today I thought we would talk about ghost listings and zombie leads, and it's really all about how we breathe life back into old opportunities. So I know you have been there and people. We don't have to drop another $1,200 on lead generation service that sends you quote unquote motivated leads who ghost you after one text, your mandatory seven calls. So what I want you to do is let's take a hot minute. Let's look at our CRM. Hopefully you have one. If not, you better have a place you're tracking all this business Could be a Google sheet, your inbox, your janky notes app that you swore you'd circle back to. I see you all I know. Here's the deal. You do not need more leads, we need a resurrection ritual, and so I am going to challenge you for this Halloween week to resurrect some of your ghost listings and zombie leads.
Speaker 1:This episode is about breathing life back into buyers who vanished after getting pre-approval sellers who said, you know, maybe after Labor Day in 2022, dms that never turned into actual conversations or consultations. Open house visitors who seem so interested and then nothing ever happened. Or clients who loved working with you and then they never heard from you again. Which shame, shame, shame, shame. That is not okay. Here's the deal. It is not always about finding new people. Sometimes it is about remembering the old ones. So let's bring them back. No pressure, no spooky vibes, just results.
Speaker 1:Let's define who are the ghosts and zombies in your database. I'm going to start with ghosts. So they were hot and then they were gone. They just disappeared. These could be buyers you showed homes to and then radio silence. It could be seller who said they'd list after the holidays yep, where'd where'd you go. Instagram lead who said yes, you're amazing, and then never scheduled a call. It could be a past client who raved about you, had an amazing experience and then just disappeared into the void. Zombies All right, here's the definition of a zombie. They are cold, but they are not dead. These could be your open house visitor from last year who gave you a real email or a real phone number. Could be a former lead who never picked an agent. Maybe it's a social follower who's been watching your stories for two years but has never engaged with you. Or it's someone you almost got an appointment with but they ghosted you before you could get to that appointment. So I know we all have examples like this, like the seller who might list after her daughter's graduation and that conversation was in 2024. And she's a ghost, but she still could potentially be a real possibility.
Speaker 1:Because, let's be real, people don't go straight from, like graduation, empty nest life to selling their house. It's a process, emotional and actually logistical. These people hopefully already know you exist and some of them actually liked you at one point and they don't necessarily need to be sold. They just need a reason to re-engage with you.
Speaker 1:The mindset of why we avoid following up is really important to dive into a little bit. So let's talk about the real blockers, because it isn't just about time, it is your mindset, it is emotion and it's fear. The top reasons that we avoid old leads is that, I think. Number one we don't want to look desperate. We don't want to have commission breath, we don't want to be thirsty, right. So we're like, oh, I just don't want to look like I'm desperate.
Speaker 1:You believe that if they wanted to talk to you they would or they would have, and that couldn't be further from the truth in so many instances. The next reason is that it's been too long, so it would be weird now, especially with our clients that have closed, we are like oh shoot, I didn't follow the post-closing checklist perfectly. I didn't text them as soon as they moved in, I didn't send them a housewarming gift. It's really weird that I could follow up with them now. No, it's not Get out of your head. The next reason is that I wouldn't even know what to say.
Speaker 1:Okay, fair, if you don't know what to say, I want you to pop open ChatGPT and ask ChatGPT. I am telling you it will help you get unstuck and at least give you a starting point. You can ask chat to draft you a text. You can ask it to draft you an email. It can even draft you a phone conversation. So we have tools now that, like I wish I had 15 years ago to get out of my head. You can even ask chat GPT like, get out of my, help me get out of my head, like I need to stop being scared to follow up with people. And then the last thing is just fear of rejection, like, what if they say no? What if they tell me to get out of their face? And I will tell you most of the time people are nice, they are not going to be rude, they are just going to tell you they're not interested, and that is actually great, because then you can cross them off your list.
Speaker 1:So here is your mindset reframe. You are not cold calling, you're closing the loop. You're not begging, you are helping to build relationships with these people. So revisit these conversations and touch points just like you would with a friend that you haven't seen in a while. Approach it with adding value, being helpful, and you don't need to apologize, like you are just going to be there and you are going to be of service in these people. So if you ever see someone in your text history and you're thinking, oh, it's been too long, and you send a quick hey, I was just thinking of you, and they respond gratefully or positively a quick hey, I was just thinking of you, and they respond gratefully or positively. The same thing applies here. Treat it like you are talking to a long lost friend and I believe that it gets so much easier. Okay, we've covered the mindset blocks, which I know are real. I am not discounting them. That's why I covered them, because they are actually important.
Speaker 1:Let's get into five simple ways to revive your old opportunities. Number one is the. I thought of you email, so subject line ideas could be like you crossed my mind, still thinking about that house in Capitol Hill, just checking in, no pressure, and this is very easy. It could be something like hey, samantha, I was reviewing my notes and remembered our conversation about you possibly buying in Capitol Hill. If that's something you're considering, or even if it's not, I'd love to catch up. No pressure at all. Maybe you have time to grab coffee next week or for a quick 10-minute phone call. That's it, just thoughtful. You remembered something about them. It's personal and they may not respond to you or they might, but honestly, no pressure, you're just putting it out there.
Speaker 1:The next simple way to revive old opportunities is the hey, random question text, so you can use this one word for word or modify it. But hey, random question are you still thinking about buying this year or has life totally shifted for you? Or hey, are you thinking about selling this year or has life totally shifted for you? Hey, just saw a listing that made me think of you. Are you still poking around or are you on pause for now? So easy, casual, low stakes. You're not asking them for an appointment or to call you. It's easy to answer, which is the key. Ask questions that are easy to answer and you're not selling yourself, you're not pushing yourself, you are serving and you are being curious about them. So get out of your head. We can send these texts to you. Could also be a voice note if you want that to be the case.
Speaker 1:Number three is the two-minute voicemail. So a lot of people do not call anymore, and if you are not a caller, that's fine. You can also use this as a voice note. Huge fan, but this could be. Hey, samantha, samantha's getting a lot of text and attention. Today I was just driving through Capitol Hill and thought of you. If you're still toying with the idea of buying a condo, I'd love to reconnect. Totally no pressure. Just wanted to say hey, I'll shoot you a text too. Easy voicemail. Why it works is because most agents don't do this and the fact that you're actually calling and you're a real person, not like a robo caller which, hello, I get all the time, you will instantly stand out as being thoughtful and memorable. So don't be afraid to use the phone. I know it's scary for most of us, but it does still work and, honestly, it's kind of the same as sending a text, because aren't we all just reading our transcripts anyway? Does anyone actually listen to voicemails anymore? I don't All right.
Speaker 1:Number four is reframe from sales to service. So ask yourself what was the last time that was going on in their life when we last talked? And if you don't know, that's okay, could be what. Are they stuck on right now? Are they? Did they get pre-approved? Are they like having something crazy in their life going on? Like what is the sticking point? Like how can you get them to the next step in the process? And then I actually like to say what's the next logical step in the process for them? And then what clarity or resources could you offer them today that could help move them along in the process? So let's say that they haven't been pre-approved and they really were just thinking about buying a house the last time you chatted with them. That could be a really logical next step resource you could give them. So it could be like hey, I know last time we chatted you were really casually looking. Interest rates have come down, so I wanted to see if you're interested in speaking with a lender to get an idea of your budget and just see what they say Good resources you could have like a first time buyer guide. You could set them up on a listing alert, like just think of what you could offer them that would be helpful. And that's where it's not chasing energy, it's supportive energy and you are controlling that process and your client has the ability to say yes or no to whatever you're offering, which is totally fine. It's all about showing up with service and making sure that you are offering things that are helpful to them.
Speaker 1:Now my last tip if you get anything out of this episode, please do this is schedule a monthly resurrection session, direction session. So block one hour a month and what you'll do is scroll through any medium, any avenue that you get people contacting you. This can be your CRM, it can be your email inbox, it can be your text messages, your phone log, and do not forget your social media messages and DMs. So you are basically scraping whatever you got in the past month and seeing what the deal is Now. If you're doing this for the first time, you might have to go back like kind of a long ways, but once you start doing this once a month like this is easy because you only have to go back a month.
Speaker 1:I also forgot to say that you need to have a place where you are tracking all of these people. So do not let them live in all of these different places. Please, please, please, put them in your CRM, put them on a Google spreadsheet, put them. I don't even care if you use notes app. I really don't Just like have a place where you have your ghosts and zombies so you can access them in an easy way. So we will all right.
Speaker 1:So the first is just like finding these contacts that you wanna resurrect. Then you're going to send hey, still thinking of you messages and you can do the emails, the texts, the voice notes, the voicemails, whatever makes sense for you. These are your ghosts and zombies. Then you're going to follow up with your past clients with a checking in note and it can be customized to where they're at, where they moved, kind of last time you heard from them. Absolutely, following up with past clients is so crucial, I think, at least quarterly. So getting your past clients on a quarterly like personal touch is really, really important. Then review everything for unfinished consultation opportunities.
Speaker 1:So those people that raised their hand and said, hey, I was interested, and you never actually got to meet or get to the finish line, or any listing preps that you did that maybe fell through, or listing appointments that kind of were like a little vague or further in the future that you let fall through the cracks. It is really important to turn this into a ritual and, honestly, the most successful agents do this like every week, honestly, but do it an hour a month and you're doing better than most people really. So I really truly believe that if you can stick to these follow-up of the I thought of you email, the hey random question text, the two minute voicemail, the reframing of sales to actual service and then scheduling your resurrection session, you are going to find some clients that have potentially fallen through the cracks and now, with interest rates being in a more favorable spot, like I just feel like it's a really good time to like reengage people. It's a really good time to re-engage people. I know so much of this comes down to mindset and time management, but I know when it comes to the mindset piece.
Speaker 1:You're not there begging for business. You're not like, please, please, work with me. You're saying I'm still here if you need me and you might even be offering something that could help them out, and there's a big difference there. The agents that are winning right now are not throwing spaghetti at the lead gen wall. They just aren't. They're warming up what they already have in the oven and they're showing up for people who almost already chose them or have raised their hand, and they're honestly not scared to try again. You just can't be scared to keep trying. Keep trying until someone tells you no, like, just because they aren't responding to you. No, just because they aren't responding to you doesn't mean that they aren't reading your messages and it's not resonating.
Speaker 1:We get in our heads like, oh, they didn't get back to me. It's like do you get back to everyone that replies to you or sends you something? No, of course not. It's just the nature of our lives is. We are so busy, there's so much stuff that we're bombarded with that it's going to take a few tries to be able to get through to someone. So I know you do not need more strangers and most of you just need more follow through and more organization and more actually following up with your ghosts and your zombies. Again, this is not about being salesy. It is about being someone who cares enough to circle back, and I know that you can do this. So I hope you have an incredible Halloween week and I will be headed to Vegas for the Zillow conference, mostly because Kacey Musgraves is going to be playing and she's like my all-time favorite. So until next week, I'll see you later and I hope you stay happy.
