TL;DR
- AI-scored lists improve response rates 2-3x by targeting likely sellers
- Best timing: Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-2pm local time
- Keep messages under 160 characters with specific property references
- Avoid filter triggers: no links, no ALL CAPS, no spam keywords
- Generic list: 0.5-1% response rate
- AI-scored likely sellers: 1.5-3% response rate
- Warm leads (prior response): 8-15% response rate
- Recent mail piece recipients (5-10 days after delivery)
- Previous responders to any channel
- Website visitors who submitted forms
- AI-scored high-probability sellers
Message Structure
Length: 160 characters or less performs best.
Good Example: "Hi [First Name], I sent you a letter about [Property Address] last week. Still interested in discussing options? - Mike"
Key Elements: Personal greeting, property address, clear purpose, your name (not company), no hard sell.
Client Results
“We cut our SMS volume by 60% but kept the same deal count. Targeting warm leads only and cleaning up templates.”
— Phoenix investor, 73 deals/year
Avoiding Filter Triggers
Content: No ALL CAPS, "cash offer", "we buy houses", excessive punctuation, dollar signs.
Format: No links/URLs, no rapid-fire sequences, no identical bulk messages.
Follow-Up Cadence
First message, then second at 5-7 days with different angle. Two attempts max, then move to different channel.
Testing
A/B test: opening lines, property reference style, CTA phrasing, sender name. Minimum 200 messages per variant.
Track beyond response: qualified lead rate, appointment rate, deal rate.