Telephone Prospecting Tips for Commercial Property Agents

In commercial real estate prospecting, momentum in calling is really important.  For that reason don’t hang-up when making the outbound calls.  In simple terms, do not put down the receiver.  Keep it in your hand and make more calls.  Let one call move you to the next call.

Yes, I know that you must terminate one call signal to move to the next call, but don’t put down the telephone receiver.  Keep up your call momentum.  Have a simple call contact sheet in front of you where you can capture any critical contact information or actions to be taken at a later time.

One common problem when cold call or warm call prospecting is that distractions and conversations take you away from what is important.  When you lose momentum you fall back in effectiveness.  Prepare yourself for momentum and lessen any distractions for your call contact time.  That will usually be 2 or 3 hours.

So how many calls should you make in that time?  About 40 to 50 outbound calls will be the average answer.  Some of those calls will be connections, whilst others will be ‘call backs’.  Some of your connections will be positive whilst others will be of no ongoing benefit; on that basis you can ‘bin’ the low level contacts or people that have no ongoing benefit for you.

Here are some other call canvassing problems in commercial real estate agency for you to deal with:

• Fellow workers take away your attention by approaching you when you are making your calls.
• Doing your calls in a busy office and open plan area will distract you and the other person you are talking to on the telephone.  Find a quiet zone to make calls.  Remove distractions from your ‘call zone’.  If you want the other person to listen to you, a quiet workplace is required.
• Telephone conversations are private conversations, and on that basis remove noise from your call zone and office; create privacy for both you and the person you are speaking with.  In commercial real estate, privacy is a big issue when it comes to talking about property.
• Organization when cold or warm calling is a real and relevant issue to momentum.  Write down the things that come from a call and deal with them later.  Don’t stop to do something as a result of a call.  When you allow yourself to lose momentum in calling, your results and market share suffer.
• Make your calls at the same time every day. Choose the time that best suits your business activities and where you can reach the people that you want to speak to.

When you get the call prospecting process under control you can get a lot more new business and build the opportunity for better commissions.  Protect your call processes and keep up the momentum.  Talk to lots of people in your local business and property investor community.