August 27, 2025 • 8 mins
The biggest leak in most investors' funnels is speed to lead, where slow response times turn hot prospects into ghosts. Ed Mathews shares the exact blueprint for the AI assistant system his team built to call leads in under 60 seconds, ask the right qualifying questions, and automatically book appointments.
• 392% better chance of setting appointments when reaching leads in under one minute
• Using local phone numbers per campaign dramatically improves answer rates
• AI assistant "Maggie" follows a tight question script covering property basics, condition, motivation, and price
• Automated follow-up system ensures no lead falls through the cracks with voicemails and texts
• Six key metrics to track: contact time, connection rate, appointment set/show rate, offer rate, lead source ROI, and close rate
• Implementation checklist: local phone setup, script creation, follow-up assets, CRM connection, hours/rules definition
Text "speed" to get the complete playbook and call script from today's episode.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ed Mathews (00:00):
So you're working hard to create all your
marketing campaigns, you'repaying for it, your phone
finally rings and then ughvoicemail.
That delay can take a $30,000deal and turn it into a ghost.
Today I'm giving you a peek atthe AI Assistant we're building
to solve that problem.
Not theory, a practicalplaybook, feel free to copy.
(00:21):
Ever sat in your car scrollingthrough Zillow and thought, man,
if I just knew where to start,I could flip one of these.
Feel free to copy.
I'll give you real-worldflipping strategies that
actually work.
No fluff, no theories, nogatekeeping, just real how-to
(00:48):
information for you to applytoday.
Welcome to Demo to Dollars.
I'm Ed Mathews and this show isyour no BS flipping playbook,
one tip at a time.
Here's some quick context.
I'm done losing good deals toslow response.
So we've been building an AIassistant inside our own new
software company, elevista, toattack the biggest leak in most
(01:11):
investors' funnels speed to lead.
Now, this isn't a pitch, I'mjust giving you the blueprint
you can implement whichevertools you like.
Marketing gets the phone to ring.
Conversion still on you.
If you don't engage fast, thelead goes ice cold.
They'll call a competitor ortheir motivation just fades.
The teams that win have a tightplan for immediate outreach,
(01:36):
clear talk tracks and a simplepath to booking an appointment.
A lead engine is great, but youstill need to jump right back
into investor mode as soon as areal seller appears.
Then you need to build rapportand get the deal under contract.
Cold calling and texting stillwork really well for off-market
deals and, when used right, theycreate real conversations super
(01:56):
fast.
And when I say real time, Imean we call a lead in less than
one minute during businesshours with a local caller ID.
Here's why that's important.
When you reach a new lead inunder a minute, you have a 392%
better chance of setting thatappointment or eventually
earning that business.
We use local numbers percampaign for better answer rates
(02:20):
and clean tracking, and we canroute to a voicemail or a human
being when needed.
Every conversation istranscribed and we can route to
voicemail or a human being ifneeded.
Every conversation istranscribed and we can record
calls to help with qualitycontrol if we choose to.
Now Maggie that's our AIassistant's name only asks the
(02:41):
questions that matter tounderstand the seller's
situation, help us figure out away to help that person and then
set an appointment.
So what questions does she ask?
Think property basics,condition, occupancy timeline,
motivation and ballpark askingprice.
That information gets pushedinto our customer relationship
management tool automaticallyand everyone gets an invitation
(03:03):
to the appointment.
If one is set, text, follow-upsare automatic, so nothing slips
through the cracks.
Most SMS tools that pushdirectly into your CRM make this
super easy.
So here's the exact flow we'vebuilt out.
The trigger sources could be awebsite form filled out, an SMS
reply, a call into our office ora manual ad lead from my team.
(03:25):
Before a call is made, maggiechecks business hours.
If it's inside those hours, theperson gets a call.
Outside those hours, the persongets a text and a dropped
voicemail.
When it's appropriate to call,maggie places an outbound call
to the seller and uses a tighttalk track to qualify the
situation.
If the person doesn't pick up,maggie leaves a short voicemail
(03:46):
and sends a text.
If they do pick up, maggiescores every conversation with a
lead score.
If it turns out they're a fit,maggie offers calendar options
and books an on-site meetingduring that call.
Every call note text andoutcome lands in our CRM.
That's the only way to manageat scale.
If you're not at the CRM stage,that's fine.
Just use a Google Sheet.
(04:07):
But don't stay there long.
Having centralized dataprotects your follow-ups and
lets you coach your team withreal data, and there are plenty
of low-cost, no-cost CRMsolutions out there.
Hubspot is excellent and Ibelieve it's still free.
You can either addfunctionality at a cost later on
or move on to a differentplatform when you have a budget.
(04:27):
Okay, so here's the first minuteof a typical call with Maggie.
Feel free to steal this.
So, maggie, hi, is this?
Joe Smith?
I'm calling about 123 MainStreet.
I'm following up on the formyou just submitted on our
website.
We buy houses in your area andunderstand you might be open to
selling.
Do you have a couple of minutes?
If no, maggie asks to set up aphone meeting for that day or as
(04:47):
soon as convenient for theproperty owner.
If yes, here are the questionsshe asks.
Can you tell me a little bitabout the property?
Is the property vacant oroccupied?
How many beds and baths?
Any big repairs you're aware of, like a roof, windows,
foundation?
When was the last time thekitchen or bathrooms were
remodeled?
Out of curiosity, what got youthinking about selling and how
(05:08):
soon would you feel comfortablemoving forward if the numbers
made sense?
Do you have a price in mind ifwe could make an all-cash offer
and close quickly Once thatconversation wraps up.
We score every lead using ourproprietary AI-driven lead
scoring system.
If they're a fit, maggie saysgreat, let's set up a quick
15-minute in-person appointment.
Is tomorrow at 3 or Thursday at10 better.
(05:28):
This is based on my real-timeschedule availability and it
also mirrors what a strongacquisitions rep already does,
just without the gaps inresponse time.
And yes, maggie will logeverything and send a summary to
our CRM.
Missed calls still get afollow-up.
Maggie drops a short voicemail.
Hey, it's Maggie with ClarkStreet Homes, just following up
(05:51):
on the form you filled out onour website a few minutes ago.
We're buying houses in yourarea and if selling's on your
mind, call me back at thisnumber With voicemails.
You want to keep it simple andthen try again three minutes
later.
It's amazing how many timespeople pick up on that second
call.
You can also run ringlessvoicemail touch points for
first-time contacts, secondtouches and warming up older
leads.
Personally, I like sly broadcast.
Be sure to use short, directscripts and, as far as
(06:13):
follow-ups go, if Maggie's ableto set an appointment that leads
into one kind of nurturecampaign, if she isn't able to
connect.
That leads into a differentnurture campaign.
And remember, track yourmetrics.
If you can't measure it, youcan't improve it.
Here's what we track.
First, contact during callinghours under one minute.
Connection rate by marketingchannel and lead type.
(06:34):
So, like inbound calls,outbound cold calls, form
whatever Appointment, set rateand show rate.
Show rate is when the homeowneris home waiting for us when we
arrive for our appointment.
Offer rate and contract ratefor qualified calls.
Lead source, roi, so you keepfunding what works and you stop
doing what doesn't.
And then finally, close rate bylead source.
(06:57):
Here's a quick plan to copy thisweek.
First, get your number Set up,a local phone number with clean
routing and recording for Q&A.
You can also use your cell withclean routing and recording for
Q&A.
You can also use your cell.
Write your script, load a tightquestion tree that covers
property basics, condition,motivation, timing and price.
Third, create your follow-upassets Short voicemail scripts
(07:18):
and SMS replies ready to go.
Next, set up your CRM.
Connect your phone and textingto your CRM so every touch is
logged, tagged CRM.
Connect your phone and textingto your CRM so every touch is
logged, tagged and assigned.
Next, define your hours andrules.
Define calling hours andescalation rules so the system
knows when to call text or bookappointments and then create
your scoreboard.
Put those six metrics on awhiteboard or a dashboard and
(07:41):
review them weekly.
So that's the speed to leadplaybook we've created with
Elevista, connect and ClarkStreet Homes.
You can stand a lot of this upwith the tools you already use,
primarily your cell phone.
You can also hire a virtualassistant to do these follow-ups
and cold calling.
Lastly, there are a lot ofservices out there that will
provide you with this technicalcapability, including Elevista.
(08:01):
Keep it simple the job is totalk to motivated sellers, ask
the right questions and book anappointment.
The job is to talk to motivatedsellers, ask the right
questions and book anappointment.
If you want my checklist andthe call script from today,
shoot me a text with the wordspeed and I'll send you this
playbook.
Link is in the show notes.
Thanks again for listening andmaking us a part of your day.
See you next time on Demo toDollars.
Thanks for listening to Demo toDollars.
(08:23):
If today's episode helped youmove one step closer to your
first or next deal, do me afavor follow us wherever you get
your podcasts so you never missa show.
I'm grateful to be part of yourjourney.
Now get out there and getcracking Bye for now.
So you're working hard to create all your
marketing campaigns, you'repaying for it, your phone
finally rings and then ughvoicemail.
That delay can take a $30,000deal and turn it into a ghost.
Today I'm giving you a peek atthe AI Assistant we're building
to solve that problem.
Not theory, a practicalplaybook, feel free to copy.
(00:21):
Ever sat in your car scrollingthrough Zillow and thought, man,
if I just knew where to start,I could flip one of these.
Feel free to copy.
I'll give you real-worldflipping strategies that
actually work.
No fluff, no theories, nogatekeeping, just real how-to
(00:48):
information for you to applytoday.
Welcome to Demo to Dollars.
I'm Ed Mathews and this show isyour no BS flipping playbook,
one tip at a time.
Here's some quick context.
I'm done losing good deals toslow response.
So we've been building an AIassistant inside our own new
software company, elevista, toattack the biggest leak in most
(01:11):
investors' funnels speed to lead.
Now, this isn't a pitch, I'mjust giving you the blueprint
you can implement whichevertools you like.
Marketing gets the phone to ring.
Conversion still on you.
If you don't engage fast, thelead goes ice cold.
They'll call a competitor ortheir motivation just fades.
The teams that win have a tightplan for immediate outreach,
(01:36):
clear talk tracks and a simplepath to booking an appointment.
A lead engine is great, but youstill need to jump right back
into investor mode as soon as areal seller appears.
Then you need to build rapportand get the deal under contract.
Cold calling and texting stillwork really well for off-market
deals and, when used right, theycreate real conversations super
(01:56):
fast.
And when I say real time, Imean we call a lead in less than
one minute during businesshours with a local caller ID.
Here's why that's important.
When you reach a new lead inunder a minute, you have a 392%
better chance of setting thatappointment or eventually
earning that business.
We use local numbers percampaign for better answer rates
(02:20):
and clean tracking, and we canroute to a voicemail or a human
being when needed.
Every conversation istranscribed and we can route to
voicemail or a human being ifneeded.
Every conversation istranscribed and we can record
calls to help with qualitycontrol if we choose to.
Now Maggie that's our AIassistant's name only asks the
(02:41):
questions that matter tounderstand the seller's
situation, help us figure out away to help that person and then
set an appointment.
So what questions does she ask?
Think property basics,condition, occupancy timeline,
motivation and ballpark askingprice.
That information gets pushedinto our customer relationship
management tool automaticallyand everyone gets an invitation
(03:03):
to the appointment.
If one is set, text, follow-upsare automatic, so nothing slips
through the cracks.
Most SMS tools that pushdirectly into your CRM make this
super easy.
So here's the exact flow we'vebuilt out.
The trigger sources could be awebsite form filled out, an SMS
reply, a call into our office ora manual ad lead from my team.
(03:25):
Before a call is made, maggiechecks business hours.
If it's inside those hours, theperson gets a call.
Outside those hours, the persongets a text and a dropped
voicemail.
When it's appropriate to call,maggie places an outbound call
to the seller and uses a tighttalk track to qualify the
situation.
If the person doesn't pick up,maggie leaves a short voicemail
(03:46):
and sends a text.
If they do pick up, maggiescores every conversation with a
lead score.
If it turns out they're a fit,maggie offers calendar options
and books an on-site meetingduring that call.
Every call note text andoutcome lands in our CRM.
That's the only way to manageat scale.
If you're not at the CRM stage,that's fine.
Just use a Google Sheet.
(04:07):
But don't stay there long.
Having centralized dataprotects your follow-ups and
lets you coach your team withreal data, and there are plenty
of low-cost, no-cost CRMsolutions out there.
Hubspot is excellent and Ibelieve it's still free.
You can either addfunctionality at a cost later on
or move on to a differentplatform when you have a budget.
(04:27):
Okay, so here's the first minuteof a typical call with Maggie.
Feel free to steal this.
So, maggie, hi, is this?
Joe Smith?
I'm calling about 123 MainStreet.
I'm following up on the formyou just submitted on our
website.
We buy houses in your area andunderstand you might be open to
selling.
Do you have a couple of minutes?
If no, maggie asks to set up aphone meeting for that day or as
(04:47):
soon as convenient for theproperty owner.
If yes, here are the questionsshe asks.
Can you tell me a little bitabout the property?
Is the property vacant oroccupied?
How many beds and baths?
Any big repairs you're aware of, like a roof, windows,
foundation?
When was the last time thekitchen or bathrooms were
remodeled?
Out of curiosity, what got youthinking about selling and how
(05:08):
soon would you feel comfortablemoving forward if the numbers
made sense?
Do you have a price in mind ifwe could make an all-cash offer
and close quickly Once thatconversation wraps up.
We score every lead using ourproprietary AI-driven lead
scoring system.
If they're a fit, maggie saysgreat, let's set up a quick
15-minute in-person appointment.
Is tomorrow at 3 or Thursday at10 better.
(05:28):
This is based on my real-timeschedule availability and it
also mirrors what a strongacquisitions rep already does,
just without the gaps inresponse time.
And yes, maggie will logeverything and send a summary to
our CRM.
Missed calls still get afollow-up.
Maggie drops a short voicemail.
Hey, it's Maggie with ClarkStreet Homes, just following up
(05:51):
on the form you filled out onour website a few minutes ago.
We're buying houses in yourarea and if selling's on your
mind, call me back at thisnumber With voicemails.
You want to keep it simple andthen try again three minutes
later.
It's amazing how many timespeople pick up on that second
call.
You can also run ringlessvoicemail touch points for
first-time contacts, secondtouches and warming up older
leads.
Personally, I like sly broadcast.
Be sure to use short, directscripts and, as far as
(06:13):
follow-ups go, if Maggie's ableto set an appointment that leads
into one kind of nurturecampaign, if she isn't able to
connect.
That leads into a differentnurture campaign.
And remember, track yourmetrics.
If you can't measure it, youcan't improve it.
Here's what we track.
First, contact during callinghours under one minute.
Connection rate by marketingchannel and lead type.
(06:34):
So, like inbound calls,outbound cold calls, form
whatever Appointment, set rateand show rate.
Show rate is when the homeowneris home waiting for us when we
arrive for our appointment.
Offer rate and contract ratefor qualified calls.
Lead source, roi, so you keepfunding what works and you stop
doing what doesn't.
And then finally, close rate bylead source.
(06:57):
Here's a quick plan to copy thisweek.
First, get your number Set up,a local phone number with clean
routing and recording for Q&A.
You can also use your cell withclean routing and recording for
Q&A.
You can also use your cell.
Write your script, load a tightquestion tree that covers
property basics, condition,motivation, timing and price.
Third, create your follow-upassets Short voicemail scripts
(07:18):
and SMS replies ready to go.
Next, set up your CRM.
Connect your phone and textingto your CRM so every touch is
logged, tagged CRM.
Connect your phone and textingto your CRM so every touch is
logged, tagged and assigned.
Next, define your hours andrules.
Define calling hours andescalation rules so the system
knows when to call text or bookappointments and then create
your scoreboard.
Put those six metrics on awhiteboard or a dashboard and
(07:41):
review them weekly.
So that's the speed to leadplaybook we've created with
Elevista, connect and ClarkStreet Homes.
You can stand a lot of this upwith the tools you already use,
primarily your cell phone.
You can also hire a virtualassistant to do these follow-ups
and cold calling.
Lastly, there are a lot ofservices out there that will
provide you with this technicalcapability, including Elevista.
(08:01):
Keep it simple the job is totalk to motivated sellers, ask
the right questions and book anappointment.
The job is to talk to motivatedsellers, ask the right
questions and book anappointment.
If you want my checklist andthe call script from today,
shoot me a text with the wordspeed and I'll send you this
playbook.
Link is in the show notes.
Thanks again for listening andmaking us a part of your day.
See you next time on Demo toDollars.
Thanks for listening to Demo toDollars.
(08:23):
If today's episode helped youmove one step closer to your
first or next deal, do me afavor follow us wherever you get
your podcasts so you never missa show.
I'm grateful to be part of yourjourney.
Now get out there and getcracking Bye for now.
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