More Listings, Less Risk: Importance of Accurate Phones in Real Estate Prospecting

In this article, you'll learn...

• Why accurate phone data is crucial for successful real estate prospecting

• How bad data wastes time, drains ROI, and leads to missed opportunities

• The hidden legal risks of calling incorrect or non-compliant numbers (DNC, TCPA, CCPA)

• The impact of verified data on contact rates, listing appointments, and revenue

• How The Share Group’s verification process delivers 99%+ phone accuracy

• Steps to get started with high-quality, ready-to-call seller leads today

Real estate is a contact sport – and contacts are only valuable if you can actually reach them. In today’s ultra-competitive market, having accurate phone numbers for prospects can mean the difference between landing a new listing or wasting hours on dead-end calls.

This isn’t fluff; it’s a critical business issue. Studies show that bad contact data wastes over 27% of a sales rep’s time. For an agent hungry to grow their listings, that wasted time could have been spent talking to real homeowners. Inaccurate phone data doesn’t just slow you down – it undermines your prospecting results, exposes you to legal risks, and ultimately costs you money.

The Hidden Costs of Bad Data: Wasted Time and Missed Opportunities

Bad phone data is more common than you might think. Over 62% of organizations report that 20–40% of their records are incomplete or inaccurate. In real estate, this often means calling numbers that are disconnected, wrong, or not the person you expected. Consider what that does to your productivity: if a quarter of your leads have bad numbers, you’re effectively spinning your wheels one out of every four calls. No wonder companies lose about 12% of their revenue due to inaccurate data. In fact, one analysis estimated that bad data of all kinds costs U.S. businesses over $600 billion each year.

For a real estate agent, the toll is felt in wasted hours and missed opportunities. Every minute spent dialing an invalid number is a minute not spent talking to a potential seller. If you’re paying for leads or dialer time, those are real dollars being burned on futile calls. One industry example found that if 25% of purchased leads have bad phone info, the effective cost per valid lead jumps by over 30% – an immediate hit to your ROI. And the opportunity cost is even greater: National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) data shows 66% of home sellers hire the first agent they speak with. If you’re stuck calling bad numbers, you might never even get a chance to be that first agent. The listing is already in someone else’s pocket while you’re redialing and listening to “this number has been disconnected.”

Time is of the essence in prospecting. If your data is holding you back, your competition – perhaps armed with better data – is swooping in. Simply put: inaccurate phone numbers lead to fewer conversations and fewer listings. On the flip side, accurate data ensures that more of your dials turn into actual conversations. Imagine increasing your contact rate by even a modest amount – say 10% – just by using cleaner data. That’s exactly what some agents report after switching to verified lead lists: “my contact rates are 10% better across the board” with high-quality data. More live conversations with property owners translate to more listing appointments and signed contracts.

Legal Landmines: DNC, TCPA and CCPA Compliance Risks

Wasting time isn’t the only danger of calling the wrong numbers – there are serious legal risks too. U.S. telemarketing laws impose strict rules on whom you can cold call. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Do-Not-Call (DNC) regulations carry hefty penalties for non-compliance. Even if you’re a single agent and not a big call center, you must follow these rules when prospecting:

• Do-Not-Call (DNC) Violations: It’s illegal to cold call people on the National DNC Registry (and state registries) without prior permission. The fines can be astronomical – up to $43,792 for each call that violates the DNC rules. Yes, that’s five figures per call. Even a small call campaign can add up to ruinous penalties if you accidentally dial those who’ve opted out. (Translation: calling a wrong or outdated number that happens to be on the DNC list could cost you more than the commission on a luxury home sale.)

• TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) Fines: The TCPA regulates telemarketing calls and texts, requiring consent for calls to cell phones and banning autodialed/prerecorded calls without permission. Violations carry $500 per call in statutory damages, or up to $1,500 per call if willful. Those amounts might not sound huge, but they add up fast in class-action lawsuits. There are professional “TCPA litigators” out there who deliberately trap callers – one company recently got hit with a $925 million verdict for 1.8 million illegal calls. No agent wants to risk even a fraction of that.

• CCPA Compliance: The California Consumer Privacy Act gives consumers rights over their personal data, including the right to opt out of having their information sold or shared. If you’re calling leads in California, you need to be sure their data wasn’t obtained in violation of CCPA opt-outs. Fines under CCPA run around $2,500 per violation (or about $7,500 if intentional) – again, per instance. It’s another layer of compliance to worry about when using purchased lead lists.

The bottom line is that inaccurate or un-scrubbed data isn’t just a time-waster – it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. You cannot afford to be calling wrong numbers, especially if those people have legally opted out or are known litigators. Ensuring your leads are cleaned of DNC entries, recent litigators, and privacy opt-outs is absolutely essential to prospect safely. As one compliance expert bluntly put it: fines of $500–$1,500 per call under the TCPA are “not just hollow threats” – companies of all sizes have been hit with them. Protecting yourself means using verified, compliant data for your outreach.

Accurate Data = More Conversations, Listings, and ROI

Let’s shift to the good news: when your phone data is accurate, the results can be transformative for your business. High-quality lead data connects you to real homeowners, which means more live conversations and more opportunities to win listings. Consider these facts:

• Higher Contact Rates: Phone-verified numbers dramatically improve your odds of reaching someone. Industry research finds that phone-verified mobile numbers can reach 87% accuracy rates, and advanced tools (including AI-driven validation) can verify numbers with up to 98% accuracy. Contrast that with the status quo – remember, only about 75% of typical contact data is even accurate from the start, and it degrades over time. Using verified data can easily mean 10–20% more conversations from the same call effort. That directly translates into more listing appointments. One agent who switched to verified leads noted, “9 times out of 10 I can actually get ahold of the owner of the property” – a night-and-day difference from the frustration of endless voicemails and wrong numbers.

• Better ROI on Prospecting: More conversations for every dollar (or hour) spent prospecting means a better return on your efforts. In fact, that same agent reported earning back 3× his initial investment after using The Share Group’s verified leads. When you’re not burning time on dead numbers, you can focus on nurturing real prospects. Companies that prioritize data quality see tangible gains – 66% of high-growth companies actively use tools to improve their contact data. Accurate data isn’t a cost; it’s an investment that yields more listings and commissions.

• Confidence and Speed: Working with reliable phone numbers gives you confidence to call quickly and consistently. You don’t hesitate to dial because you trust the data. That speed to lead matters, especially when a hot seller lead comes in – responding first can win you the business. With accurate data, you can prospect aggressively without fear, knowing that each call is likely to reach a real person and that you’re staying compliant.

The Share Group’s Phone Verification Process 

The Share Group is the #1 lead resource for real estate professionals for a reason: they don’t just collect leads – they qualify and scrub them with an exhaustive verification process. When you download seller leads from The Share Group, you can be confident that each contact has passed multiple quality gates. Here’s how The Share Group ensures you’re working with accurate, compliant data:

• Real-Time VoIP Call Testing: The Share Group uses real-time VoIP call testing to detect disconnected or inactive numbers before they ever get to you. In practice, this means they “ping” each phone number to verify there’s a live line on the other end.

• Engagement Scoring: Beyond simple connectivity, The Share Group analyzes live inbound and outbound activity on each number to gauge its engagement level.

• Scrubbing Against Litigator, DNC, and Opt-Out Lists: The Share Group aggressively filters out any phone numbers that could spell trouble. All leads are checked against Do Not Call registries, as well as known TCPA “litigator lists”. Additionally, The Share Group honors CCPA opt-outs.

By combining these steps – real-time validation, activity scoring, and diligent scrubbing – The Share Group delivers lead lists that are 99%+ phone-verified and 100% compliant.

How to Get Started in 5 Easy Steps

1. Create Your Free Account: Sign up on The Share Group’s platform.

2. Search Seller Leads by Market: Enter your desired locations and filters.

3. Fund Your Lead Wallet with Credits: Purchase bulk credits for flexibility and discounts.

4. Download Verified Leads: Choose and download your leads with verified phone numbers and emails.

5. Start Prospecting with Confidence: Load leads into your dialer or CRM and begin outreach.

Stop Wasting Time – Grow Your Business with Verified Seller Leads

Inaccurate data is a silent killer of real estate prospecting. It saps your productivity, hurts your bottom line, and exposes you to avoidable risks. As we’ve shown, the costs of bad phone data – in wasted time, missed listings, and legal headaches – are simply too high to ignore.

The good news is you don’t have to tolerate it. By leveraging verified, accurate leads from The Share Group, you flip the script. Instead of dead numbers, you get live connections. Instead of compliance worries, you get peace of mind. Instead of dial tones and frustration, you get conversations with real sellers and chances to win new business.

Stop wasting time on bad data and start growing your business with verified seller leads from The Share Group. Opportunity is dialing – make sure you’re calling with the right numbers. Your next listing (and many more) await.

Ready to grow your listings? Visit us at The Share Group to get targeted seller leads and take full advantage of this pivotal market moment.