“Blasted 1,800 LOIs to listed inventory in week one. Got 31 agent replies and locked up a $28K assignment off the third one. I was cold-calling for this exact result for two years.”
SMS Outreach
SMS Outreach: 90% Open Rates, Done Compliantly
SMS outreach sends short text-message campaigns to prospect lists, with open rates near 90% and replies in minutes instead of days. The channel is regulated: US senders must register A2P 10DLC campaigns with carriers and honor opt-outs. BILT handles registration, pacing, and compliance automatically — and its AI works every reply toward a conversation.
No channel gets read like SMS. The same message that sits unopened in an email inbox for days gets seen in minutes as a text — which is exactly why carriers regulate the channel hard.
Doing SMS right means A2P registration, conservative pacing, instant opt-out handling, and copy that reads like a person. BILT bakes all four in, because one carrier violation can kill the whole channel for your business.
Frequently asked
Is cold SMS legal?
It's regulated, not banned. US senders need A2P 10DLC campaign registration, prior-consent rules vary by use case under the TCPA, and opt-outs must be honored immediately. Compliant SMS is a powerful channel; non-compliant SMS is a lawsuit.
What is A2P 10DLC?
Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code — the carrier registration system for businesses texting from standard phone numbers. You register your brand and campaign use case; carriers approve and assign throughput. Unregistered traffic gets filtered.
What open and reply rates does SMS get?
Industry-wide, SMS open rates run ~90%+ with most reads inside 3 minutes. Reply rates on well-targeted cold lists commonly run 5–15% — an order of magnitude above cold email — which is why the channel rewards tight targeting over volume.
How long should a cold SMS be?
One segment — 160 characters or less. State who you are, why you're texting this specific person, and ask one question. Links in a first message hurt deliverability; earn the link in the reply thread.
Can BILT run SMS and email in the same sequence?
Yes — multi-channel sequences are the default. A typical cadence opens with email, escalates to SMS for non-openers, and lets AI follow-up continue in whichever channel the prospect responds.
Deep dives
Go deeper on SMS Outreach
A2P 10DLC Registration, Step by Step
Brand, campaign, and use-case registration without the rejections.
Cold SMS Templates That Get Replies
One-segment openers by industry and use case.
The SMS Compliance Checklist
TCPA, quiet hours, opt-outs, and record-keeping.
Why SMS Gets ~90% Open Rates
The ~90% open rate is real but only means seen, not answered. What it does and doesn't buy.
Cold SMS vs Cold Calling
Cost-per-conversation, scale, speed, and compliance compared — and where each wins.
TCPA Compliance for Real Estate SMS
Consent, opt-outs, quiet hours, and per-message penalties investors need to text legally.
SMS Drip Sequences That Convert
Timing, message roles, and compliant pacing for drips where most replies land on touch 2-3.
Opt-Outs and Quiet Hours, Done Right
Honor STOP instantly and respect local quiet hours so one slip doesn't kill your channel.
Ringless Voicemail vs SMS
Reply path, speed, and contested RVM legal footing compared for real estate outreach.
SMS Marketing for Real Estate Investors
Sourcing sellers and activating buyers via text at scale, compliantly under TCPA + 10DLC.
SMS Response Rates
SMS gets read near 90% — but the reply rate is the number that pays. What's realistic on cold lists.
Business Texting Platform: What to Look For
A2P 10DLC registration, two-way inboxes, opt-out handling, and follow-up — what matters.
MMS vs SMS Marketing
When the picture earns its higher cost per send in real-estate outreach, and when it doesn't.
Two-Way Texting for Sales
Route replies fast, blend AI and humans, and turn a text reply into a booked call.
SMS Keyword Campaigns
Text-to-opt-in is the cleanest consent you can get — how to build a list that replies.
SMS vs Email for Real Estate
Which channel for which job — and how the two win together.
Related systems
// From operators running it
“The AI follow-up is the part nobody believes until they see it. A seller replied at 11pm, the machine handled four messages, and I woke up to a booked appointment on my calendar.”
“Fired my $3K/mo cold-calling VA team. BILT sends more offers in a day than they made dials in a week, and the replies actually come from people who want to sell.”