How Dean Clark built an 8-figure team working absentee owners (+ script)

Struggling to find a lucrative listings niche in 2025? You’re not alone. Listings (of any kind) seem even more out of reach for newer agents this year. Inventory is rising, sure, but sales are still sluggish. Then there’s the economy. We went from facing mild headwinds for the real estate market to a category five crossfire hurricane, seemingly overnight. The so-called silver tsunami of baby boomers exiting the housing market is coming, but that won’t help you find listings today, next week or even six months from now.

So, how can you get listings today? Dean Clark has an answer. He found a listing niche that helped him scale his small team to $39 million in volume in 2024: converting absentee owners.

We sat down with Clark to learn the exact strategy he uses to prospect and nurture absentee owners to get listings, and how you can too.

A recession-proof listings strategy?

Before we dive into Clark’s prospecting strategy, let’s answer the question you’re probably asking yourself right now: Are absentee owners a recession-proof listings strategy? While no listings strategy is truly recession-proof, absentee owners meet several of the criteria:

• Absentee owners are often “must sell” and not “wanna sell” leads. Many absentee owners were swept up in the Airbnb craze a few years ago and purchased multiple investment properties with excessive leverage. Rising costs for insurance, maintenance, repairs, taxes, shrinking demand for short-term rentals and declining rents in formerly white-hot cities like Austin, will make many absentee owners run for the exits.
• Absentee owners are not emotionally attached to their properties. Unlike Boomers, who often cling to their homes because of cherished memories, absentee owners almost always sell based on data. For them, if owning the home doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t make sense.

But it won’t work in every market

The downside?  In cities with booming rental markets, absentee owners will often choose to hold onto their properties rather than sell them. So do your research before committing to working with absentee owners—markets where rents are flat or declining, with rising costs after a surge of investment work best.

If it won’t work in your market, check out Sean Moudry’s guide below for more hard-won advice on choosing a listings strategy in a recession:

Build an absentee owner call list

The first step to getting listings from absentee owners is to acquire leads and build a call list. Clark uses a combination of owner data from Vulcan7 and Batch Skip tracing to build his lead list. Vulcan 7 allows you to filter by owner-occupied homes, and skip tracing services such as Clear Skip can provide missing phone numbers and owner mailing addresses. 

The best part? Leads from Vulcan7 are a fraction of the cost of listing leads from companies like Zillow or Market Leader. For around $300 a month, you can get more leads than you have time to work.

Use Dean Clark’s absentee owner script

Cold calling absentee owners is no different than cold calling expired or FSBO leads. The key is to lead with value and to build momentum through constant practice. Start by role-playing with fellow agents. If you don’t have anyone local, join Phone Warriors, Clark’s Facebook Group for phone prospecting, to find a like-minded partner.

Here is the script Clark uses:

Agent: Hi, I am looking for the owner of [property address].
Lead: Yes, I am the owner. Who is this?
Agent: This is [your name] from [your brokerage] in [your farm area].

At this point in the call, Clark pauses and lets the lead speak first. He does not try to fill the silence with small talk or even ask the lead how they are. Isn’t it rude not to ask someone how they’re doing? Won’t you sound like a jerk? No. Here’s why:

“If you master the first 30 seconds of your delivery, people will talk to you. This is why I never ask my leads how they’re doing. It’s the telltale mark of a sleazy cold caller, and most people hate it. I don’t know them, they don’t know me, so why would I start our relationship with something we both know is insincere? Yes, the silence can be awkward, but letting the lead fill it is almost always a better strategy than phony small talk. You are ceding control, and that makes them more likely to want to continue the conversation.”

Lead: Okay, how can I help you?
Agent: Well, the reason for the call is I just sold your neighbor’s house around the corner at [property address]. We sold it in [time frame] and for over the asking price. I am curious to see if you have any interest in renting or selling.

Notice how Clark gives the lead options and doesn’t only pitch him on selling? This is crucial. He is detached from the outcome. Here’s Clark on why this is so critical to success:

“I’m not just leading with value, I am giving them options. The message is: I don’t care what you do. I’m here to provide this information for you. And now, I want to see if you’re open to this conversation.”

Lead: I am thinking about selling the place after my tenant’s lease ends.
Agent: When does the tenant’s lease end?
Lead: September.
Agent: Got it. Here’s what I can do for you. I will put together a market update for you that provides critical information about how homes are selling in [farm area], just so you’re armed with that information. It’s useful to know even if you end up changing your mind. Then we can talk again a few months from now. Does that sound reasonable to you?
Lead: Sure.
Agent: Great. What’s the best email address I can send the market reports to?   

Think this script will work for you? Download Clark’s entire script here:

Schedule a follow-up call and start the nurturing process

Next, Clark schedules a follow-up call for 90-100 days before the lease ends. This is when most absentee owners start thinking about how or if they want to sell.

To stay top of mind, Clark recommends emailing market reports twice per month. You can put together market reports manually or use a service like Altos. Unlike other real estate market report companies that only provide monthly data, Altos creates engaging weekly reports for your farm area. Even better, Altos’ software sends automated reports on your behalf and offers crucial analytics to track how your leads are engaging with them. Get your first report for free below.

Your turn

Know an agent who’s thriving despite the odds and has actionable insights to share? We’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us here: [email protected].

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