First Knock
Free playbook for selling agents
The first 72 hours.
What to do when another agency lists in your patch: who to call first, what to say, and how to follow up without being the agent everyone dodges.
Get the free PDF
7 pages, with a printable call tracker. You'll get the download straight away, and we'll email you the link.
Why the first 72 hours matter.
A new listing is a free market update for the whole street. For a few days, the neighbours are curious about the price, the buyers and what it means for their own place.
The listing agent knows it. Expect Just Listed cards in the letterboxes, a door-knock and a busy open home on Saturday. By the time the board has been up a week, the neighbours have heard the story from someone else.
You probably already know some of those neighbours. This playbook is about reaching them first, while the news is still news.
Hour 0 to 1: build your list.
Start with everyone in your CRM within 100 metres of the listing. In most suburbs that is five or six houses either way on both sides of the street, plus the backs of the houses behind it.
- Open the listing and note the address, price guide, and when the first open home is.
- Find it on a map and note every street that falls inside 100 metres.
- Search your CRM street by street. Check spelling variants: “St” and “Street”, unit numbers, old addresses.
- Remove anyone marked do-not-contact, anyone who has asked not to be called, and anyone your office has excluded.
- Sort what's left using the priority list below.
Done by hand, this usually takes 30 to 40 minutes, which is why it rarely happens on a busy Tuesday. First Knock does this step for you. More on that at the end.
Who to call first.
| Contact | Why they're first | Your angle |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Appraised, didn't list | They were already thinking about it. A fresh local listing is the reason to revisit. | “A new comparison just landed on your street.” |
| 2. Past vendors you sold to nearby | They trust you, and they'll be curious how the market has moved since. | “You'll want to know what this means for your old street.” |
| 3. Owners you've met at open homes | They raised their hand once. A neighbour listing often makes it real. | “You mentioned you might move in a year or two.” |
| 4. Landlords and investors | A new listing is a quick check on yield and equity. | “Here's what a similar home is asking.” |
| 5. Buyers who missed out on this street | Good news travels. If they buy, they may need to sell. | “I wanted you to hear about this one first.” |
The rest is in the PDF.
- The 72-hour plan. What to do on the day, that evening, on day two, on open home day and when it sells.
- Word-for-word scripts. The call, the voicemail, the follow-up text and the letterbox note.
- Replies for when they push back. “We're not selling”, “What's ours worth?” and “How did you get my number?”
- The contact rules in plain English. Consent, the Do Not Call Register and calling hours.
- A printable call tracker. One page for each listing.
Or skip the 40 minutes.
Step one is the hard part: noticing the listing and cross-checking it against your CRM on a busy day. First Knock does it for you. We check your patch every 10 minutes, and when another agency lists, the agent who owns that area gets an email with everyone in your CRM within 100 metres. Do-not-contact flags and your exclusions are removed before it's sent.
We run it for one agency per suburb.
Check if your suburb is available at firstknock.com.au