How to make your job easier and more effective.
If you’re like most real estate agents, cold calling is one of your most dreaded tasks in any given day. It can be intimidating and uncomfortable, but with the right tools and guidelines you have the capability to turn this once-daunting job into a pleasant one that reaps great results.
1. Make it personal.
Arguably the worst mistake you can make when you hear the recipient of your phone call pick up the line on the other end, is start reading from a cookie-cutter script. Any consumer these days can sniff out a pre-written phone script from a mile away. And if they do, they have absolutely no qualms about hanging up the phone immediately.
Instead of making 50 ineffective scripted cold calls a day, alter your strategy. Phone just 5 people and prepare for each of those calls individually. Treat each one as its very own, inclusive of a custom greeting, a personalized dialogue and information you have to offer that is 100% relevant to the specific area. Ask questions that make the person feel important and that let you learn key details about them. Early on in the call, demonstrate your level of expertise in the local market and your commitment to creating the best possible real estate experience defined by unwavering dedication and support.
2. Commit to a routine and get in the zone.
Most successful real estate agents report that cold calling is a part of their strategy. The way to make this activity a real success for you is to dedicate yourself to it, paying particular attention to influencing factors that can elevate your performance. Here are a few ideas.
At what time of day do you feel the most “on fire”? Some of us are early birds, others night owls. Which one are you? If you’re the former, make your cold calls the first thing you do every day. If you’re the latter, catch people after work. The important part is not what time of day you do your cold calls, but rather that you do them consistently.
Look your best. Even though you’re not video-chatting on a first-encounter cold call, you’d be surprised how far a little extra self-esteem and confidence can go when it comes to your performance quality.
Stand up. It’s a physiological fact that the energy within your body shifts when you stand up versus sit down. In fact, you’ve probably felt this many times throughout your career. In any situation, when you stand, your bodily energy surges and naturally you feel more authoritative.
Go to the office. If you choose to do your cold calls at home, it’s likely that you’ll find 100 “more important” things to do before you pick up that phone and actually dial. And at the office, it’s inevitable that your headspace revolves around work, with the added motivation of being surrounded by fellow colleagues’ who are also at the office to work. At home, it’s far more difficult to get fully immersed in your work zone.
Role play with a family member or colleague for a few minutes prior to your cold calling session each day. From one potential client to the next, questions and objections are the same. How long have you been a REALTOR? How many homes did you sell last year? Are you familiar with my area? What’s your commission? Rehearse. Practice. Perfect your answers so they sound natural, relaxed and confident.
3. Address objections immediately and effectively.
Your cold call recipients are bound to present their objections to you. Be ready. Be calm. Don’t dance around their questions but rather answer as honestly and straightforwardly as you can in that moment.
If they ask you about whether or not you can sell their home for a particular price, of course you cannot answer this with complete accuracy until you see the home in person. So, say something to the effect of ‘Thank you for telling me the baseline price you’re looking for. Is tomorrow or the next day best for me to meet with you so you can walk me through all the incredible aspects of your home that make it worth that amount?’
Or maybe the question is regarding commission. Naturally, this isn’t something you would solidify over a first phone call but you could answer, ‘I’ve made a note here about your commission request and I would be happy to solidify numbers once I’ve had a chance to see your home and meet with you. Is tomorrow or Saturday better?’
4. Be courteous, but ask for the close.
Pay attention to your recipient’s tone of voice. Is the conversation going well? Are you both speaking candidly and openly? Is there even the slightest bit of interest you can detect on the other end of the phone? Be receptive, aware and conscious. Ask for an appointment when the time is right. It’s not about being aggressive or irritating but if you never ask for the appointment, you’ll never get one.
5. Organize your contact call lists by area.
One of the most important aspects of any cold call is knowledge. Be sure you have the most pertinent information relevant to the area in which your recipients reside. Offer comparables. Talk about the latest developments. Communicate why you are calling now of all times and why you believe it’s a great time to sell, if it’s something of interest to them.
You’ll waste a lot of time searching for contacts in particular hotspot neighborhoods if you don’t have a good contact management system in place. A CRM is perfect for this. IXACT Contact’s real estate CRM enables you to quickly and seamlessly organize your existing contacts (and new contacts on your radar) into cohesive groups, which can easily be classified by area. This way, when it comes time for you to pick up the phone and make your cold calls, you have an organized system in place that makes your “dreaded job” that much more enjoyable.
