Circle Prospecting vs. Cold Calling for New Agents

By Jesse Myles

Originally hailing from Seaside California, Jesse Myles is a 20 year Army veteran, came to the Ft Hood area in 2005 and retired in 2012, Jesse strives for only excellence with his real estate customers.

If you’re a new agent trying to figure out how to get your first listing, you’ve probably heard two pieces of advice more than anything else: pick up the phone and start calling.

But calling who? And saying what?

That’s where most new agents get stuck. They download a list of numbers, start dialing, and within a few days they’re burned out, frustrated, and wondering if this career is really for them. I’ve seen it happen too many times. The problem isn’t the effort. The problem is the approach.

There are two main ways to prospect by phone in real estate: cold calling and circle prospecting. They sound similar, and a lot of agents treat them like the same thing, but they’re not. The difference matters, especially when you’re just getting started.

Cold calling is exactly what it sounds like. You’re calling people you have no connection to, no context for, and no reason to be reaching out to other than the fact that their number showed up on a list. Maybe it’s an expired listing. Maybe it’s a for-sale-by-owner. Maybe it’s just a name in a zip code. The conversation starts cold because the person on the other end has no idea who you are and didn’t ask to hear from you.

Does it work? It can. But here’s the reality for new agents: you’re competing with every other agent who bought the same list. When a listing expires, that homeowner might get 20 calls in the first hour. You might be the best agent for the job, but if you’re caller number 15, good luck getting a real conversation going. And when you’re new, you don’t have the track record or the confidence to power through that level of rejection day after day. That’s not a knock on you. That’s just the math.

Circle prospecting is different. Instead of calling random numbers, you’re calling homeowners in a specific neighborhood around a property you just listed, just sold, or have some real connection to. You’re not calling out of nowhere. You’re calling with a reason.

“Hey, I just helped your neighbor at 123 Oak Street sell their home, and I wanted to let you know what it went for. A lot of homeowners in the area have been curious about how the market is moving in your neighborhood.”

That’s a completely different conversation than “Hi, I’m an agent, are you thinking about selling?” One feels like a neighbor sharing useful information. The other feels like a sales call. And people can tell the difference in the first five seconds.

Why circle prospecting gives new agents an edge

Here’s what I tell agents on my team when they’re starting out: circle prospecting lets you build three things at once.

1. You build local knowledge. When you’re focused on a specific neighborhood or area, you start learning the streets, the price points, the turnover patterns, and the types of homes that move fast. That knowledge compounds. Within a few months, you’re not just an agent. You’re the agent who knows that neighborhood inside and out.

In a market like Austin or Killeen, where neighborhoods can feel completely different from one block to the next, that kind of local expertise is what separates the agents who get referrals from the agents who keep grinding cold lists.

2. You build name recognition. When you keep showing up in the same area, whether it’s calls, door knocks, mailers, or all three, people start to recognize your name. You become the agent they’ve heard of. And when they’re ready to sell, they’re not Googling “Realtor near me.” They’re calling the person who’s been showing up consistently.

3. You build confidence. This is the one nobody talks about, but it might be the most important. Cold calling expireds and FSBOs as a brand new agent is brutal because you’re going up against people who have been doing this for years. Circle prospecting is a warmer conversation. The homeowner isn’t defensive because they’re not being sold to. They’re being informed. That makes the conversation easier, and easier conversations build the kind of confidence that carries over into every part of your business.

That doesn’t mean cold calling is useless.

I’m not telling you to never cold call. There are agents who have built incredible businesses on cold calling alone. But those agents usually had months or years of consistent effort, thick skin, and a system behind them before it started paying off.

If you’re brand new, circle prospecting gives you a faster feedback loop. You get real conversations sooner. You build a reputation in a specific area sooner. And you start getting listing opportunities sooner, because homeowners in the area already know your name and trust that you know their market.

The smartest move for a new agent is to start with circle prospecting to build your base, and layer in cold calling as your skills and confidence grow. Don’t try to do everything at once. Pick a neighborhood, learn it better than anyone, and start showing up.

If you’re an agent looking to build a real business in Austin or Killeen and you want help figuring out where to start, reach out to me. I’ve helped agents at every level find their footing and build something sustainable. Call me at (254) 535-8792, email me at info@themylesgroup.net, or visit tmgvideoblog.com. I’m always happy to talk through it.