The challenge

A listing specialist contacts homeowners frustrated by an unsuccessful sale. The agent opens with enthusiasm and a new marketing pitch. The seller hears another promise before anyone has asked what went wrong. The conversation ends before the agent understands the underlying concern.

The OnCue approach

The proposed pilot uses Expired & Price Reductions practice. The agent rehearses acknowledging frustration, asking about the previous experience, and identifying what would need to change before the seller considers another attempt. A manager reviews whether the agent avoided unsupported price promises and offered an appropriate next step. The exercise is to earn permission for a useful discussion.

Research context

Retrieval-practice research supports checking whether someone can produce a response after a delay rather than relying only on repeated reading. Here, the application is to rehearse a difficult conversation again on another day. The research does not show that this method increases expired-listing conversion. Roediger and Karpicke, 2006

Illustrative outcome

Hypothetical example · Not an OnCue result

In two comparable sets of 80 connected seller conversations, moving from eight appointments to 12 would increase the appointment rate from 10% to 15%: four additional appointments. Those appointments are not assumed to become listings or sales.

What to verify

Measure appointments held, subsequent listing decisions, and the seller’s stated reason for proceeding or declining. Use connected conversations as the denominator, not attempted calls.