By: KeyCrew Media
Loan officers, title reps, and insurance providers ask some version of this question constantly: What is the best way to reach a real estate agent? Text? Email? A phone call? Most people want a single right answer. According to AgentBrief CEO Mike Simon, the real answer is that there isn’t one, and looking for one is the mistake.
There Is No Universal Best Channel
Simon gets asked this question often enough that he has a standard response. “I get asked the question all the time,” he said. “You know what works? The one that the agent picks up.”
Some agents only respond to text. Some only check email. Some will never answer a call from a number they don’t recognize, and some prefer to just pick up the phone. No dataset proves one channel beats the others across the board, because the answer depends entirely on the individual agent, not on the channel itself.
“I don’t mean to be flippant, but try them all, because you never know what it’s going to take to get through to these real estate agents,” Simon said. “There is no metric that I know that says real estate agents are 20 percent more likely to answer a text than an email.”
Meet The Agent Where They Already Are
The practical takeaway is straightforward: instead of picking one channel and committing to it for every agent, test all three and pay attention to which one gets a response. An agent who ignores three emails in a row but replies to a text within the hour is telling you something useful. The same is true in reverse.
This matters more in referral-driven businesses than it might seem. A well-timed, relevant message sent through the wrong channel can go completely unnoticed, not because the content was wrong, but because it landed somewhere the agent doesn’t check. For title reps and other settlement service professionals competing for the same referral relationships, getting the channel right is often what determines whether an otherwise good outreach attempt gets seen at all.
Track What Works, Then Use It
The next step is remembering what worked. If an agent has responded to texts twice and ignored two emails, that is a pattern worth acting on going forward. Reaching out through whatever channel got a response last time, rather than defaulting to a preferred method, saves time and improves the odds of getting a reply.
This is a simple habit, but it is one that a lot of professionals skip. Many default to whatever channel is most convenient for them, usually email, without checking whether it is actually reaching the agent. Flipping that logic, so the agent’s behavior determines the channel rather than the sender’s preference, is a small change that tends to produce noticeably better response rates over time.
The Bigger Point
None of this replaces having something genuinely relevant to say. Channel choice only matters once there is a real reason to reach out, whether that’s a new listing, a price change, or an open house. But assuming there’s one correct way to contact every agent is a mistake that costs referral business for no good reason.
The professionals who get the most responses aren’t the ones who found the perfect channel. They’re the ones who stopped looking for one, and instead paid attention to what each agent actually does.
About AgentBrief: AgentBrief is a real-time MLS intelligence platform built for settlement service professionals, including title reps, loan officers, and insurance providers. AgentBrief is currently available in select markets.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.
