Unpopular Opinion: Cold Calling Is a Terrible Way to Start Wholesaling

OP

Real Estate Coach · Derry, NH · Member since 2016 · 283 posts · 217 votes

@Michael K Gallagher exactly. All marketing works, but find one thing and stick with it to it shows results but make sure it’s something you will realistically stick to.

Great comment and experience share. Thank you

Abe Sanchez

Wholesaler · Manchester, NH · Member since 2026 · 2 posts · 0 votes

Hey Jeremy,

Thanks for this post. As someone newer to wholesaling who has manned the phone for hours on end with little to show for it, this hits home. It's not the rejection that hurt most—it's the opportunity cost of time spent shackled to the phone when another model might work better.

I agree it seems to work extremely well for some, especially those with proper systems to handle high call volumes daily. I'm still working toward closing my first deal and have had some success generating leads via Driving for Dollars, and software such as DealMachine, but as a one-man operation with a full-time job in Boston, cold calling myself isn't viable.

Definitely interested in your thoughts on the benefits of building an operation with a "systems first" mentality—helping the owner (me) focus on talking to those interested sellers, building those impactful relationships, and locking up contracts—versus the traditional "grind it all out, then implement a system" approach.

Thanks,
Abe

OP

Real Estate Coach · Derry, NH · Member since 2016 · 283 posts · 217 votes

Hey @Abe Sanchez,

When it comes to cold outreach, it’s very much a high volume game. You’ll need to generate as many as 50-75 leads as a newbie to get a deal closed on average. How many calls would it take to achieve that? That’s grind that’s tough. Your options are cold calling, direct mail or texting to get similar results. Costs and effort vary between marketing channels. Especially in a very tough market like Boston. PPL is another option but can be costly in this market too. There’s no easy way to achieve results unfortunately. I think the best bang for buck in my opinion is texting. But it could still take sending many texts daily for months before that first deal closes.

1 Reply

Abe Sanchez
Wholesaler · Manchester, NH · Member since 2026 · 2 posts · 0 votes
8mo
Quote from @Jeremy Beland:

Hey @Abe Sanchez,
When it comes to cold outreach, it’s very much a high volume game. You’ll need to generate as many as 50-75 leads as a newbie to get a deal closed on average. How many calls would it take to achieve that? That’s grind that’s tough. Your options are cold calling, direct mail or texting to get similar results. Costs and effort vary between marketing channels. Especially in a very tough market like Boston. PPL is another option but can be costly in this market too. There’s no easy way to achieve results unfortunately. I think the best bang for buck in my opinion is texting. But it could still take sending many texts daily for months before that first deal closes.

Hey Jeremy,

Thank you for getting back to me, your feedback gave me a lot of clarity on how to plan and prepare going forward to close my first deal. I’m wholesaling out of Manchester, NH, and my long‑term goal is to build this into a full operation and eventually transition out of property management into real estate investing full time.

Staying on topic, you mentioned that if you’re hiring callers, it becomes a different conversation, which makes sense since they handle that initial screening. That said, I’m curious how you think about the added complexity for beginners, because even with callers, wouldn't you still need to pull lists, manage tools, and stay on top of compliance when you’re running an operation?

Interested to hear your take on where that line is between “good systems” and “unnecessary complexity” for someone just starting out.

Thanks!
0 Reply

Sara Joe

Specialist · Member since 2025 · 82 posts · 31 votes

Quote from @Jeremy Beland:

This might ruffle some feathers, but I think a lot of new investors need to hear this.

Cold calling is a terrible way to start this business.

Not because it never works — it clearly does for many people.
But because it stacks the odds against beginners.

When you cold call, most of your day looks like this:

Hang-ups
Voicemails
Rejection
Angry homeowners asking how you got their number

That doesn’t build momentum. It trains you to expect “no.”
Early on, confidence and momentum matter more than thick skin.

People often say cold calling is how you “pay your dues.”
That it builds character. That it makes you a better closer.

It sounds good — but in practice, I don’t think it helps most beginners succeed faster.

There’s also the cost side that gets ignored.

Cold calling isn’t free if you’re doing it properly:

Data
Skip tracing
Dialers
Phone numbers
Software

You’re easily spending a few hundred dollars per month — plus a massive amount of time.

Now compare that to pay-per-lead or PPC style marketing.

Are they perfect? No.
Are the numbers always as clean as people claim? Also no.

But you’re speaking with people who already raised their hand.
People who want to have a conversation.
People who are open to solving a problem.

That accelerates learning.

You get better at:

Talking to sellers
Understanding motivation
Solving real problems
Structuring real deals

Instead of spending most of your time fighting for someone to stay on the phone.

At the end of the day, this business pays you for:

Talking to sellers
Going on appointments
Building relationships
Locking up contracts

Everything else is mostly busy work.
Busy work feels productive — but it doesn’t generate revenue.

Cold calling also adds complexity beginners don’t need:

List pulling
System setup
Tool management
Compliance concerns
Constant rejection management

You’re already learning contracts, numbers, negotiation, and market dynamics.
Why make it harder?

I’m not saying cold calling never works.

If you’re established, have capital, or are hiring callers — that’s a different conversation.

But if you’re brand new and trying to bootstrap everything for free, I think this mindset holds people back more than it helps.

In my own experience, the biggest results came when I focused on:

One lead source
Getting better at real conversations
Improving follow-up and closing skills

The method mattered less than the skill.

Learning how to talk to sellers and solve problems created momentum — not grinding for the sake of grinding.

Struggle doesn’t automatically make you better.
Sometimes it just makes success take longer.

Curious where others land on this.

If you’re newer:

What lead source helped you gain traction fastest?

If you’re experienced:

Do you still believe cold calling is the best starting point?

Looking forward to hearing different perspectives.

Strong take — and honestly, this needs to be said more often.

Cold calling doesn’t just test beginners, it conditions them.
And most of the time, it conditions them to associate real estate with rejection, frustration, and noise — not progress.

Early momentum isn’t a “soft” thing. It’s fuel.
Confidence compounds faster than thick skin ever will.

What rarely gets discussed is opportunity cost.
Hours spent fighting to keep someone on the phone could’ve been spent learning how to actually:
• diagnose motivation
• structure solutions
• follow up like a pro
• move deals forward

Beginners don’t fail because they didn’t suffer enough.
They fail because they practiced the wrong reps.

Talking to people who want to talk accelerates skill acquisition. Period.

Cold calling can work — but it’s not a rite of passage.
It’s a tool. And tools should match the user’s level.

Appreciate you calling this out.

Drew SygitBusiness Member

Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes

[email protected]248-209-6824

What actually works best is developing your own network of family, friends and acquaintences.

Social media makes it so easy to tap your personal network and develop it.

Unfortunately, many are afraid to approach their network - which often means you're NOT proud of what you are doing or lack confidence and don't want to screw someone you know over. But, you're fine doing so to a stranger:(

Logical Property Management4.9460 Reviews

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Chris SeveneyBusiness Member

Moderator

Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes

Quote from @Jeremy Beland:

This might ruffle some feathers, but I think a lot of new investors need to hear this.

Cold calling is a terrible way to start this business.

Not because it never works — it clearly does for many people.
But because it stacks the odds against beginners.

When you cold call, most of your day looks like this:

Hang-ups
Voicemails
Rejection
Angry homeowners asking how you got their number

That doesn’t build momentum. It trains you to expect “no.”
Early on, confidence and momentum matter more than thick skin.

People often say cold calling is how you “pay your dues.”
That it builds character. That it makes you a better closer.

It sounds good — but in practice, I don’t think it helps most beginners succeed faster.

There’s also the cost side that gets ignored.

Cold calling isn’t free if you’re doing it properly:

Data
Skip tracing
Dialers
Phone numbers
Software

You’re easily spending a few hundred dollars per month — plus a massive amount of time.

Now compare that to pay-per-lead or PPC style marketing.

Are they perfect? No.
Are the numbers always as clean as people claim? Also no.

But you’re speaking with people who already raised their hand.
People who want to have a conversation.
People who are open to solving a problem.

That accelerates learning.

You get better at:

Talking to sellers
Understanding motivation
Solving real problems
Structuring real deals

Instead of spending most of your time fighting for someone to stay on the phone.

At the end of the day, this business pays you for:

Talking to sellers
Going on appointments
Building relationships
Locking up contracts

Everything else is mostly busy work.
Busy work feels productive — but it doesn’t generate revenue.

Cold calling also adds complexity beginners don’t need:

List pulling
System setup
Tool management
Compliance concerns
Constant rejection management

You’re already learning contracts, numbers, negotiation, and market dynamics.
Why make it harder?

I’m not saying cold calling never works.

If you’re established, have capital, or are hiring callers — that’s a different conversation.

But if you’re brand new and trying to bootstrap everything for free, I think this mindset holds people back more than it helps.

In my own experience, the biggest results came when I focused on:

One lead source
Getting better at real conversations
Improving follow-up and closing skills

The method mattered less than the skill.

Learning how to talk to sellers and solve problems created momentum — not grinding for the sake of grinding.

Struggle doesn’t automatically make you better.
Sometimes it just makes success take longer.

Curious where others land on this.

If you’re newer:

What lead source helped you gain traction fastest?

If you’re experienced:

Do you still believe cold calling is the best starting point?

Looking forward to hearing different perspectives.

We raise capital and I am 100% against cold calling to target investors. We believe it is a waste of time. For wholesaling, I also think its not the best use of time or money and believe there are other marketing strategies that work, but in most markets its spending big $ on flyers and ads which is tough to compete against the big firms, which is why there are a lot of people who claim to be wholesalers but most are never closing deals.

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1 Reply

OP

Real Estate Coach · Derry, NH · Member since 2016 · 283 posts · 217 votes

@Chris Seveney 100% on that last part. It can work but it’s very hard. It’s better to outsource it as a marketing channel.

Abdallah Raouf

Member since 2025 · 4 posts · 1 vote

I might be a little biased since I run a cold calling company but a little insight from what I've seen since I launched my company is that most famous PPL companies actually use cold callers as a lead source and split the profit with them, so if you were to hire a VA that generates you 60 leads per month and they charge you anywhere from $1k - $1.5k/month then you are saving money instead of paying over 200 dollars on average per lead (60 leads would cost you $12k)

Bo SmithPro Member

Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 1k+ posts · 373 votes

Exactly - you're the connector between motivated sellers and cash buyers. Most people don't realize the real skill is building that buyer list first. I always tell new wholesalers: find 10 solid buyers before you even look for your first deal. What's your process for vetting buyers?

OP

Real Estate Coach · Derry, NH · Member since 2016 · 283 posts · 217 votes

I don’t believe in vetting buyers until offers come in @Bo Smith

We just build massive cash buyers lists and create bidding wars with our properties as a result of it

Clark Thornton

Property Manager · Orlando, FL · Member since 2025 · 110 posts · 51 votes

Preface to my remarks: I am not a wholesaler, I have never been a wholesaler, I have never made cold calls to property owners to find sellers.

That said, in a past venture totally unrelated to real estate, I built a sales engine that was doing over $2 mil a year in sales, and 90% of our clients were sourced from targeted cold outreach that I did.

I did not emerge from the womb with a razor sharp sales skillset. I taught myself over a the course of several years.

Cold calling is a different skillset than closing. Ultimately, success in cold calling comes down to two big skills: 1) Sounding different than every other sales call. "Hi my name is Clark Thornton from XYZ business. The reason for my call..." = immediate hang up. 2) Creating curiosity that makes people interested to see what you're even talking about.

Everyone with a phone has been conditioned to have a strong knee jerk aversion to a sales call. Good cold outbound requires getting around the mental "sales filter" that we all screen calls from unknown numbers through.

So I just feel that "cold calling is inefficient" might be a bit reductive. The frame I would probably take instead is "cold calling a skill, and a difficult skill to master. Getting really skilled at cold calling is a highly challenging, but if you seriously invest in developing your own skillset, you can crush it with cold outbound...because you don't sound like 'just another salesperson.'"

2 Reply

Don KonipolBusiness Member

Investor · The Woodlands TX / Avon, CT · Member since 2009 · 6k+ posts · 10k+ votes

Quote from @Jeremy Beland:

This might ruffle some feathers, but I think a lot of new investors need to hear this.

Cold calling is a terrible way to start this business.

Not because it never works — it clearly does for many people.
But because it stacks the odds against beginners.

When you cold call, most of your day looks like this:

Hang-ups
Voicemails
Rejection
Angry homeowners asking how you got their number

That doesn’t build momentum. It trains you to expect “no.”
Early on, confidence and momentum matter more than thick skin.

People often say cold calling is how you “pay your dues.”
That it builds character. That it makes you a better closer.

It sounds good — but in practice, I don’t think it helps most beginners succeed faster.

There’s also the cost side that gets ignored.

Cold calling isn’t free if you’re doing it properly:

Data
Skip tracing
Dialers
Phone numbers
Software

You’re easily spending a few hundred dollars per month — plus a massive amount of time.

Now compare that to pay-per-lead or PPC style marketing.

Are they perfect? No.
Are the numbers always as clean as people claim? Also no.

But you’re speaking with people who already raised their hand.
People who want to have a conversation.
People who are open to solving a problem.

That accelerates learning.

You get better at:

Talking to sellers
Understanding motivation
Solving real problems
Structuring real deals

Instead of spending most of your time fighting for someone to stay on the phone.

At the end of the day, this business pays you for:

Talking to sellers
Going on appointments
Building relationships
Locking up contracts

Everything else is mostly busy work.
Busy work feels productive — but it doesn’t generate revenue.

Cold calling also adds complexity beginners don’t need:

List pulling
System setup
Tool management
Compliance concerns
Constant rejection management

You’re already learning contracts, numbers, negotiation, and market dynamics.
Why make it harder?

I’m not saying cold calling never works.

If you’re established, have capital, or are hiring callers — that’s a different conversation.

But if you’re brand new and trying to bootstrap everything for free, I think this mindset holds people back more than it helps.

In my own experience, the biggest results came when I focused on:

One lead source
Getting better at real conversations
Improving follow-up and closing skills

The method mattered less than the skill.

Learning how to talk to sellers and solve problems created momentum — not grinding for the sake of grinding.

Struggle doesn’t automatically make you better.
Sometimes it just makes success take longer.

Curious where others land on this.

If you’re newer:

What lead source helped you gain traction fastest?

If you’re experienced:

Do you still believe cold calling is the best starting point?

Looking forward to hearing different perspectives.

Here’s my take. Would I myself cold call (I did when I started in real estate 48 years ago)? No. Would I hire cold callers IF that “worked” financially? Yes.

Private Mortgage Financing Partners, LLC

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OP

Real Estate Coach · Derry, NH · Member since 2016 · 283 posts · 217 votes

@Don Konipol I agree

1 Reply

Martin Adams

Member since 2026 · 24 posts · 11 votes

Quote from @Jeremy Beland:

This might ruffle some feathers, but I think a lot of new investors need to hear this.

Cold calling is a terrible way to start this business.

Not because it never works — it clearly does for many people.
But because it stacks the odds against beginners.

When you cold call, most of your day looks like this:

Hang-ups
Voicemails
Rejection
Angry homeowners asking how you got their number

That doesn’t build momentum. It trains you to expect “no.”
Early on, confidence and momentum matter more than thick skin.

People often say cold calling is how you “pay your dues.”
That it builds character. That it makes you a better closer.

It sounds good — but in practice, I don’t think it helps most beginners succeed faster.

There’s also the cost side that gets ignored.

Cold calling isn’t free if you’re doing it properly:

Data
Skip tracing
Dialers
Phone numbers
Software

You’re easily spending a few hundred dollars per month — plus a massive amount of time.

Now compare that to pay-per-lead or PPC style marketing.

Are they perfect? No.
Are the numbers always as clean as people claim? Also no.

But you’re speaking with people who already raised their hand.
People who want to have a conversation.
People who are open to solving a problem.

That accelerates learning.

You get better at:

Talking to sellers
Understanding motivation
Solving real problems
Structuring real deals

Instead of spending most of your time fighting for someone to stay on the phone.

At the end of the day, this business pays you for:

Talking to sellers
Going on appointments
Building relationships
Locking up contracts

Everything else is mostly busy work.
Busy work feels productive — but it doesn’t generate revenue.

Cold calling also adds complexity beginners don’t need:

List pulling
System setup
Tool management
Compliance concerns
Constant rejection management

You’re already learning contracts, numbers, negotiation, and market dynamics.
Why make it harder?

I’m not saying cold calling never works.

If you’re established, have capital, or are hiring callers — that’s a different conversation.

But if you’re brand new and trying to bootstrap everything for free, I think this mindset holds people back more than it helps.

In my own experience, the biggest results came when I focused on:

One lead source
Getting better at real conversations
Improving follow-up and closing skills

The method mattered less than the skill.

Learning how to talk to sellers and solve problems created momentum — not grinding for the sake of grinding.

Struggle doesn’t automatically make you better.
Sometimes it just makes success take longer.

Curious where others land on this.

If you’re newer:

What lead source helped you gain traction fastest?

If you’re experienced:

Do you still believe cold calling is the best starting point?

Looking forward to hearing different perspectives.

Jeremy, I think you make a strong case here. Cold calling definitely works for some, but you’re right — for beginners it often means spending most of the day dealing with rejection instead of building confidence.

In my own experience, I tested using an international cold-calling team. It saved a lot of money and time compared to building a local team, but even then the challenge was consistency and quality of leads. At the end of the day, talking to sellers who already raised their hand is where momentum really comes from.
Curious — do you think outsourcing cold calling changes the equation, or do you still see pay-per-lead/PPC as the faster way to build traction?

OP

Real Estate Coach · Derry, NH · Member since 2016 · 283 posts · 217 votes

@Martin Adams I love PPC the best but both PPC and PPL will almost always out perform cold calling. I don’t mind outsourcing cold calling to a company but it’s still a lot of time on not so great leads but it’s a more affordable way to get started compared to PPC

Martin Adams
Member since 2026 · 24 posts · 11 votes
8mo

i completely agree with you , the biggest challenge in markets now is not closing deals but to get high quality prequalified consistent leads , and that's my main focus right now , building an entire system not only for lead generation (which you can get online easily even for cheap) but an entire system proven to guarantee good amount of prequalified leads combine cold calling with List pulling, dialer setup, skip tracing, SMS outreach , with trained enough team you can make sure the leads are mostly off market , sellers interested to sell , Asking price is lower than market price , Motivation ,Condition . Time line to sell . that's what it make it worthwhile especially if you won't waste your time to do it yourself rather focusing in closing your deals instead of chasing those leads and doing all these tasks that's where it comes in play especially if its cost efficient with high return rate , what do you think ?
0 Reply

Bo SmithPro Member

Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 1k+ posts · 373 votes

Totally agree. Cold calling burns through beginners because they don't have systems for follow-up yet. Most newbies make 50 calls, get 2 callbacks, then lose both leads because they didn't track or follow up properly. Direct mail or driving for dollars gives you more time to build those systems first. What's been your experience with beginners who jumped straight into cold calling?