Cold calling for realtors pdf download

Jones has no reason to sit there and wait until the stroke of for a salesperson to call him. For Mr. Jones, specifying was a way to get rid of you. Jones, the only reason I was calling was to set an appoint- ment. Would next Tuesday at be okay? You want to get the appointment. Now the prospect generally will not agree to this sugges- tion.

For example: Mr. Mail me something. Salesperson, I might be interested in what you have to sell. Let me look at it, really study it; then call me. Your credit card bills, your telephone bill, and your bank statement all get to you. And yet sales material never gets through? It got through. The secretary threw it out.

Listen to what the other person says. My experience is that we can definitely complement ABC. A number of years ago, I called a major bank. This is how the conversation went when I asked a decision-maker at the bank for an appointment. I responded to that by suggesting that what we did could complement what he was already doing. I was so excited on the drive home that I got a speeding ticket! I learned a very important lesson from that call. What I learned was that the first response had very little validity.

Once I handled the first response properly, the second response emerged. Turning Around Common Responses 63 In other words, responses roll into each other. The key is the second response, not the first. My company has a salesperson in London who gets so many appointments it would make your head spin. Prospect: Well, we just signed a contract with a major competitor. Prospect: Uh, well, we hate your company. Prospect: Because I hate you. The point is, though, that fighting with a prospect over the first response or any response, for that matter is foolish.

Prospect, I sure could make you happier! Please, sir, let me come in. You and I are professionals. We should be treated as such. After five min- utes, he stood up and walked out. I created that for myself. But I never will again. Never forget that as you deal with the responses you hear on the phone. Chapter 7 The Ledge The concept of the Ledge in a cold call is unique to my company.

As the name suggests, the Ledge is something you can step on—something you can use to regain your footing. A Ledge allows you to handle an extended conversation during your call. Probably every salesperson in the United States has had an occasion to over-talk, to get so involved in a conversation that he or she forgets the reason for the call.

Let me give you an example of how that happens. I might be interested in that. Tell me about it now. And yet your aim is not to sell, but to set an appointment. So you have to prepare. Tell me everything about your widgets. Consider the following exchange. Prospect: How long has your company been in business? Prospect: No kidding! Well, tell me how you did that.

So you elaborate on that. You pass along a couple of suc- cess stories. Tell me how you did that. Now you elaborate. You offer all the specifics about that success story. You started talking before you knew anything of consequence about the other person.

The result? How do you avoid this outcome? Steve: Good morning, Mr. Jones: No kidding! So tell me—what do you guys do? Jones: What kind of programs do you do? Steve: Well, I do cold calling, prospect management, and.

Jones: Really! How do you train cold calling? I give a brief answer. The call is going well. And Mr. Jones, a lot of our customers initially had the same reaction until they actually got a chance to see the benefits. You know, we really should get together. Look at it again: Mr.

We really should get together. Steve: Some other people we work with now had the same reaction at first. Jones and I should get together. Once you understand that principle and imple- ment it, your appointment total will improve. Using the Ledge to Get an Appointment The salespeople we train use the Ledge to regain control of a conversation by asking a question. This is an extremely effec- tive tool; take a look at how it works.

What do you do with your new salespeople? Just how do you work with them? Then we should get together, because we work with a lot of other companies that have done the exact same thing. The Ledge 69 I used the information he gave me about what he does as a reason to get together. People who are successful at scheduling appointments understand the power of this simple concept.

The person who answered the phone happened to be the branch manager. All the decisions are made in Ohio. What kind of training do you do? He responded by telling me about three different types of training he does. We just signed a contract with someone. Steve: You know what? We should get together, because we complement their program. For example, I called another com- pany and got an appointment like this: Prospect: Look, we just signed a contract with another train- ing company.

Steve: Oh, then we really should get together, because what we do complements Brand Y. I can throw out any company, any kind of training program. He will respond to me in kind by correcting me and telling me who his company uses. Prospects love to correct salespeople. What is it you do? Often, the Ledge is where the two conversations become one. Think about that. The world is still spinning.

If you understand these basic ideas, and use the informa- tion you get from your conversations with prospects to create a Ledge in your cold call, I promise you that you will become more effective. And he was right.

It does come very naturally. For you it may be more difficult. I can get one more appointment a day if I simply employ these tech- niques.

You: Can I just ask you a question? Who presently supplies your light bulbs? We went to them instead. You: Oh, no kidding. Then we really should get together. You: Can we just get together? How about next Friday at ? You: Okay. Thank you. Hang up! You gave it your best shot. Call someone else. You: No kidding. Well, just out of curiosity, are you working with anybody right now? Prospect: Sure we are. We have the Manufacturing Com- pany right here. You: Are you using their ABC product?

You: Really? You: Well, you know something, Mr. Instead of rambling on, you pose a question of your own. Prospect: Well, we manufacture customized widgets. We use the ABC product line here. Has that been working for you? Prospect: Sure it has.

We really should get together so I can show you the ways we can complement ABC. You: Actually, the only reason I called is to set up an appointment. Would next Tuesday be okay? Prospect: Well, not really. This is my busiest time of the year. You: I have an idea. What are you doing four weeks from today?

Prospect: Let me check—nothing. Prospect: Okay. Confirm the address and politely conclude the conversation!

Be Prepared! Jones: You know, that sounds great. Come on over. There are calls that sound like that. Be ready for them! Chapter 8 Mastering Third-Party and Referral Calls Third-party and referral calls are variations on the standard script. Study them. This is the variation I use, and most of the salespeople we train say this is a very easy model to adapt.

You can decide on your own approach here. So that statement, on its own, is not going to be entirely appropriate in getting an appoint- ment or letting you understand who I am. Because when we telephone somebody, that person is not prepared for the call. I also have offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. I do a lot of work with. This is painting the picture.

I said key words. Now you focus on a specific success story. You can choose your own references to call just about anyone you want to talk to. A number of years ago I was working with a major bank. I had trained about of their sales managers to be more effective on the phone. I got the account because I gave a free speech at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, and a woman came up to me afterward and said she thought I could help the bank she worked for.

It happened to be the number three bank in the United States at that time. It occurred to me that, since one bank was doing something about sales, another bank would probably be trying to do the same thing. If I could help one bank do that better, I could help another.

Once this approach crystallized in my mind, I real- ized I had a means of entry into virtually any bank or financial services organization I wanted to call. This is Steve Schiffman. Take a look now at the third and fourth steps. In fact, it increased their appointments by one-third. Mastering Third-Party and Referral Calls 79 This approach can work very well across industry lines, too. Blank, this is Steve Schiffman from D.

Delivery, a major courier in the Louisville area. I was very successful in showing them ways in which they could increase their sales by actually getting more appointments, which they did.

They got thirty percent more appointments. I was very successful in showing them ways in which they could increase their lumber sales by getting more appoint- ments. Jones, Steve Schiffman, from D. This allows you to tailor your call to the city in which the prospect resides. Whatever works—whatever you need! Jones, Steve Schiffman from D. This method is different from the approach most salespeople take. Still, suppose you take a completely wrong approach for some reason.

Of course you do. Suppose you hear: Mr. We have no interest in changing. Or if you hear: Mr. There are variations on the third-party approach.

I know someone who is a very successful life insurance agent. Have you heard of us? Just out of curiosity, are you with ABC Insur- ance? Good salespeople love get- ting corrected. Smith: Oh, then we really should get together, because I can show you some ways we can complement that program. By the way, have you done any kind of estate planning? What about next Friday at ? But the fact is he has become one of the most successful agents in the entire country by using the third-party approach and the Ledge.

Referral Calls You can use the referral call when you have called someone in the organization, and that person has referred you to someone else. This approach helps you make the most of that opportu- nity to get an appointment. Assume too, that you ask your contact for the name of the right person to meet with. If you keep the discussion on a personal, one-on-one level, you may get better information. How should you use that information? Most salespeople call and say the following.

You call Mr. You get the name of the right person, then you call him. He suggested that I give you a call to set up an appointment. I wanted to know if next Tuesday at would be okay.

All you need to say is that your referrer suggested you give a call to set up an appointment. Why would he want me to meet you? We were very successful in training their salespeople to be more effective on the phone. And when I told him that, he said that I should talk to you to set up an appointment. So what do you do? How about next Thurs- day at ? The Ledge, I cannot overemphasize, is the technique you must, without fail, become familiar with. You can use the referral approach in any number of situa- tions.

I recently met someone in Cincinnati who told me that I ought to call a friend of his in Indianapolis. It worked—and we got a significant account from that visit! Why would you want to hand that group of potential customers over to the competition? I also talk to a lot of salespeople who take the opposite approach.

They overcall cold contacts, and leave two, three, five, or even more voice mail messages per week. All that time, effort, and potential annoyance for people who have not yet set any kind of Next Step! They leave a message a day for each of those contacts, and con- sider each of those messages to be a separate call! It implies, of course, that you should leave no more than one voice mail message per business week when trying to establish connection with a new contact.

Here are five reasons for that. The dynamic of the call is likely to be much more favorable, and a conversational tone will often be much easier to achieve. When the person calls back, he or she is more likely to actually listen to what you have to say.

You can easily leave messages for people who are dif- ficult or impossible to reach directly on the phone. You can make prospecting calls to voice mail systems at just about any time of the day or night, which gives you more flexibility in scheduling. In the age of voice mail, you must know how to leave a mes- sage that can increase your chances of having the person get back to you. The first way will give you between 65 and 75 percent return calls.

The second way is almost 99 percent effective! If you recall the phone scripts from earlier chapters, the central rea- son for my calling is the success I had with the XYZ Company. Therefore, my referring comment or my reference point should be the XYZ Company. I have to carry that through. You must be precise, and you must make sure that the secretary or the assistant gets the name of your company.

Be careful not to give the impres- sion that you represent the XYZ Company. If you do that, you will have trouble later on. They do A, B, and C. Anyway, the reason I was calling you. What do you do? We get between 65 and 75 percent of our calls returned using this method.

After Bob left the company, I started thinking that, as president, I really should call everybody Bob had ever talked to in order to see whether I could start the conversation again. The first company I called was a huge telecommunications company that Bob had met with; the headquarters were not far from our office in Manhattan. But in this case, I had Bob Jones on my mind. So I simply said that Bob Jones was my reason for calling.

The secretary took the message. Bob Jones worked for our company a num- ber of weeks ago. I started thinking about that, about how many other peo- ple Bob had met with. And so I called everybody and nearly every single person—almost percent—called me back.

I used the same message every time, referring to Bob Jones. I never asked that question. But they virtually all called me back. So I asked myself: How else can I use this approach? Steve: No problem. My name is Steve Schiffman. You can extend help in such cases and assist your acquaintances in the process. If nothing else, it will help you reconnect with an old acquaintance.

We met at the place or event you met the person; make sure to mention something that would instantly strike the person and remind them of you , remember? Engage in light conversation asking them what they have been upto. When they ask you about how your job has been going, this is where you work starts. The job is good. That is actually one of the reasons why I called you up today. I wanted to get in touch with you and know if you or any of your close relatives are looking to sell or buy property.

I have a little extra time on hand and I would love to help you out. Given the state of the market right now, you can strike a great deal and shift into a posh area at really good rates. Listen to their response. Upon confirmation, extend an invite to meet. Sounds good? This script works exceptionally well if the homeowner does not actually currently live in the said house. When they are not residing in that particular neighbourhood, they lose touch with the recent neighbourhood trend.

They have little idea about how the real estate market has been in that area for the past few years or months and it can help them to know that information from you.

That being said, you still might face a lot of NOs when using this script. People can be vary about the high prices you quote but if you are genuine and your quotation is backed with good market research, there is nothing that can stop you from getting their prospect to agree to you.

In the past two months, your neighbourhood saw the sale of two gorgeous houses like yours at mention the prices the two houses sold at. Taking into account the recent boom in the prices of this neighbourhood, I wanted to bring to your notice that whether you choose to put it up for lease or choose to sell the property, you can generate a great secondary income source via it. Would you be interested in doing either of these? Such a script can help you gauge their reaction as to what they wish to do with their house.

Even if they choose not to sell it, you could help them get someone to live in their house on lease. Either way, you can get some really good commission. This is somewhat similar to the Heavy Sales Neighbourhood Script but not completely.

You show homeowners the recent market trends of the sale of houses in their neighbourhood. Bringing them up-to-date about the selling prices of their neighbouring houses can make them realise the potential that their own house has. This can push them to sell the house themselves. I am aware to the best of my knowledge that you currently have not listed your home for sale.

Am I right? You must be wondering why I am taking special interest in your house. This is because I do feel that you house is special. I recently sold the house on mention the address or simply the street on which the house was which is two blocks away from your house. I was able to effortlessly get the buyer to pay mention the selling price of the house for the house. This is great because it is mention a number or percentage more than the average selling price of houses in the neighbourhood in the past few years.

Clearly, interest for this street has peaked and buyers are increasingly curious about buying houses here. Would you be interested in putting your home for sale too? You can now carry the conversation forward and back your plan for their house with well researched market data.

Make them feel comfortable about the price if they feel that you are pitching something impossible to attain. Because of this, you not only lose a valuable client but also come across as a lousy realtor who is not proactive in their business.

A good and wise thing to do in such cases is to give them a call a few days after you sent them the email with the information they requested. Start the conversation by reminding them of the form they filled out and let them know politely that you wanted to bring the information to their notice proactively. Do you remember filling out the form? I wanted to make sure that you get the information you requested since we did not receive a reply from you on the email we sent in response.

It has been mention a number years since I have been in this indsutry. I see that you wish to buy property in the mention the area name area. This is a great neighbourhood choice. I actually sold a house in this area two months back at mention a price. You: I see that you had listed your property for sale about a year ago but the listing has expired now. Is this a good time to talk about the same? It was of no use for the last time — we got barely any interest from potential buyers.

You: I understand your concern. But let me assure you that your house is a great property and in a great location which is why I am interested in helping you out with trying to sell it again. What was the highest offer you received last time? You: I see. Did the buyers mention any key issues that caused them to not purchase the property? I can see major areas of improvement here. According to the recent market research I carried out on your neighborhood, I can assure you that I can get you a much better price for your property.

I actually also sold a house on your street two months back. Do you know of the mention the property name or address house? I got the seller a great price of mention the selling price of the property.

Would you be interested in meeting me and discussing how we can alter our sales approach and help you get the best value out of your property? Your past clients are a great way of doing future business. If you got them the best value for their money, they would be happy to refer you to other people they know of who wish to buy or sell a house. You could also refer to this referral real estate script as a review real estate script. The main point of this script is to get in touch with your past clients and either ask for a review or a referral.

This script can actually help you build a very healthy relationship with them. Vanishing after you did business with your customer is never a good thing to do. If you keep checking in on them from time to time, they will not only share leads and refer you to their friends, they will also seek your advice on their future investments. This is your name from the name of your company.

I helped you buy your home mention the address of the property. Do you remember me? You: I am great! Business is great. I recently sold a house in your neighborhood which is why I thought of you. How are things going? You: That is great. I am so glad. I wanted to get in touch with you and see how things were going. We are expanding our business and believe our past happy clients are our best brand ambassadors.

Would it be fine if I send you a link to review our company? Your good words would really help spread our business clientele. You: I am so glad to hear that. Just a quick confirmation - should I send over the link to this mention the email ID or number you have of your client?

You: Great. I just sent it over. Would it be good if we used your name and photograph on our website when mentioning your review? Also, the link has a small section where you can refer any leads that you might know of who are looking to buy or sell a house. Be sure to schedule a time on your calendar to make the calls.

You don't want this to become a "When I have the time" type of activity. You have to make the time, or you'll always find something else to do. Cold calling is one of the best investments you can make during the early days of your real estate business. Different agents will answer this question differently.

The second best time is the hour leading up to lunch, between 11am to 12pm. As for what day of the week to call, consider mid-week. Wednesday and Thursday get the best responses while Friday is a complete dud. Instead of using a script, use an outline. An outline will allow you to have more flexibility in how you interact with the prospective client.

Your cold call is not an advertisement but a conversation. This sets the bar of communication higher. Just remember: Robots can be shut down easily, humans cannot. Introduce yourself. Identify who you are and your business name at the start of the call.