Expired Listing Script: What to Say to a Seller Whose Agent Just Failed Them

An expired listing is a seller who did everything they were told and it didn't work. They picked an agent, signed a contract, cleaned the house for showings, and watched it sit. Now the contract is over and their phone is ringing off the hook with agents who all sound the same.

That last part is your problem and your opportunity. On the morning a listing expires, a seller in a busy market can hear from ten or fifteen agents. Almost all of them open the same way and get hung up on the same way. The script below is built to not sound like them, and it's the one SalesGo's expired-seller persona is trained against.

What the seller is actually feeling

Before the words, the mindset. An expired seller is some mix of:

• Embarrassed. The neighbors saw the sign go up and come down.
• Angry at their agent, and by extension at agents.
• Confused about why. Their agent probably said "the market" and left it there.
• Still needing to sell. Whatever reason made them list is usually still true.

The agents who win expireds are the ones who speak to the last point without ignoring the first three. You are not calling to say "your agent was bad and I'm good." You are calling to find out what went wrong and whether it's fixable.

The opening

"Hi, is this [name]? This is [first name], I'm a local agent. I saw your home on [street] came off the market, and I'm guessing I'm not the first call today. I'm not going to pitch you. I just had one honest question: do you still need to sell, or has that changed?"

Two things are doing the work here. "I'm guessing I'm not the first call today" tells them you know what their morning has been like, and it's a little disarming. "Do you still need to sell, or has that changed?" is the only question that matters, and it's not one the other callers are asking.

If the answer is no, they've decided to stay or rent it out, thank them and ask if you can check in in a few months. Done. If the answer is yes, you have a real conversation:

"Okay. Can I ask what you think happened? Not what your agent told you, what you actually think."

Then listen. Sellers usually know. "We were priced too high." "Nobody ever came." "The photos were bad." "The agent disappeared after the first two weeks." Whatever they say is your diagnosis, and it tells you which of your strengths to talk about later. Don't talk about them yet.

The four objections you will hear

"We're taking a break from selling."

"That makes total sense after the last few months. Can I ask, is it a break from selling or a break from agents? Because those are different problems, and I'd rather know which one I'm dealing with."

Most of the time it's a break from agents. That's a conversation you can have. A break from selling is real, and the right move is to ask when they'll revisit it and call on that date.

"We're going to relist with the same agent."

"Fair enough, and I'm not going to talk you out of loyalty. Can I ask one thing? What's going to be different this time? Because if the plan is the same plan, it's worth knowing that before you sign for another six months."

You are not attacking the agent. You are asking the question the seller is already asking themselves. If they have a good answer, wish them well. If they hesitate, offer the small ask: "Would it be worth fifteen minutes to hear what I'd do differently? No commitment, just a second opinion before you re-sign."

"Every agent says they can sell it."

"Yeah, I'd be skeptical too. So let me not say that. Let me ask instead: what was the feedback from the showings you did get?"

Redirect from claims to facts. The showing feedback (or lack of showings) usually points to the real issue, and talking about that concretely is how you become the one agent who sounds like they know what they're doing.

"The market is just slow right now."

"Some of that's true. But homes on your street did sell in the last ninety days, right? So the question isn't whether houses are selling, it's why yours didn't when others did. That's usually a fixable thing. Want me to pull the ones that sold and show you the difference?"

This is the one objection where you gently disagree, because "the market" is the story their last agent told them and it's usually not the whole story. Offer evidence, not opinion.

Closing the call

The ask on an expired is the same as on any first call: a small, specific, dated next step.

"Here's what I'd suggest. Let me come by [day] at [time]. I'll walk the house for fifteen minutes, then I'll show you the three homes near you that did sell and what they had that yours didn't. If it's useful, we can talk about next steps. If not, you've got a second opinion for free. Does [day] work?"

If they're not ready:

"No problem at all. Can I send you those three comps by text so you have them, and check back next week?"

Send the comps. Actually send them. Most agents who say they will don't, and the seller notices.

The first 48 hours matter

Expireds are a speed game. The seller's inbox fills up on day one and the calls slow to nothing by day three. A cadence that works:

When	What
Day 1, morning	The call above. If no answer, one voicemail: name, "saw your home came off the market, one honest question when you have a minute," number.
Day 1, afternoon	Text with the comps, no pitch: "Here are the three closest sales in the last 90 days. Happy to walk through them."
Day 2	Call again if no answer. Don't leave a second voicemail.
Day 4	Text: "Checking in. Still weighing your options?"
Day 10	Call. "It's [name], I said I'd check back."
Day 30	Call. Many expireds relist around now, usually with whoever stayed in touch.

How to practice this

Expired calls are harder than FSBO calls because the seller is often upset, and upset people are unpredictable. Practice accordingly:

1. Run the opening twenty times out loud. It has to sound like you, not like a script, or the "I'm not going to pitch you" line rings false.
2. Drill "what's going to be different this time?" It's the highest-leverage question in the script and it has to come out calm, not smug.
3. Practice against anger. Have your practice partner start the call annoyed and get more annoyed. You need reps at staying warm while someone is short with you.
4. Practice the fact-finding, not just the lines. The call is won in the "what do you think happened?" section, which is unscripted. Rehearse asking follow-up questions and staying quiet.
5. Time it. A good expired call is under four minutes. If your practice calls run long, you're pitching.

An AI role-play is useful here precisely because it can be rude to you at 7am without anyone's feelings getting hurt. SalesGo's expired-seller persona has just been through a failed listing and behaves like it: short answers, skepticism, "every agent says that." The coach scores whether you diagnosed before you prescribed.

Quick reference

Opening: "This is [name], local agent. I saw your home on [street] came off the market, and I'm guessing I'm not the first call today. I'm not going to pitch you. One honest question: do you still need to sell, or has that changed?"

Diagnose: "What do you think happened? Not what your agent told you, what you actually think."

Taking a break: "A break from selling, or a break from agents?"

Relisting with same agent: "What's going to be different this time?"

Every agent says that: "Then let me not say it. What was the feedback from the showings you did get?"

Market is slow: "Homes on your street did sell. So why yours didn't when others did is the real question. Want to see the three that sold?"

Close: "Let me come by [day] at [time], fifteen minutes, and I'll show you the three homes near you that sold and what they had that yours didn't."

Also see: FSBO script for real estate agents.