Realtor Cold Calling Scripts: 5 Canadian Examples

Why this matters in a realtor's working day

Cold calling is a numbers game, so every call that goes nowhere because the opener was confusing, or every number that shouldn't have been dialed at all, is time a realtor doesn't get back. A script fixes the first problem: it gives you a tested opening instead of making one up live, and a clear ask instead of a rambling pitch. The second problem is a compliance one, and it's the part every other script guide skips, because the pages that rank are written for a US audience where the rules are different.

In Canada, a real estate cold call is "telemarketing" under the CRTC's rules the moment it's made to promote your services, whether or not the person ever becomes a client. That status comes with obligations that sit above the script: who you can call, and what your brokerage has to do before you're allowed to call anyone.

Before you dial: the Canadian rule other guides skip

Not legal advice — confirm your brokerage's specific obligations with your broker of record or a lawyer.

Real estate telemarketing calls are covered by the CRTC's Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules, which include the National Do Not Call List (DNCL). This isn't a theoretical risk: in November 2020, the CRTC reported that hundreds of real estate agents and brokerages had "hired a telemarketing firm to recruit prospective clients, which did not abide by the CRTC's Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules," resulting in "44 citations, 258 warning letters and 23 notices of violation with penalties totaling $103,300."

What the rules actually require:

1. Register and subscribe. Brokerages are responsible for "becoming a registered subscriber of the National DNCL, and paying all applicable fees to the extent that their agents initiate telemarketing telecommunications." This is a brokerage-level obligation, not something each agent sets up individually.
2. Use a current list. Telemarketers must ensure "no calls are being made to consumers whose telephone numbers have been registered on the National Do Not Call List for more than 31 days" — so a list pulled two months ago doesn't clear you to call.
3. Hiring a calling service doesn't transfer the risk. The same CRTC finding is explicit that "a person can be held liable for a violation that is committed by a third-party agent." If your brokerage outsources dialing, the brokerage is still on the hook for what that firm does.
4. If someone asks to be removed, the obligation is yours, separate from the national list — keep your own record of who's asked not to be called again, and don't call that number regardless of whether it's registered nationally.

A rule worth knowing, so you don't confuse it with the one above

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) often gets mentioned in the same breath as the National DNCL, but it governs a different thing: CASL "focuses on commercial electronic messages" — email, text, and similar — and requires consent "before sending commercial electronic messages." It doesn't regulate the live phone call itself. Where it matters to a cold caller is the follow-up: if a call goes well and you send a promotional email afterward, that message needs to meet CASL's consent rules, separately from whatever got you on the phone in the first place.

Five scripts to adapt

Say these in your own words — a script read verbatim sounds read. Each is built to get to one clear ask inside 30 seconds.

1. Expired listing

"Hi [Name], this is [Your name] with [brokerage] — I noticed your home at [address] came off the market. A lot of sellers in that spot just need a different approach, not a different house. Would it be worth ten minutes to look at what might have held it back?"

2. For Sale By Owner (FSBO)

"Hi [Name], I saw you're selling [address] yourself — no pressure, I'm not calling to pitch you on listing with me. I talk to FSBO sellers in [area] regularly, and I usually know what's moving and what isn't right now. Want me to send over what I'm seeing, no strings attached?"

3. Circle prospecting (a nearby sale just closed)

"Hi [Name], this is [Your name] — I just closed a sale two streets over on [street]. I'm calling neighbours to let them know what it sold for, since it affects what your place is worth too. Want the number?"

4. Referral ask (past client's circle)

"Hi [Name], it's [Your name] — I helped [past client, with their permission] with their move last year, and they mentioned you might know people thinking about buying or selling in [area]. I'm not asking you to commit to anything, just wondering if a quick intro makes sense if the right person comes to mind."

5. Voicemail

"Hi [Name], it's [Your name] with [brokerage]. I'm reaching out about [address / your area] — nothing urgent, just wanted to share something I think you'd want to know. Call me back at [number], or I'll try again in a few days."

Something to copy: the 30-second structure

Every script above follows the same shape — use it to write your own for a lead type that isn't listed here:

1. Name and brokerage, in the first breath.
2. Why you specifically are calling, tied to something true (a listing, a sale, a mutual contact) — not a generic "just checking in."
3. One ask, phrased as a question, not a pitch.
4. An easy no. "No pressure" or "no strings attached" isn't filler — it lowers the guard that makes people hang up on cold calls in the first place.

Situation differences

Common mistakes

• Calling from a list that's more than 31 days old. The CRTC's own enforcement language treats this as a core failure, not a technicality.
• Assuming a hired dialing service covers your compliance. It doesn't — the brokerage carries the liability either way.
• Using one script for every lead type. An expired-listing opener on a FSBO call sounds like you didn't do any homework.
• Treating "no" as a prompt to push harder instead of a request to log and move on.
• Making the call, then losing the thread. A good opener gets you a real conversation; if you don't capture what was said, the next call starts from zero again.

How CallSmart helps

CallSmart isn't a dialer or a list manager — it doesn't touch who you call, your National DNCL subscription, or CASL consent for your follow-up emails. Those stay with you and your brokerage. What changes once a cold call turns into a real conversation: call from your own number through CallSmart's Live Call, tell the person you're recording the same way you would on any client call, and CallSmart drafts a follow-up email and CRM notes from what was said — you approve both before anything sends. It turns a "yes, tell me more" moment into a captured conversation and a ready follow-up, instead of a note scribbled on a sticky pad between calls.

CallSmart's drafting is built around mortgage conversations — income, down payment, the details a broker needs — so a realtor's buyer or seller conversation still gets a transcript and a draft, just without that same mortgage-specific structure underneath it.

Frequently asked questions

Not legal advice. Confirm National DNCL registration, subscription and your brokerage's specific obligations with your broker of record or a lawyer.