Best Days (and Hours) for Cold Calling, Door Knocking and Everything Else

Everyone—especially agents—knows the feeling of having two seemingly identical sessions of business-building create vastly different results. Two hours of door-knocking one week might land you half a dozen hot leads, while a similar session the next week leaves you empty handed with ears ringing from all the door slammed in your face. Many agents are apt to blame themselves, or potentially write the disparate results off as random, but there may be an explanation.

While most agents know not to cold-call folks at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday, there are plenty of more specific timing tricks that could help you improve your outcomes for these vital activities. Likewise, certain online outreach might seem to be ideal at one time or another, but if you aren’t seeing the results you want, it might be a matter of timing rather than substance.

Here are the best times (and days) to engage in different real estate business-building activities:

Cold-calling

According to job search company Indeed, cold-calling is most effective on Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you are the type who likes to get an early start on what is (for most people) one of the less pleasant activities for bolstering your real estate business, you might be missing potential clients as they rush to catch up with work or remain preoccupied with getting their own week in order. By Wednesday, most people are a little more settled and are more likely to have the time or energy to talk about their homebuying or selling plans.

As far as time of day, many coaches and sales professionals disagree on when to get on the phone. Some believe relatively early (starting at 8:00 a.m.) is ideal, while others argue this can be counterproductive as many people are still getting ready for the day. Similarly, some people say after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays is an effective time to make calls, while others claim you will annoy potential prospects who are trying to relax at the end of a workday.

What most people agree on, though, is that late morning—around 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.—is an effective time to get on the phone, as is later in the afternoon—3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Both of these time periods offer the opportunity to catch people in transition, before lunch or before they begin winding down their day, and statistically offer better results.

Door knocking

Anyone who has engaged in this most tried and true method of prospecting knows that no matter when or where you go, you are going to encounter a lot of closed doors, empty houses and annoyed homeowners. But for those who want to decrease the number of misfires, try focusing on some specific times. Most agents know that weekends are generally better for door-knocking, as most people are likely home, and most will generally agree that late afternoon is a better time (3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.). 

Others will argue that weekend mornings (as early as 9:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m.) can also be very effective. While a lot of agents are scared of waking up potential clients who just want to sleep in, for a lot of people, the day is well started by 9:00 a.m. or so, and you have the opportunity to catch people before they head out for whatever weekend excursion or errands they have.

As far as weekdays, one is likely as good as the other (except Friday afternoons), but be aware of local events and don’t waste your time wandering empty neighborhoods when everyone is at the local festival or block party.

Events

While this will largely depend on the type of event, a good day to get potential clients in a room together is Wednesday or Thursday. Why? Because according to multiple studies, Thursday is the best day to list your house. Having that as a conversation starter could potentially bolster the timeliness or urgency for hot leads, getting buyers thinking about the market right away. 

For weekends, be careful not to schedule your event too late if it is in the evening. While you might be used to a certain schedule as far as meals, work and sleep, understand that your demographic of potential buyers and sellers might have very different priorities. Even more fun, night-oriented events like bar trivia shouldn’t be starting at times when many people are already getting ready for a nightly routine. Erring on the side of early is rarely a bad idea.

Social media

While you might think that leisure time or weekends is the best opportunity to be engaging with followers or posting on your various social media accounts, data shows that is not the case. According to an Indeed study this year, most businesses get the most engagement from early morning (as early as 6:00 a.m.) and midday on weekdays. While this varies based on platform, and of course can also change based on your audience and market, scheduling your social posts for first thing in the morning or around lunch time (especially on Facebook and Instagram) might do a lot to help your reach and allow you to make new connections.

Email blasts/newsletters

A lot of agents probably know that midweek and midday are the best times to get people to open emails. Since consistency is also important, you likely already chose a day and time and have stuck to that. But if you feel you aren’t reaching people, it might be worthwhile to switch up your timing—instead of a mid-morning or early afternoon time slot, try between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., when people are winding down. Especially if your content is focused on value-added, informational or timely engagement, you might catch people when they are looking for some mild entertainment or local updates. Likewise, weekends could be another time to send certain types of emails, as long as you don’t come off as too pushy or spammy.

Timing is everything, and catching people at the right time—not just in their journey of buying and selling homes, but in their daily lives—can make all the difference for agents. It is also important to note that your local landscape can vastly alter the wisdom of pounding the pavement at particular times or on particular days, if certain industries or demographics make up an outsized portion of your footprint. Being aware of those timing concerns can potentially turn an activity that felt useless into a huge boon to your business.