The employer wants to see if you can work a raw lead list efficiently and open a cold call with a relevant, polite hook, not just dial randomly and read a generic script.
Explain your prioritization logic first, then give a word-for-word sample opening that is under 30 seconds, and end with how you would log the outcome.
Start by sorting the list not by geography but by recency, because a homeowner who transacted in the last six months is far more likely to still be thinking about their property's value than someone who last engaged five years ago. Cross-reference the addresses against any online listings or public records you can pull quickly, and flag homes that appear vacant, recently transferred, or in neighborhoods with active sales, since those signal motivation. When you pick up the phone, skip the formal Tagalog opener entirely and go straight into a relaxed, American-English greeting that names a concrete local trigger, something like, "Hi, is this Mr. Cruz? I'm calling because I noticed three homes on your street sold in the last two weeks, and I wanted to see if you'd like a quick estimate on yours before you decide anything." Keep it under thirty seconds, pause for their reaction, and if they hesitate, offer a soft out like, "No pressure, I can just email you a one-page summary, would that work?" After every call, log the result in a simple spreadsheet with columns for contact, date, response, and follow-up action, so you can circle back to the warmest leads first the next day.
A common mistake is to call the list top to bottom and start with 'Good morning po, sir, I am calling from...' which wastes time and sounds robotic in US English. Instead, skip the 'po' and use a simple local reason like 'I saw homes on your street are selling fast; do you want a quick estimate?'
Situation
In a previous freelance role, I was given a cold list of 120 homeowner contacts for a real estate agent. The list only had names, mailing addresses, and the year each home was last sold.
Task
I had three days to call through the list and book listing appointments, so I needed a fast way to rank leads and a short opening that did not sound like a stranger reading a script.
Action
I sorted the list by last sale year, oldest first, because those owners had more equity and a longer time since any agent contact. Then I checked each address against the county tax record to confirm owner occupancy and skip rentals. I used a 20-second opener that referenced the street: 'Hi, I'm calling because homes on your street have been selling quickly. Are you curious what yours might be worth now?' I kept notes in the CRM after every call.
Result
I made 68 calls in three days, reached 19 owners, and booked 5 listing appointments for the agent. Two of those appointments turned into signed listing agreements.
Ranking a cold list by last sale date and opening with a street-level reason gets more conversations.
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