Blueprint for Successful Cold Calling in Real Estate
In commercial real estate brokerage, and as an agent, you should make plenty of cold calls to business people and investors. It is a daily event and should be firmly placed in your diary as something you do at the start of each day.
A professional approach is the best way to make the calls. First, have a base plan to work to and converse through. Remember that not all people want to talk to you, which is fine.
Call Reluctance
Plenty of agents will not make many if any outbound calls. It is a common problem centred on a lack of skills, practice, and systems.
What happens out there? ‘Average’ agents, don’t make enough calls. ‘Top’ agents make plenty of calls, and they do that every day in volume.
That being said, there is a formula here. Outbound telephone calls are the quickest and most effective way to create new business leads and or meetings in real estate.
If you want to grow your real estate business faster, and with plenty of new people, use the telephone to build your client list and profile. Make the calls. Here is how.
Outline of a Cold Call
Create real estate conversations, ask questions, provide information, and if the other person has no need or interest, you move on to the next call.
- Introduction – Tell them who you are and where you are from. Connect in a professional way. Be polite. They do have a choice as to whether they will continue to listen to what you have to say.
- Show courtesy by asking for permission to talk – You never know the other person’s situation, and they may not have the time to speak to you.
- Explain yourself logically – Give them a simple reason for the call. That reason should be centred on the other person (not yourself). For example, to see if they have any particular property needs or interests where you can help them. Again, it is a simple question.
- The key follow-up question – Can you provide them with any updates on property activity in the area or locally?
- Qualify the person – If they want to talk further, start qualifying them on the telephone to understand property facts and details of what they want and when they want it. Again, the target is to know if their requirement matches your services and skills.
- Close with a call to action – The final step of the process is to ask for a meeting. If they are genuine, they will meet with you so you can create a better connection and understanding of their situation.
Simple strategies like this allow you to make lots of professional cold calls. A good volume of calls is part of the process. You should be able to make 40 to 50 outbound calls per day to people you have yet to speak with.
Do Your Research First
To optimise your outbound call process, you can research that list the night before.
Don’t think that everyone you talk to will want to talk about property. If the ‘signs’ of a property need or interest are not in the conversation, then thank them for talking and move to the next call.
As a notable ‘golden rule’, do not let people waste your time, as some will try. Instead, ask questions, qualify, agree to the next step, or move on. It is a straightforward new business formula. You only meet with people who match your services and solutions; don’t set up meetings with every person you talk to.
A Guide to Call Numbers
As a final comment here, you will not be able to connect with 40 people each time you make the calls. On average, you are likely to connect with only 15 to 20 people. Log the others for a call back at another time.
Of that group you connect with, some people will not have a need or interest in the property, but 1 or 2 could allow you to talk further and move into the next stage of commercial real estate help and assistance. That will be a meeting.
So the formula here is simple for making outbound cold calls in real estate. Build your property business around that logic and grow your connections. Every person you talk to is an opportunity to understand and help. You are the solution provider. That can give you the market edge in real estate.
