Your next listing may already be in your CRM
Every agency has a list it doesn't talk to enough. Owners who asked for an appraisal and didn't list. People who walked through an open home and own a property two streets away. Landlords on the rent roll who will sell one day, possibly through someone else.
Most principals know these contacts are there. The problem is time. New enquiries come first, and the database gets a newsletter at best. This post sets out a simple, consent-first way to work those contacts before you spend more on new leads.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Why your own database comes first
A bought lead is a stranger. Someone in your CRM has already dealt with your agency. They met an agent, asked for a price, came to an open home, or trusted you with a property. That relationship is the reason they might reply, and it's the reason you may be allowed to contact them at all.
Your database also tells you things a lead list can't: when you last spoke, what they asked about, and whether they said no to marketing. Bought lists rarely tell you whether the person ever agreed to hear from anyone.
None of this means bought leads never work. It means the cheapest first step is usually the list you already pay to keep.
Start with three groups
Not every contact is a likely seller. Start narrow.
- Past appraisals and previous vendors. Owners your team has met. They asked what their home was worth, or sold with you before. Many haven't heard from you since.
- Open-home attendees who own locally. People who look at your listings while owning nearby. Only include those who own a property in your area; a renter who came to an open home is a buyer enquiry, not a likely seller.
- Landlords on your rent roll. Investors your property management team already looks after. Some will sell in the next year or two. The question is whether they list with you.
Agree these groups in writing inside the agency before anyone is contacted, and decide who signs off the messages.
Check consent before you send anything
This is the step agencies skip, and it's the one that protects your name.
In Australia, commercial emails and SMS are covered by the Spam Act 2003. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) explains the three rules on its page, "Avoid sending spam" (https://www.acma.gov.au/avoid-sending-spam): you need consent from each person you message, the message must identify you as the sender with your contact details, and it must make it easy to unsubscribe. ACMA also notes that you can't send an electronic message to ask for consent, and that it's up to you to prove you had consent.
ACMA describes two kinds of consent. Express consent is when someone knowingly agrees, for example by ticking a box on a form. Inferred consent can apply when someone has knowingly given you their details and would reasonably expect to hear from you, usually because of an existing relationship. That relationship fades with time, so a contact from years ago is weaker than one from last spring.
Depending on your agency's size and structure, the Privacy Act's Australian Privacy Principle 7 on direct marketing may also apply. Ask your lawyer whether it covers you. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner sets it out in its guidance on direct marketing (https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles/australian-privacy-principles-guidelines/chapter-7-app-7-direct-marketing).
In practice:
- Remove anyone marked do not contact, opted out or unsubscribed.
- Set aside contacts where consent is unclear, such as older open-home sign-ins, until your sign-in forms and your lawyer confirm what people agreed to.
- Merge duplicates so nobody gets the same message twice.
- Put your agency name and an opt-out line, such as "Reply STOP to opt out", in every message.
Write messages a person would send
Keep the first message short and honest. Name your agency, say why you're in touch, and ask one easy question. For a past appraisal, that might be: "Hi, it's [agent] from [agency]. You asked us about [street] a while ago. Are you still thinking about selling in the next year? Reply STOP to opt out."
A few rules help:
- Don't say "buyers are waiting" unless your agent confirms it's true for that suburb.
- Don't put a price in the message. Your agent gives every price estimate, in person.
- If someone asks whether automation or AI helped write the message, say so.
- Have a person approve every template before it goes out.
Sort the replies and qualify properly
Replies are where the work is. Sort each one into a clear bucket, such as interested, not ready, wrong person, opted out, or needs your agent's input, and give each bucket a next step.
Then decide what counts as a qualified seller. A useful test has four parts: you have the owner, you have the property address, they have a selling timeline within 12 months, and they have agreed to meet your agent. If any part is missing, keep nurturing. Don't hand it to your agent as a hot lead.
Opt-outs get actioned the same day. Every time.
Count what happened, every week
Pick a fixed day and look at the same numbers each week: contacts messaged, replies handled, qualified sellers, appraisals booked, appraisals that actually happened, and opt-outs actioned. Give every lead a status, an owner and a next action.
If you also want to know how many appraisal requests your website brings in, set up your appraisal form as a key event in Google Analytics 4. Google explains how in "Create or modify key events" (https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12844695). Search Console's Performance report (https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553) shows which searches bring people to your site. Together they show where your enquiries come from, without guessing.
What this looks like in your agency
You can run this process in-house with a CRM export, a spreadsheet and a disciplined weekly routine. The hard part is keeping it going when listings get busy.
That's why we built the Listing Growth Desk. We work only the groups your agency approves, clean them first, follow up under supervision, qualify owners against those four facts, and book appraisals only after your nominated agent approves. Every Friday you get a scorecard. We guarantee a process and activity standard, not listings, sales or commission.
If you'd like to see what's sitting in your database, start with a free sample Opportunity Review. You can also count your likely sellers yourself at https://luminara.digital/check/ . The file stays on your computer.