TCPA Changes & What They Mean for Setting Appointments in Real Estate

Every single week, Greg Harrelson – head of The Harrelson Group, generating over 500 organic leads every month, and one of the very first websites ever created with Real Geeks – breaks down a new tactic or mindset that helps him continue to make strides in the real estate industry. 

This week, while he was ready to discuss the increased lawsuits and fines related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), he instead chose to shift gears, as it seems like the TCPA changes are not going to apply to us for at least another year.

And when those changes do come, if you're a Real Geeks customer, you'll be notified immediately and extensively on what you need to do to stay on top of your game while complying with these new rules.

Now, for the topic at hand—setting more appointments. 

Greg chose to speak about this in this week's Mastermind call for a simple reason: if the TCPA rules apply and our leads need to re consent to being a part of our universe after 90 days. This means we all need to be doing a better job at setting appointments in the first 90 days.

So let's dive in.

Remember, if you want personalized coaching from Greg on how to leverage the Real Geeks system to become the go-to agent in your market and transform your business in 2025, join his private community at RGMastery.com for less than $200/month.

Where Agents Are Having Difficulty Setting Appointments

If you're establishing a strong relationship with your lead in the first 90 days after they enter your system, then you'll never have to worry about them staying in your system.

So, how do we make this happen? Or, better yet – where are currently running into trouble?

According to Greg, the biggest issue agents face when setting more appointments lies in a simple formula: the capture to contact ratio.

In other words, agents are contacting a minute number of the leads that they're capturing.

"Let's just say that I captured 100 leads. It's common for agents to only speak to 7, 8, maybe 10 of those leads." he notes.

That's it. Most agents have a 10% capture to contact  ratio, at most.

On the flip side, this means that 90 to 93% of the leads that you capture, you're probably not talking to. This is especially frustrating for us to realize, because the price of the leads is the same. 

Think about it. You're spending the same amount of money to generate those 100 leads, whether it's by running PPC ads on your own, using a done-for-you service like Real Leads, or spending money on an assistant to manage your social channels or your SEO.

You're spending the same amount of money for those 100 leads, yet you're contacting only 10 of them.

Greg's advice? Challenge yourself to upping your capture to contact ratio to 35% for the next four weeks.

How to Increase Your Capture to Contact Ratio

Okay, so you're ready for this challenge. You figured out that your capture to contact ratio is about 12% — not bad, but not even close to the 35% Greg's suggestion.

So what do you do to increase it?

The first thing you can do is increase the number of attempts. We already know that on average, agents make one attempt at contacting their leads. One. 

You're probably bored to death of reading this statistic everywhere, but it continues to be true: 92% of salespeople give up after no sales on the 4th call attempt. Yet, 95% of converted leads convert after 6 call attempts.

So if you want to double your capture to contact ratio, you need to take your call attempts from one to ten. Yes, ten. 

"If I double the amount of people that I contact out of those that I've captured, I can see an increase of 100%  in my income. At that moment, is anything else with the TCPA gonna matter?" Greg asks, even though it's a rhetorical question at this point.

No. If you're doubling your appointments by just doubling your capture to contact ratio, you'll be building relationships much faster than your competitors, and any TCPA regulations are not going to affect you.

Quick Note About TCPA & How Real Geeks Can Help

Even though the latest TCPA changes have been delayed, real estate agents still need to follow existing compliance rules to avoid potential fines.

The TCPA restricts the use of auto-dialers, pre-recorded messages, and unsolicited texts without prior express consent. It also enforces the Do Not Call (DNC) list, which means agents must be careful when reaching out to leads.

If you're a Real Geeks user, you’re already in a better position.

The platform provides compliance updates, CRM tools to track lead consent, and best practices training, ensuring that you can confidently reach out to your leads while staying within legal boundaries.

As new TCPA regulations roll out, Real Geeks will continue to provide the necessary guidance to keep agents informed and compliant.

Becoming Obnoxiously Optimistic in Real Estate

French historian Francois Guizot famously said: "The world belongs to optimists. Pessimists are only spectators."

And this is a great moment to apply some optimism. Allow the TCPA changes that are coming up in the future to inspire you to change your approach now.

If we're going to run into trouble after 90 days of capturing a lead, let that motivate you to increase your capture to contact ratio right away.

This way, whatever changes coming your way will be a net positive, because they will have helped you shift your behavior for the better, and develop habits that will continue throughout your time as a real estate agent.

"When things change, when there's disruption," Greg emphasizes, "We need to stop and ask ourselves: where is the opportunity amidst all this change?"

So be an optimist, and the world of real estate will belong to you this year.

Till next time, agent.

Remember, if you want personalized coaching from Greg on how to leverage the Real Geeks system to become the go-to agent in your market and transform your business in 2025, join his private community at RGMastery.com for less than $200/month.