How it works
From new lead to booked appointment, then over to you.
Doorlume handles the first conversation. The assistant introduces itself as your virtual assistant and writes on your team's behalf, signed with your name and brokerage. The moment a lead is ready, it steps back and hands them to you.
The four steps
Respond
A personal welcome email goes out in your name as soon as the lead arrives. Leads who opt in to texts on your form also get a short welcome text, never between 9 PM and 8 AM.
seconds for website formsQualify
One question at a time: budget, timeline, areas, pre-approval, motivation. For sellers it asks about the home and timeline, and never guesses what the home is worth.
replies in about 1–2 minutesBook
When a lead wants to meet, they get your booking link and choose an open time. The booking page only offers the hours you set.
Google booking pageHand off or follow up
Ready leads trigger a hot-lead email to you, and bookings send you a pre-call brief. Quiet leads get up to six spaced-out follow-up emails on weekdays.
you take it from hereDoorlume handles
- The first reply, in your name and brokerage
- Qualifying questions for buyers and sellers
- Sending your booking link to leads who want to meet
- Hot-lead summaries and pre-call briefs to your email
- Polite follow-ups for leads who go quiet
- Opt-outs: anyone who replies STOP isn't contacted again, even if they come back through another form
You handle
- Calling or emailing hot leads (we suggest within 5 minutes), then pausing the assistant for that lead
- Showings, listing appointments and consultations
- Confirming listing details, prices and availability
- Anything that needs a licensed agent or a lender
- Your CRM and your client relationships
A real test run, start to finish, in 72 seconds. Waiting time is sped up; the lead and agent are demo accounts.
Follow-ups and booking
Exactly how follow-ups and appointments work.
Follow-ups for quiet leads
- If a lead stops replying, they get a follow-up email after 3 days. Longer-term leads (6+ months out or just browsing) get one about every 2 weeks instead.
- Follow-ups go out on weekdays only, and stop after six.
- They stop sooner if the lead turns hot, books a time, or asks to stop.
- Each follow-up includes an easy way to opt out.
Booking and your availability
- We create a Google booking page for you and set it to the days and hours you take appointments.
- It does not read your personal calendar. If you fill a time some other way, a lead could still pick it.
- When your availability changes, tell us and we update the booking page.
- A time someone has already booked isn't offered again, and you get a pre-call brief by email for each booking.
Taking over a conversation
One reply from you, and the assistant steps back.
Every lead has an automation switch. While it's on, the assistant answers and follows up. When you take over, it stops for that lead only.
To take over
- Reply to any Doorlume email about the lead: the hot-lead alert, pre-call brief, text-chat copy or a handoff note. Any reply works, or just write PAUSE.
- Or, when you email the lead yourself, copy hello@doorlume.com and Doorlume pauses them automatically.
- Calling or texting from your own phone doesn't pause anything. Doorlume can't see those, so reply PAUSE to one of its emails as well.
While it's paused
- No more emails, texts or follow-ups go to that lead, including ones that were already waiting to send.
- If the lead writes to Doorlume, it forwards their message to you instead of answering.
- You get a confirmation showing the lead is paused and why.
To turn it back on
- Reply RESUME to any Doorlume email about that lead.
- The assistant answers their next message, and follow-ups continue on the normal schedule.
Hot leads don't pause on their own. You get an urgent alert, and the assistant keeps answering routine questions until you reply or pause.
When something isn't routine
If the assistant can't handle a lead, a person does.
These are the cases built into the system today, and who hears about each one.
| When this happens | What Doorlume does | Who's told |
|---|---|---|
| A lead asks something the assistant shouldn't answer | For example a question about a specific property's details, schools or safety, legal or lending advice, or a complaint. Sends one holding message ("…so Sarah will follow up with you directly"), pauses that lead, and emails you the reason and their message. | You (Doorlume is copied) |
| The assistant can't write a reply | Sends nothing to the lead. Emails you their message and what it knows so far, asking you to reply personally. | You (Doorlume is copied) |
| A lead who opted out writes back | Doesn't reply automatically. Forwards their message so you can decide. | You |
| A lead asks to stop | Sends one confirmation and nothing after. If they had an upcoming appointment, you're told. | You, if they'd booked |
| A forwarded Zillow or Realtor.com alert can't be read safely | Sends nothing to anyone. You get a note to check the original alert, for example when contact details are missing or don't match it. | You and Doorlume |
| A new lead has no email address | No welcome email can go out, so you get their details to contact them yourself. | You and Doorlume |
| Someone who opted out comes in again | Through any form or alert, with the same email address or phone number: Doorlume checks a separate opt-out list and sends them nothing. | You |
| Something in the system fails | An error alert goes out so it can be fixed. If the opt-out or pause check itself fails, nothing is sent. | Doorlume |
About the response times
How we measured, and what can slow it down.
What we measured
These are early results from our own test runs in September and October 2026, using test leads we sent ourselves. They aren't measurements from client traffic, and they aren't a guarantee.
- About 5–10 seconds from a website-form submission to the welcome email arriving.
- About 1–2 minutes for the assistant's reply after a test lead answered. Doorlume checks for new replies once a minute, then writes the answer.
What can make it slower
- Ordinary email delivery delays.
- Zillow and Realtor.com leads: the alert first has to be forwarded from your inbox, then it's picked up on the same once-a-minute check.
- The AI service being busy. Doorlume retries automatically and has a backup model.
- Texts that would arrive between 9 PM and 8 AM wait until 8 AM on purpose.
The handoff
You walk into every call already knowing the lead.
When a lead is ready, you get a short email: who they are, how to reach them, what they want, what they can spend, and their latest message. No digging through threads.
- Phone and email, ready to tap
- A separate pre-call brief when they book a time
- Leads that can't be handled automatically are flagged to us to follow up by hand
- Source
- Website form · 214 Oakview Dr
- Budget
- Up to $340,000
- Financing
- Pre-approved
- Timeline
- Wants to move within 60 days
- Areas
- Northwest Greensboro, Summerfield
- Showing
- Sunday, 1:00 PM
Sample summary with made-up lead details
Careful by design
Built so an AI never makes you look bad.
Fair Housing–conscious
Conversations stick to the property and the lead's stated needs. Doorlume doesn't steer, describe neighborhoods by who lives there, rate schools or safety, or ask about protected characteristics.
Doesn't make things up
It won't invent listings, prices, rates or availability, guess what a home is worth, or give legal, tax or lending advice. Questions like those are left for you.
Honest about being an assistant
The first email introduces itself as your virtual assistant, then writes in plain, friendly language as your team, with your name and brokerage.
You hear about problems
When a question needs you, the assistant sends one short holding message, stops messaging that lead, and emails you the reason. See what happens in each case.
Consent-based contact
Doorlume only contacts people who asked to be contacted. Anyone can reply STOP to opt out, and if they had an appointment, you're told.
Easy to switch off
Pause a single lead by replying to any Doorlume email about them, and reply RESUME to turn it back on. We can also switch your whole account off at any time.
Founding clients
Want to talk it through?
We're setting up a small group of founding clients in Greensboro and the Triad. Email or call, and a real person will get back to you.