How to Beat Cold Call Reluctance in Commercial Real Estate
In commercial real estate agency, you will find that many commercial property agents develop a degree of call reluctance and avoid the prospecting process accordingly. Over time this one single fact will have a major negative impact on their market share with new listings.
The way to beat call reluctance is to start the process and get used to it. Making prospecting calls is a real skill that requires a positive mindset and an action plan. Without either the process is hard.
Many agents find it hard to stay positive in the process of making calls when they are not finding prospects to talk to. The issue here is that they have not made enough calls and their dialogue needs practice.
So the message here is this:
- To make cold calling work for you, create some systems of dialogue that you can use professionally and correctly. Practice your scripts. Become comfortable with asking questions about the client or prospects property situation.
- An action plan to support you means that you must make the calls every day at the same time. Get used to the calling requirements and what you have to say.
- When you connect with the right people today, they may not have an immediate need for your services. You should however stay in contact for the time and the situation where they do need help. The cycle of activity in commercial real estate is quite long and it can be years before a prospect will be taking action on a property issue.
When you understand the real value that you bring to the property market, the calling process is a lot easier. You are really just identifying people that you can help. In other words you are not pitching your services. There is not much of a place for pitching to a client or prospect if you don’t know about their property situation or need.
So who do you call? It is a progressive process. Over time you connect with all of these groups:
- Property owners
- Property investors
- Local business owners
- Tenants
- Accountants
- Solicitors
- Property developers
- Franchise groups
From this list you will find opportunity. It is just a matter of adjusting your dialogue to the prospects situation and current business or investment requirements. Be flexible to the challenges and opportunities of leasing, sales, and property management. Be prepared to talk about all of them as required with your prospects.
