Dealing with Cold Feet in Cold Calling

It is a fact that many commercial real estate agents struggle with making cold calls.  They suffer from a dose of ‘call reluctance’ and get ‘cold feet’ in the process.  In many respects they avoid the issue and stop making calls.  That avoidance issue has a major impact on their ability to find listings and earn commissions.

So why does all this happen?  It is largely due to the ‘fear factor’ and a lack of organisation.  Whilst the telephone is a convenient business tool, you do need to prepare for the call process.  Preparation for calls does require effort and research.  Every night the preparation needs to happen so the agent or salesperson has more people to connect with the next day.

It should be said that it can be difficult to find property investors to talk to.  On that basis you should start your calls in reasonable volume by talking to business owners from the business telephone book.  Find out what they have by way of property interests and if they own or lease the property in which they are located.  Good questions will help you set up a relevant conversation.

Now let’s go back to the issue of finding property investors to call.  They are harder to find because they are hidden behind property ownership structures and company names.  Here is a little secret for you; if you list and market ‘quality’ investment property in the local area you will soon find these investors calling and talking to you direct.  That is where your database is really important and similarly so the ongoing contact process.  If you comprehensively market ‘quality’ property you will find more of the best property owners in the local area.

So how can you deal with ‘cold feet’ in cold call prospecting?  Here are some ideas:

1. You can only deal with it by taking action in calling.  The first calls that you make will be difficult but they will improve with time and effort.  That’s why you should make many calls per day to business people; you are refining your skills in calling, and your conversational ability on the telephone will improve.
2. Practice the process of making the calls.  Every morning when you first arise, read your call script so it becomes a convenient conversation.  Get a friend to run you through the call conversation every few days, and as part of that process they can challenge you with uncommon responses.  Don’t pitch in making outbound calls.  Create relevant conversations.
3. As another tip when it comes to making calls to fresh prospects and new contacts, you can stand up as part of the call process.  This ‘standing’ process helps you with your conversational ability. It’s a known fact that ‘standing’ whilst talking on the telephone is a real advantage.  It will help you in making more outbound cold calls.

These three simple strategies can help you remove the ‘reluctance’ process from prospecting in commercial real estate.  That will then help you in a major way when it comes to building your market share as a top agent.