Zillow Calls

What is Zillow?

Zillow isn’t just another lead source, it’s the top of funnel engine for real estate. With over 200 million monthly visitors Zillow has become the first stop for nearly every modern homebuyer.

As a Zillow Flex partner, you’re now plugged directly into that buyer activity. This isn’t cold calling. These are real people actively searching, and getting connected directly to you, often within minutes of raising their hand.

Done right, Flex can transform your business:

• Consistent pipeline of high intent buyers

• No upfront cost, Zillow only gets paid when you close

• Coaching, systems, and feedback to help you win faster

But this program isn’t automatic. Success comes from learning how to connect, build trust, and convert leads into clients, quickly and consistently.

Let’s get into it.

How Buyers Connect with us  

The customer has a couple options on the Zillow platform. They can request to speak to an agent or request to see a property. They can also dial a broker directly.

What happens when they click on “contact agent” button? 

Zillow texts the consumer asking if they are ready to talk to an agent. They have to respond affirmatively within 5 minutes to be direct connected to us. 

What happens when they click on “take a tour” button? 

Same as above, just before they book a time and date for the showing. 

Can they contact me any other way? 

Yes, they can directly contact us from the agents profile page. In which case, you will answer a second Zillow number and the caller will be on the other end. There is no middle man, property identified, or introduction. 

“What If I’m Driving or Busy When Zillow Calls?”

We call this shower anxiety—Zillow always seems to call at the worst times. Don’t worry. As you get more confident, you’ll realize:

• You rarely need to have the listing pulled up to set an appointment.

• It’s OK to answer with a little background noise—real life happens!

• Take the call when it’s safe and reasonable. It’s better to answer imperfectly than miss the opportunity. 

Zillow phone numbers

To avoid missing calls, save these Zillow numbers in your phone:

Main Lead Number: 206-539-0456
Direct Call: 425-657-5142 

 Mastering the First Call

In this training you’ll learn how to use the A-L-M framework to connect with buyers on first call and secure the the first appointment.

Do I need to take notes on the call? 

No, all calls are recorded, and you can immediately access that recording and listen back as much as you want. This comes in handy when they give you other addresses, or in the event you have a hard time with name pronunciation.  

What do I do after the call? 

We will be coaching you on 1st appointments in the upcoming modules as well as best practice in our CRM.

How do I know I’m doing well on the calls? 

We will review the calls and give you feedback through your deal in Hubspot. We also encourage you to listen back to your call and give it the “What did I do well? What did I learn? What can I do better?” test. You can also always @ your admin team in the Hubspot deal and see if they have advice or ask questions directly.  

To be part of the Production Team, you must meet and maintain all of the following criteria:

• 90% Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) from Zillow

• 50% pickup rate on all Zillow calls

• 7% individual conversion rate after 12 months on team

• Attend all required meetings & in person at least 2 times per month for our weekly Wednesday meetings

• 2 x per week pipeline updates in Hubspot

• Have this be your full time job

Pipeline Benchmarks: 

• Appointment Rate (Appointment Set): 80% 

• Met with Rate (Met with Customer + Showing Homes): 45% 

• Offer Rate (Submitting Offers): 15% 

• Close a Deal (Sale Closed): 10% 

What Is ALM? 

ALM is the foundation of every successful Zillow Flex call: 

• A – Appointment: “Hi, this is [Your Name] with Designed Realty. I saw you wanted to see the rambler on Main Street at 1 PM today. Does that still work?” 

• L – Location: “Are there any other homes you’d like to see while we’re out?” 

• M – Motivation: “What was it about this one that caught your eye?” 

Why ALM Matters  

80% of Zillow buyers who convert into transactions start with a call where ALM was used. 

It keeps the conversation productive, on-track, and focused on your goal: getting face-to-face. 

How It’s Tracked 

Zillow uses AI call-scoring to evaluate whether all three ALM elements were hit. These are used in: 

• Coaching feedback 

• Conversion metric validation 

• Internal reviews of agent performance 

“Perfect” ALM Call Breakdown 

Common Mistakes + How to Fix 

Missing ALM = lost opportunities + lower performance scores

“Do you know XYZ?” 

Are you nervous that you will get asked questions you don’t have the answer to?

Well get used to it because you CAN’T know everything about every property! It doesn’t mean you aren’t fully competent and an excellent broker.  

We have a 4 point system, that works every time to keep the conversation going and you showcasing your skill. Here is that formula: 

1. Admit confidently you don’t know; this creates immediate trust that you aren’t beating around it. “I don’t know” 

2. Confirm you will see what you can find out “I’ll see what I can find” or “I’ll track that down” 

3. Showcase your knowledge! “In my experience, XYZ” 

4. End with a question, ALWAYS. This puts you back in the driver’s seat and the conversation moving forward.

Here are 2 examples below: 

Do they have any offers? 

(1) I don’t know (2) let me dig in and see what kind of traffic it is getting. (3) I would anticipate this property in this neighborhood would get a lot of interest, and just at a glance it’s priced right. But they clearly have not accepted an offer since it’s not showing pending yet. (4) Have you been looking for a while? 

How old is the roof? 

(1) I don’t know (2) let me see if I can find out. (3) Either way, the condition of the roof is going to be more relevant. I have seen brand news ones with terrible installs that meet their death far too early, and then other ones that are well maintained live past their expected life span. From the pictures this looks like a well-maintained place, and there aren’t large trees around, so I would be surprised to find a bad roof, but we can take a look when we are there. (4) Have you had to deal with roof issues in the past? 

Note: We will be practicing this 4-point system heavily during our role play session, so get familiar with the structure: 

“I don’t know, let me find out. In my experience XYZ. Question?” 

Appointment | Listing | Motivation 

Occasionally a caller will take you off your ALM roadmap with questions of their own. Below you will find the best practice on how to handle these. Once you have handled them, you get back on the road where you left off.  

“Are you the listing agent?” 

• Nope, I am a licensed broker. Did you have specific questions? 

“I’m already working with an agent” 

• Well you have me on the phone and I can get the showing lined up.

If they contact their agent – YOU ARE STILL GOING TO FOLLOW UP! 

“Is there an open house this weekend” 

It looks like someone posted there will be, but in my experience it’s a crap shoot if someone is going to be there. I can get you in though, when works? 

If you require coverage for a showing with an established client (a client you have already met with), it is your responsibility to arrange for this coverage, and we have a lot of brokers willing to help. Consideration is to be exchanged!

One way that you can do this, is utilizing Teams with our group chat called The Pit, which you will be added to soon!

Many of our callers will be inquiring on land. But have no fear, we have a roadmap for that too!

Intro:
“I see you are looking at this piece of land in ______. Do you want to go take a look, or do you have some specific questions for me?”

When the caller asks you a question, use your 4-point system when you don’t have the answer, ending with a question from below. Continue asking questions until you feel you have enough information to start working with this caller.

Dive into the 5 W’s: 

• Who: Have they built before or owned before? 

• What: What do they want to do with the property? 

• Where: Is this the only area? 

• When: When are they wanting to make a move?

• Why: Why do they want to build or have a recreational property? 

Other questions:

• How familiar are they with the area?

• How far down the rabbit hole have they gone?

• Are you cash or looking at financing?

Wrap Up:

Tour That Property (or others) or Meeting to review information needed

You now will give them 2 options for next steps. You can meet at the property or you can schedule a meeting (via zoom or in person) to review the information you need to go find.

Example: “Ok, so I’m going to gather up that information, and I want to take a peak at a couple other properties too. Do you want to get boots on the ground and meet out at this property and walk and talk? Or we can pop onto zoom and go over this stuff.”

They may say no, and that’s ok! Dive into AVS: 

AVAILABLE: “I am available whenever you are ready.“ 

VALUE: “I’ll dig up that information you requested and get that sent over to you (or call you back with it).””

SCHEDULING: “If you see anything else on Zillow, feel free to click the same button and it will come straight to me, land or house. I’ll also text you my contact information directly.” 

END: “Is there anything else I can help you with at this moment?” 

Occasionally we will get properties you may not be able to tour. A new build that isn’t built, a tear down that isn’t safe, or an occupied property that won’t allow showings. But don’t worry, we have a solution to this roadblock!

And the good news….you already learned it!

You will follow the same roadmap as the land call:

W’s – Ask as many questions about them as you can!

Wrap Up – Provide 2 options for your next steps.

“Shoot it looks like we can’t get into that property unless we write an offer first. I do see 2 more down the street that would be worth looking at, we can start there and do a drive-by of this one, or we can pop on a zoom call and start looking closer at the map. What do you want to get started with?”

What happens when the caller is out of state? It’s kind of hard to schedule an appointment!

So after A – you discover this. Here is the best detour route for a successful call:

Good news again…you already learned this! Same roadmap as land, new builds, tear downs, clown properties.

W’s – ask as many questions as you can

Wrap up – Provide 2 options for the next steps

Here is an example of how the wrap up would sound:

“Okay so at this point, I would suggest we do 1 of 2 things. I want to go grab a video and check out this place you called on, but there are a few others I would love to see in the area to compare. I can get those sent over, and a search set up, start really scrubbing the inventory and showing you what would actually work for you OR we can start by jumping on a zoom call and we can explore the areas via maps and I can give you the rundown. Both should be done, but which do you want to get started with?”