How to respond to Zillow leads in 60 seconds

1. The first minute decides most of it

Portal leads are shared, impatient, and browsing on their phone right now. The speed-to-lead research is blunt: a response inside five minutes is ~21x more likely to qualify than one at thirty. Your target isn't "same day" — it's before they lock their phone.

2. Text first, and make it a question

Calls from unknown numbers go to voicemail; texts get read. And "Hi, this is Sarah, call me when you can!" is a dead end — it asks the lead to do the work. Open with something they can answer with their thumbs:

• "Hi Jordan! Saw you asked about 412 Maple — are you hoping to see it in person this week, or still browsing?"
• "Hey! Quick question so I can actually help: are you already pre-approved, or still exploring budget?"

One property-specific detail plus one easy question outperforms any paragraph of introduction.

3. Run the first hour like a sequence, not a hope

1. 0–1 min: the opening text above.
2. ~5 min: if no reply, a single short follow-up with value ("There are 2 similar listings nearby — want the list?").
3. ~30 min: one call attempt; leave a 15-second voicemail referencing the texts.
4. End of day: a no-pressure close ("No rush at all — I'll keep an eye on that area for you.").

4. The leads that don't answer aren't dead — they're early

Most portal inquiries are 3–12 months from acting. The agents who win them are simply still present when the timeline arrives — which means follow-up in weeks and months, not days. Nobody sustains that manually across dozens of leads; it has to be systematized.

5. Automating it honestly

Two ways to hit the 60-second bar: a human ISA (real but expensive — hiring or $500+/mo services), or an AI assistant. AI options range from team-priced platforms with voice calling (Structurely, SwiftLeads — see the honest comparisons) to Kestrel, which is built for solo agents: it texts every new lead in under 60 seconds, runs exactly the kind of qualification above, scores HOT/WARM/COLD, books showings, follows up for 12 months, and syncs to Follow Up Boss — $99/mo founding, working with the Zillow leads you already buy.

Related: Speed to lead, by the numbers · How Kestrel compares