As long as it takes to do its job — there is no stopwatch. The warm-up ends when you have found their conversation hot button, layered the talk past small talk, and can honestly check off the “before you move on” list. A warm-up measured in minutes is being run wrong in both directions.
The short answer
The warm-up has deliverables, not a duration. You are looking for the hot topic — the subject that lights them up — and you are layering the conversation the same way you will layer discovery: follow their answers deeper instead of hopping topics. The conversation stays about them: their home, their history in it, their plans. When those things are in hand and the room is relaxed, the warm-up is done, whether that took four minutes or fifteen.
How it runs
Rushing. The rep in a hurry skips the warm-up to “get to business” — and starts probing two guarded strangers. Discovery depth is bought in the warm-up; the questions that matter later get honest answers because the first minutes made it safe to give them.
Forcing. The opposite error is milking rapport that isn't there. The doctrine is plain: don't force rapport. Some homeowners are all business, and matching them is the warm-up. Stay positive, keep it about them, and when the checklist is honestly checked — move on.
Go deeper
The moves in this guide are graded in Spar's rounds — Round 1 is free, the full camp is $29/month. Spar before you knock.