How to Improve Cold Calling Numbers in Commercial Real Estate
Cold calling remains one of the most important parts of the commercial real estate business. The telephone is the best way to reach out to new people on a daily basis. The call process can help you as an agent get meetings with the right people in the local area.
If you are just starting in the commercial real estate industry, start the prospecting and cold calling process as soon as you can. In saying that you will find the following is the case:
- Making lots of calls is a specific skill that needs constant and ongoing practice at a personal level.
- A script will help you get started when you don’t know what to say.
- Research is a critical part of the prospecting and new business generation process.
If you are going to call new people you really do need a reason and a focus of the conversation; those things can be established in the planning side of the business.
Most of the people you talk to will not want to share too much information across the telephone in the first call contact so your conversational approach should be one of introduction and local property information. Understand that you are not pushing or selling anything; you are just seeing if you can help them with property matters.
Important Cold Calling Facts
Here are some other important facts in making these calls:
- Some people will be hard to get to and talk to so you may need to send a letter to them before you make your call.
- Spend at least 3 hours in prospecting activity every day. Grow your business through good property research and lead identification. Part of that can be a systemised coverage of the local area on a street by street basis. Many agents will struggle with this time requirement and get distracted on daily tasks. You can make choices here, but remember that new business is really the only thing that matters in our industry. Without the new business, you can do nothing with clients, marketing, or deal generation.
- Understand what a client or prospect looks like and sounds like to you. They will be connected to particular properties and locations. The research that you do into your area will help you connect with the right people in the right way.
- Stay within your property type and business focus. It is hard to be an expert in every property type across your area and it is virtually impossible to maintain a knowledge of all the deals and results in sales and leasing, so drill down into a property segment in your target zone.
It is not too hard to grow your commercial real estate business as an agent, but it does take directed action and persistence. On that basis set your prospecting and cold calling plan in motion.
