How to Follow Up Real Estate Leads: 30-Day Plan (India)

Most Indian builders and brokers do not have a lead problem. They have a follow-up problem. Leads arrive from 99acres, MagicBricks, Housing.com, Facebook and Google ads and your website, someone calls once, the buyer doesn't pick up, and the lead sits in a sheet until it is cold. This guide gives you a simple, practical follow-up plan for the first 30 days of a property enquiry: what to do in the first hour, how many times to call, what to say on each attempt, and when to stop.

Why real estate leads go cold

A property buyer usually enquires on several projects in the same week. The builder who calls first, answers clearly and makes the next step easy tends to get the site visit. Leads go cold for a few predictable reasons:

• The first call is late. Portal and ad leads arrive in the evening and on weekends, when the pre-sales team is off. By Monday the buyer has already spoken to three other projects.
• Only one attempt. A buyer who missed the first call is marked "not reachable" and never tried again, even though many people answer on the second or third try.
• No reason to talk. Every follow-up is "Sir, any update?" instead of something useful: a new price sheet, a ready unit, a Sunday visit slot.
• Duplicate leads. The same buyer comes in from two portals and gets called by two executives, or by nobody, because each assumes the other has it.
• Nothing written down. The budget and preferred BHK the buyer shared on the first call are lost, so the next caller asks the same questions again.

The first hour: what to do with a new lead

1. Call within minutes. Speed matters more than a perfect pitch. The buyer still has your project open on their phone. This is the idea behind speed to lead.
2. De-duplicate. Check the number against your CRM or sheet before calling. If the buyer already enquired, the original owner calls, with the earlier notes in hand.
3. If they don't pick up, send one WhatsApp message (only if they shared the number for contact): "Hi, this is Priya from Green Meadows. You enquired about our 2 and 3 BHK flats in Kompally. When is a good time to call?"
4. Try again within the hour, ideally from the same number, so the buyer recognises it.
5. Log the outcome: connected, not answered, call back at a set time, or wrong number.

The 30-day follow-up cadence

Use a fixed schedule so no lead depends on someone remembering it. Each touch should give the buyer a reason to reply.

When	Channel	What to say or send
Within 5 minutes	Call	Thank them, confirm the project, ask 3 qualifying questions
Within 1 hour (if missed)	Call + WhatsApp	Short intro and "when can I call?"
Day 1 evening	Call	Second attempt at a different time of day
Day 2	WhatsApp	Brochure, location pin, price range you are happy to share
Day 3	Call	Offer two site visit slots for the coming weekend
Day 7	Call	Something new: a floor plan, a ready unit, a loan tie-up
Day 14	Call or WhatsApp	Check if their plan or budget has changed
Day 30	Call	Last attempt; then move to a monthly or quarterly list

If the buyer books a visit at any point, switch to the visit sequence in our site visit confirmation call script, which covers reminders, missed visits and the call after the visit.

What to ask on the first call

Keep the first call short. You are not closing. You are finding out whether this buyer fits the project and what the next step is. Three to five questions are enough:

• Configuration: "Are you looking at a 2 BHK or 3 BHK?" (or plot size in square yards for open plots and villas)
• Budget: "Roughly what budget are you planning, so I share the right options?"
• Timeline: "Are you looking to buy in the next three months, or later?"
• Funding: "Will you be taking a home loan?" This tells you whether to bring in your bank tie-up.
• Use: "Is this for your family to live in, or an investment?"

Write the answers down immediately. A buyer who says "3 BHK, ₹90 lakh to ₹1 crore, within three months, loan" is a hot lead. "Just checking prices, maybe next year" goes on the monthly list.

Follow-up call script (English, Hindi and Telugu)

First call

"Hello, am I speaking with Mr Ravi? This is Priya from Green Meadows. You enquired about our flats in Kompally on MagicBricks. Is this a good time for two minutes?"

Then ask the qualifying questions, and close with one clear next step: "We have site visits on Saturday at 11 or Sunday at 10. Which suits your family better?"

Day 7 call (with a reason)

"Hi Mr Ravi, Priya from Green Meadows. Last week you mentioned a 3 BHK under ₹1 crore. Two east-facing units in that range were just released in Tower B. Would you like me to send the floor plans and hold a visit slot this weekend?"

Hindi / Hinglish opening

"Namaste Ravi ji, main Green Meadows se Priya bol rahi hoon. Aapne Kompally ke flats ke baare mein enquiry ki thi. Kya do minute baat kar sakte hain?"

Telugu / Tenglish opening

"Namaskaram Ravi garu, Green Meadows nunchi Priya matladutunnanu. Meeru Kompally flats gurinchi enquiry chesaru kada. Rendu nimishalu matladavachha?"

Let the buyer choose the language. If they switch to English or mix languages mid-call, follow them.

Handling the replies you hear every day

• "Just send details on WhatsApp." Send them while you are still on the call, then ask: "I've sent the brochure. Once you've had a look, is Saturday or Sunday better for a visit?"
• "What's the final price?" Share the price range you are allowed to share and say the exact cost sheet depends on the unit, floor and facing. Never invent a discount on the phone.
• "I'm already talking to other builders." "That's sensible. Seeing the site is the quickest way to compare. Shall I book you in after your other visit?"
• "Is the project RERA registered?" Give the RERA registration number and tell them where to check it on the state RERA website. If you don't have it ready, find out before the next call.
• "Don't call me again." Apologise, confirm, and mark the number as do-not-call the same day.

When to stop following up

Following up is not the same as chasing. Stop active calling when:

• The buyer says they are not interested or asks you not to call.
• Five or six attempts across two weeks have gone unanswered.
• The buyer has clearly bought elsewhere.

Move unanswered leads to a slower list: one useful message or call a month, for example when a new tower launches or a ready-to-move unit opens up.

Calling rules to follow in India

• Call people who enquired. Portal, website and ad leads who asked to be contacted are the right audience. Do not buy number lists.
• Promotional campaigns need the right setup. Calls that promote offers to people who did not ask for them fall under TRAI's commercial communication rules, which require DLT registration and DND checks. See our guides on TRAI DLT rules for calling and how to check DND status.
• Call at sensible hours, for example 9 AM to 9 PM, and avoid early mornings and late nights.
• Protect buyer data. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, use the buyer's details only for the enquiry they made and keep your lead sheets access-controlled.

A checklist for your pre-sales team

• Every new lead gets a call within minutes, including evenings and weekends.
• Duplicates are checked before calling, and each lead has one owner.
• Budget, BHK, timeline, loan and use are recorded after the first connected call.
• Every unanswered lead has its next attempt scheduled, not "will try later".
• Each follow-up carries something new: a slot, a plan, a unit, an offer you can stand behind.
• Do-not-call requests are recorded the same day.

Doing this at scale with an AI calling agent

The plan above is simple. The hard part is doing it for hundreds of leads a week, on weekends, in the buyer's language, without anyone forgetting a call. That is where an AI voice agent helps. RANA AI can call every new portal or ad lead within minutes, ask your qualifying questions in 11 Indian languages, retry missed calls on your schedule, offer site visit slots, and give your team a transcript, summary and hot, warm or cold score for every call. Your sales team then spends its time on the buyers who are ready to visit.

See how it works for builders and brokers on our AI calling for real estate page, or start a 14-day free trial with 100 minutes and test it on one project's leads.