Short messages that get a reply, and calls that turn into appointments. You picked DMs and reconnection as the priority, so this is that, built around the five situations you are actually in.
Everything here came out of our 1:1 on 3 September. Copy any script, change the words so they sound like you, then send.
Start Here
Why they go slow.
You told me you had already messaged your purchased cold leads, given them your bio and what you would work on with them, and they still went slow. I looked at the actual messages. The content was good. That was never the problem.
They are too long. So people never start reading, and going quiet feels easier than replying.
There is a rule underneath this that applies to your DMs, your phone calls, your videos and your guide. Reading your stuff has to cost almost no effort. Everyone is already overwhelmed before your message arrives.
"Consuming your stuff needs to consume as little calories as possible."
The rule for everything you write from now on
The test is simple and you can do it in three seconds. Write the message, look at it on your phone, and cut until it fits on one screen without scrolling.
The One Rule
Get a small yes before you ask for a big yes.
Your first message never delivers the value. It only asks permission to send it.
Someone who types "yes" has made a small commitment, so they actually open what comes next. Someone who receives a guide they never asked for deletes it without looking. Same guide, completely different outcome.
Make the first yes as small as you possibly can. "Want more details" beats "want to attend." "Want me to send it" beats "let's have a call."
This is why your bio and your full explanation did not work as an opener. They were a big ask dressed up as a friendly message. Everything in this playbook is this one rule wearing different clothes.
Your Reference Card
What to say when someone asks how you are different.
I asked you this on the call and you said it was a question you could not answer right away. That is worth fixing before anything else, because every script below leans on it. You put your own clarity at 6 or 7 out of 10.
You already had the answer. You described it as a Venn diagram: what you know from education and advising kids on their pathway, crossed with property as financial planning and right sizing, with a slice of investment. And then the line that actually matters, which is that you would rather not lead with the product.
Say this
"Most agents will rush you into a good decision. I would rather take the time to find you an amazing one. Good is the enemy of great, and a home is too big a decision to settle on the third option when the fourth one was the right one."
Who you serve best
Couples with kids who already have a rough idea of what they want, but are overwhelmed by the options, and who are willing to take their time.
Who you do not serve
People with an impossible ask. People who will not be patient with the process. You have already walked away from one, so this is real, not a slogan.
Your method
Four or five viewings in a day across back to back weekends, so they can compare while it is fresh. Multiple offers at once, so nobody feels cornered into one.
Where you came from
Ex teacher, now a parent yourself. You have watched people lose six figures or ten unhappy years by rushing the biggest decision they will make.
The Scripts
Your five situations, and exactly what to send in each.
These are not generic templates. Each one is a situation you showed me on the call, in the order they cost you the most money.
1
Restarting the purchased cold leads who went slow
Your situation: You bought these leads. You already messaged them your bio and what you would work on together. They read it and went quiet. You cannot send the same thing again, so you need a reason to reappear that is not a chase.
The reason to reappear is a thing, not a follow up. You are not asking about the last message. You are arriving with something new and asking permission to send it.
Message 1 · The restart
Hi [Name], Andrea here.
I put together a short guide I give my own clients before they commit to a [5 room / condo], so they know what to check before they fall in love with something.
Want me to send it over? Just reply yes.
Why it works. No mention of your last message, so there is no guilt and nothing to explain. One word gets them in.
Message 2 · If no reply after 2 days
Hi [Name], just checking you saw my last message.
I know you're probably busy, which is honestly why I made the guide. It's the stuff I'd normally spend [20 minutes] explaining on a call.
Happy to send it if useful. If not, all good, have a great week.
Why it works. Their silence gets read as busy, not rude. The easy exit is what makes people reply, because you are clearly not going to hound them.
Message 3 · 4 days later, the last one
Hi [Name], last time I'll bother you on this.
Guide's still here if you want it. Otherwise I'll leave you to it, and you can always message me down the road.
Why it works. Naming it as the last message is honest, and it works. Some people only reply once they believe you will actually stop.
Message 4 · When they say yes
Here you go, [Name]. [attach guide]
The bit most people skip is on page [X], so don't miss that one.
I also have a second one on [how to time selling and buying so you're not caught in between]. Want that too?
Why it works. That second offer is doing the real work. It earns a second yes, so you are in a conversation instead of having made a delivery.
2
The voice note that makes you a person
Your situation: You said it yourself, that you could not see how to be short and still show your colour. This is the answer. You are not solving it in text. You are solving it with your voice.
Once they have replied even once, send a voice note. It takes you forty seconds, it cannot be skim read, and it does what three paragraphs of text cannot.
Record this, do not type it
Hey [Name], Andrea here. I just saw your message, and it's great to be connected!
I just finished an appointment with a client and thought I'd do a quick voice note instead of typing.
Last week I actually put together a monthly report I send my clients, with the biggest updates on the property market. The same one I send my own friends and family.
If you want it, just reply yes and I'll send it over. If not, have a great day, and talk to you soon.
Why it works. "I just finished an appointment" says you are busy without saying it. "The same one I send my friends and family" is the line that makes it a gift instead of marketing.
Send this text right after the voice note
Hey [Name]! Shot a personal voice note for you above (this time it's really me ah haha)
Why it works. Everyone assumes the first message was automated, or came from your telemarketer. This one line clears that up and makes them go back and listen.
Longer version, if you would rather type than record
Hey [Name]! Andrea here, this is really me now hahah
Anyway, let me know if you still want the guide above. And separately, last week I put together [a short video / a guide] I think would be genuinely useful for most Singaporeans looking to buy or sell in the next 6 to 12 months.
Want that one too? Talk soon!!
Why it works. Same job as the voice note. It admits the earlier message felt automated, then hands them two easy yeses.
3
Turning the 15 minute call into an appointment
Your situation: This is your real break point. With Dennis you got the 15 minute call, followed up with a text, and the appointment is the thing you could not get. You also said if you cannot get 10 to 15 minutes with someone, it never goes to the next step at all.
The reason the text after the call does not land is that "let's meet up" asks them to give you an afternoon and names nothing they get for it. So name what they walk away with, and make the appointment the obvious next step rather than a favour.
Getting the 15 minutes in the first place
[Name], based on what you've said, I think the guide can only take you so far.
What I can do in 15 minutes is show you what's actually moving in [their area] right now, and roughly what your [current place] could go for. Most people are surprised by one of those two numbers.
I've got [Tue 8pm] or [Thu 9pm]. Which is easier?
Why it works. It names the deliverable, the surprise line makes them want to know which number, and choosing between two times is far easier than opening a calendar.
After the call, to get the appointment
Good speaking just now, [Name].
Based on what you said about [their actual constraint], there are [3] places I'd want you to see before you decide anything, and two of them I wouldn't have suggested before we spoke.
I usually do these back to back on one afternoon, so you can compare properly instead of forgetting the first one by the third. [Saturday afternoon] or [Sunday morning]?
Why it works. "Two of them I wouldn't have suggested before we spoke" proves you listened. And it sells your actual method, which is comparing several in one go, as the reason for the appointment.
4
The polite non-responder, and the big budget silence
Your situation: Two people you showed me. One picks up the phone but never moves, so you keep chasing someone who is not that interested, which you said is irritating. The other has the budget and the family and will not respond to anything.
Both need the same thing, and it is the opposite of what feels natural. You stop pursuing and you hand them the exit. Done warmly, this is the message that revives more dead leads than any follow up, because it is the only one that costs them something to ignore.
The graceful close
Hi [Name], I'll stop chasing you, promise.
I'd rather be straight with you. If the timing isn't right, that's completely fine, and honestly better than us both pretending. I work best with people who want to take their time properly, so there's no rush from my side.
Should I close your file for now and just send you the market update every month? Or is there still something you want help with?
Why it works. "Close your file" is a real decision, so it gets a real answer. And it says the same thing your positioning says, that you are also deciding whether this is a fit.
If they go quiet even on that
All good, [Name], I'll take that as timing.
I'll keep you on the monthly market update and leave you alone otherwise. If anything changes this year, just message me here.
Why it works. You keep the relationship and the permission to send monthly value, without spending any more energy on someone who is not moving. Nobody is fired, they just move lists.
5
Reconnecting your parents network, which is your best list
Your situation: You said most of your closings have come from the warm side, and that your first YouTube video, about acing exams and why it may not prepare you for the real world, was a great reconnection tool with the parents network you already have.
You are sitting on the strongest asset you have and it needs no building. Different rules apply here though. These people know you, so an ask out of nowhere reads as an ask out of nowhere.
Do not put a question in your first message to warm people. Give first, ask nothing, and let them come back to you.
Message 1 · Pure give, no question
Hi [Name]! Was thinking of you.
I made something about why acing exams may not actually prepare our kids for the real world. Very much the ex teacher in me talking.
Sending it your way, no strings. [link]
Why it works. There is nothing to say no to, so there is no reason to go quiet. It is about their kids, not property, and it reminds them you were a teacher first.
Message 2 · Only after they reply
So good to hear from you! How's [their kid] doing these days?
Why it works. Now it is a conversation, not a campaign. Property comes up on its own with this group, and it almost always does.
Message 3 · Only if they open the door themselves
Funny you mention it. That's actually most of what I do now, helping couples with kids work out their next place without rushing it.
Happy to send you what I'd look at if you're ever thinking about it. No pressure at all.
Why it works. You only pivot to property once they raise it. "Couples with kids" tells them they are exactly who you work with, and "without rushing it" is your difference in four words.
Bonus, and read this one twice
The first 60 seconds of a cold or warm call.
You call these leads yourself. This changes the tone of the whole call, and it is the fastest fix in this document.
Most people open with "How's your day going?" or "Is now a good time?" It sounds polite. It also makes you sound like you are hoping they will allow you to continue.
Open with this instead
Hello! Is this [Name]?
Great. I'm calling from [company] and wanted to do a quick catch up. I've only got a couple of minutes.
Why it works. That one line tells them your time matters too. You are not calling to chase them, you are here for a clear reason.
Then go straight into this
I saw your name drop in and wanted to give you a quick call to find out what you're looking for and what you're looking to achieve.
Then I'll probably be able to tell you whether this is the right thing for you, or point you in another direction.
Why it works. It does three jobs at once. It says exactly why you called, it shows you are also deciding if there is a fit, and offering to point them elsewhere removes all the pressure.
This is not pretending to be busy or playing a power game. It is leading the conversation instead of entering it like someone who needs the sale. And it happens to be true for you, because you genuinely do turn people away.
Practise your first 60 seconds. If you sound unsure at the start, you spend the rest of the call winning back trust you already lost.
The Rhythm
One message a month, to everybody.
You named consistency as your weakness. So the answer is not more discipline, it is fewer decisions. Once a month, one message goes to everyone, cold and warm together. You do not need to keep two lists.
Pick one per month
A short Singapore property update in your own words
One sharp observation about something that just happened
Something from the ex teacher side, for the parents list
In December, a year end note
The tone, every time
Here is something useful
Take it, no pressure
If you want more, just ask
Never chase a follow up on these
The year end note is worth taking seriously. Another agent doing exactly this produced a five figure commission from one of them.
One message a month to a list that keeps growing is a business. Waiting for referrals is not.
The One Thing To Build
Your guide, and why the design matters as much as the words.
Situations 1 to 4 all hand someone a guide, and you do not have one yet. Situation 5 does not need it, because your exams video already exists. So start the warm list this week and build the guide alongside it.
What it should be
Working title, yours to change: Good, or Amazing? The 4 Option Rule For Couples Buying Their Next Home.
It is your one big idea turned into something someone can hold. It earns the yes because nobody else in property is saying it. ANDREA: APPROVE OR RENAME
How it should look
20 to 30 pages, but only a few words on each, set large
One idea per page, the way a slide works
Your photo in it, more than once
Your credibility in plain numbers ANDREA: SUPPLY
A family photo if you are comfortable, faces blurred if not
Written so a twelve year old follows it
Assume nobody reads it properly. Someone who only skims should still come away knowing what you believe, that you are a real person, and that you are good at this.
Before Our Next 1:1
You said you need cash flow now. So start today, not after the guide is built.
Four things, in this order
Message 10 people from your parents networkSituation 5, message 1, with your exams video. This needs nothing built and it is where your closings have historically come from. Do this one first.
Send the graceful close to every dead leadSituation 4. Including the big budget one and the one who picks up but never moves. You will be surprised who comes back, and you get your energy back either way.
Practise the phone opener out loud five timesBefore your next cold call. Out loud, not in your head. It is 60 seconds and it changes every call after it.
Screenshot what you sent and what came backIncluding the silence. Silence is information too, and it tells us which line to change. Bring them to our next session.
Next session we go deeper on the reactivation campaign, and split these by where the lead came from, so a PropertyGuru lead and a telemarketer lead each get their own opener.
You already know all of this. You just have not had a way to say it in ten words.