It is something every new real estate agent or business development manager dreads, cold calling. Surely with all the new ways to communicate, we don’t need to actually speak with anyone anymore, do we? Ah Yes, you do! I can personally vouch for the importance of picking up the phone and calling people as opposed to hiding behind emails, Facebook, or Insta DM’s. The reason, it is so much harder to say “No” to someone in person than it is in an email or other message form. It is also more personal, you’ve had to make more of an effort which translates to, you are more desperate for the business, and you can really gauge off a person by actually talking to them and start building that all-important trust.
For a newcomer to the real estate industry, it can be one of the most daunting tasks they’ll face, picking up the phone and calling a complete stranger for no reason other than to win some business from them. What I can tell you is, cold calling is one thing everyone puts off, whether it is an all-important customer service call or a new business call, they should be the first priority of the day. More often though they are procrastinated on for so long that either someone else has long won the business or the customer service initiative has lost its value.
WHY COLD CALLING IS IMPORTANT
Cold calling is essentially a marketing strategy real estate agents use to get leads for rentals or sales. It should be used in conjunction with other marketing funnels, but this has been a traditional means to drum up business and has really stood the test of time in the industry.
Many people think cold calling is a thing of the past, but let me tell you it’s most definitely not, but there is a right way to go about it.
Cold Calling Quick Tips
- Set a daily or weekly goal i.e. 20 per day – this goal depends on how many leads you are wanting to achieve to meet your targets
- Know your value proposition
- Set an ideal time your ideal customer will be available to talk real estate, that may be at 7 pm at night for working people or mid-morning if your target seller is a retire
- Make sure these contacts are entered into a CRM or database
- Have a follow-up plan to keep in touch with these leads
- Accept you are going to face a lot of rejection, and get used to hearing NO
- Know your product well, fees, commissions, marketing packages
- Do your research, know your area, previous sales, rental prices
- Choose areas you have previously sold or rented in; it will give you value to share with the client
- Practice makes perfect
- Don’t give up
5 TIPS TO COLD CALL WITH CONFIDENCE
- Offer something of value – you can’t just call up and say, “Hey I’d like to sell your property, how about it?” You need to have some value to share with them, like recent sale prices in the area or market update. Once you offer some value then you can move into your sales propositioning.
- Practice the art of cold calling with other experienced agents – the best way to learn how to have cold calling conversations is to listen to others having cold calling conversations. Join experienced agents when they are making calls and observe how they handle themselves, ask them to listen to yours, and follow constructive criticism and advice they share.
- Be yourself – cold calling aims to gain interest and trust, with so many cold callers these days selling all sorts of things, people are very adept at picking up someone full of crap. Be genuine, be honest, and be open. Listen to what they want to say as well, don’t just rush to have your say and get your sales pitch across, listen to them and a new sales pitch may just open up.
- Have some ideas but not a script prepared – there are so many real estate scripts available for you to copy on all sorts of topics, at the end of the day it is great to have an idea of what you are going to say but be careful not to sound like a robot. Following a script makes it hard for you to really listen to the person you are talking to. You should know your goal, be positive, show empathy, ask questions, and then share your solutions or value proposition.
- Make it your routine – book it in your calendar and just do it. Whether it is daily or weekly, this should be one of your non-negotiable tasks and set in stone into your weekly schedule. The more you do it the greater your confidence will grow.
As already mentioned, cold calling should be one of the numerous methods of marketing for new business, but certainly not the only method. There is a whole host of ideas and suggestions available to help newcomers to the industry, some people advise you should stand up when making your calls, or make sure you sound upbeat and have plenty of energy in your delivery, at the end of the day the more you practice using different techniques and strategies the more you will determine what works best for you. Just make sure you keep being you and don’t try to be someone you’re not or think you should be.
ABOUT US
iThink Property has a team of real estate agents in Ipswich and Toowoomba offering property sales and property management services. With a passion for people and property, iThink Property was conceived with the notion of building a team of good people to work in a real estate brand that did things differently. iThink Property focuses on transparency, communication, innovation and teamwork and has become a leading independent brand with unique points of difference. So whether you are thinking of buying, selling or renting, think iThink Property.
