The text should name the property the person called about, link the listing, say when the agent will call back, and ask for a name and a good time to talk, with no promotion and no pressure. GoHighLevel's Missed Call Text Back sends it the moment the call goes unanswered. The bottom line: the caller just asked about a specific home, so the message should answer that request and nothing else, and the sign number should be unique to each listing so the text can say which one.
Why the sign caller needs a fast reply
NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that most buyers interview only one agent: 67 percent of first time buyers and 76 percent of repeat buyers. The same profile reports that 2 percent used contact information from a For Sale or Open House sign to find their agent, so the caller on a sign is a small but real source, and an agent who is first to answer is often the only agent they talk to. The Harvard Business Review study of 1.25 million web leads found that firms that contacted a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as firms that waited longer. It studied web leads across many industries, not real estate, so treat it as a direction.
The text
| Include | Leave out |
|---|---|
| The street address or the listing name the person called about | Pricing claims, or any neighborhood description |
| A link to the listing page with photos and details | Another agent's listings |
| When you will call back, or a link to book a showing | An offer, a coupon, or a newsletter signup |
| A request for a name and a good time to talk | A request for financial details by text |
| Reply STOP to stop messages | Anything that implies you represent them before they agree |
Sample wording
Sample: Thanks for calling about 123 Main Street. I am with a client right now and will call you back by 6 p.m. Here is the listing: [link]. Reply with your name and a good time to talk, or book a showing here: [link]. Reply STOP to stop messages.
The consent and Do Not Call rules
The National Association of REALTORS says the FCC's one to one consent rule was vacated, that real estate professionals are not required to get one to one consent, and that they must still follow the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Do Not Call Registry. Texts count as calls, and the Registry's protections extend to texts. Law firm and vendor summaries describe the established business relationship exception as 18 months after a transaction and 3 months after a consumer's inquiry, note that some states set shorter windows, and put statutory damages at $500 per call or text, up to $1,500 for willful violations. A person who asks to stop must be added to the agent's own do not call list, and an inquiry to another agent or a public record search does not create a relationship with you. Rules differ by state, and one summary reports that Washington has no established business relationship exemption for residential contacts and that Pennsylvania rewrites its telemarketing statute effective October 18, 2026, so check your state with counsel.
A reply to a person who just called about one listing is an answer to their inquiry, and the 3 month inquiry window described above gives a short period to follow up, but anything that looks like marketing about other properties or services needs written consent. Keep the first text strictly about the call. A2P registration is separate and required for business texting from a standard number.
Build it in GoHighLevel
GoHighLevel's help pages describe Missed Call Text Back as a setting on a phone number, and a third party guide describes call tracking number pools, which is how a practice can assign a different number to each source.
- Buy a tracking number for each active listing, or one per sign type if you have many, and put it on the sign and the listing page.
- Complete A2P brand and campaign registration.
- Open the number's settings, turn on Missed Call Text Back, and write the text above with the address as a custom value.
- Turn on Call Connect so a call that reaches voicemail is not counted as answered.
- Build a workflow with the Call Details trigger for missed inbound calls on each listing number that creates a callback task due in 30 minutes and tags the contact with the property.
- Turn on Stop on Response so a reply goes to you, and add an opt out workflow for the stop words.
- Release or reuse the number when the listing sells.
Worked example
For example, an agent with 6 active listings gets 30 sign calls a month and misses 10 of them while showing homes. If the text brings 6 of those 10 callers into a conversation, that is 6 contacts (10 times 0.6) who might otherwise have called the next agent.
Mistakes to avoid
- One number for every sign. The text cannot name the property.
- Adding a promotion. That becomes marketing.
- Describing the neighborhood. Stick to the property facts.
- Ignoring a STOP. Add the number to your do not call list at once.
How this was handled before
The agent's cell phone number was on the sign, and a missed call meant a voicemail the agent returned that evening. Call tracking numbers and automatic texts give the caller a link to the listing while they are still looking at the house.
What to measure after launch
Track sign calls, missed calls, replies to the text, and callbacks within the hour. Compare sign numbers by listing to see which signs produce calls.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Check your state's texting and Do Not Call rules with your broker's counsel, and keep the text limited to the caller's own inquiry. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
Can an agent text someone who called a listing sign number?
A short reply about the listing they asked about answers their inquiry. Keep it free of marketing, honor a STOP, and check your state's rules.
How long does an inquiry create a business relationship?
Law firm summaries of the federal Do Not Call rules describe 3 months after an inquiry and 18 months after a transaction, with some states shorter.
Do real estate texts need A2P registration?
Yes, for business texting from a standard number, according to GoHighLevel's help portal and carrier guides.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.