Cold calling has been criticized as a waste of time because it rarely produces any sales. However, many companies believe that cold calling is necessary because it leads to new business opportunities with unfamiliar clients who may not know about them otherwise.
What is cold calling?
Cold calling is often a part of a business’s introductory process. It is the practice of making unsolicited calls to potential leads with the goal of selling your product or service. It is most commonly used to generate interest in a product or service that is unfamiliar to the potential lead.
Does it still work?
The reason cold calling can be so effective is because of what’s called the ‘curiosity gap’. This is where we have a desire to find out more about something and this gives us an incentive to listen to someone who might be able to satisfy that curiosity gap for us.
There are many other ways in this day and age that are easier than getting on a call with someone but the unique benefit of this type of strategy is that you can build an intimate relationship with your prospects. This is because cold calling allows for the human touch to shine through instead of the everyday promotional emails and sales pitches.
It also allows real estate investors to reach a much larger audience. It’s almost like fishing. You just cast your line out there, let it float around in the water, and wait until the right person bites on it and tries to reel you in!
Because they sell something that most people want—the ability to make money or get out of debt fast—cold calling works for real estate investors.
When real estate investors are cold calling, they’re trying to find people who are in situations where they might want to sell their property. Maybe they’re in foreclosure or they have a tax lien on their property. Maybe they just got divorced, and one of them wants to get rid of the house or condo. People are always looking for ways to make more money, so this is something that will always be in demand.
According to The Keller Center’s research, cold calls are answered 28% of the time in the real estate industry which means that each call is a good opportunity to turn a cold lead into a warm one.
What is a warm lead?
When executed properly, cold calling can lead to meetings and sales opportunities that otherwise may not have existed for your business. So how do you turn a cold call into a warm lead?
The truth is that it depends on how you do it.
9 COLD CALLING TIPS FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS
Cold calling is one of the most effective ways to generate sales leads. However, it is often considered a painful process that requires a lot of effort and persistence. Most people find it difficult but once you know:
- when and how to cold-call
- what to say and how to say it
It can be a breeze. Here are 9 tips to help you make cold calls that lead to sales:
Spend a lot of time examining your lead profiles
Nothing is worse than going into a war unarmed. You have to do an extensive recon on your leads and establish their profile with information. Try to determine which types of deals that real estate investors:
- Foreclosure properties
- Probate properties
- High equity properties
- Tax Lien properties
- Distressed properties
Gathering this information will allow you to determine the specific way in which you should steer your cold call. Are you on the phone with someone who is going through a divorce? Or are you on the phone with someone facing a ton of financial issues? Knowing this is key in targeting the right leads.
And although it is not guaranteed, it increases the chances of having a commonality to bond over through the phone. That’s definitely a plus in our book.
Build a targeted prospect list
This tip ties in with the first one. When you’ve effectively zeroed in on who your prospect lead is, how they speak, what they search for, their interests, their lifestyle, etc. you have a higher chance for an increased number of successful calls. This not only saves you a ton of money and effort, but it also saves you a lot of time. You dial in on the right leads that will want to hear about the property you’re trying to sell instead of being on the receiving end of a cold call rejection. Bath Leads, Freedom Soft and Propstream are just some of the platforms that can help real estate investors better build, organize and generate leads.
Have your real estate script ready but be human
Have you ever received an out-of-the-blue cold call before? Then you know how they commonly sound like “Hi, this is John. I’m calling to ask if you would be interested in buying a new car.” The problem with that approach is that it’s too direct and doesn’t leave room for the prospect to get excited at all. It also sounds like something they hear every day from other salespeople, which makes them tune out.
This is why it’s important to still sound human in your cold calling scripts. A good script would be informational yet conversational where you’re not fumbling over answers and questions but allowing for flexibility in the conversation for it to flow naturally. It is important to project a warm and human aura to the call and not robotic or cold.
Make your self-introduction short and simple
Remember that it doesn’t take much to introduce yourself casually. Some investors want to share their entire brand and business in a single call but we do not recommend this. It almost always overwhelms the lead and will make them put down the phone. Providing your name, your place of business, and your position would suffice to spark the start of a conversation.
Be prepared to pitch and explain your reason for calling
Cold calling is not dead, but instead, it is evolving. People in this day and age are more receptive to a conversational type of speaking. We recommend you do this when you deliver your marketing spiel.
Make your intent behind the call easy to digest while incorporating the essential information on how you would bring them value.
Adjust your pitch to a prospect’s pain point
As a real estate investor, your first and foremost priority in making a successful cold call is providing value. Providing value is giving them a solution for a problem that’s been weighing on them.
When the pain point of your prospective lead is already known, make sure to adjust your pitch. This scenario is not always the case but within the first 5 minutes of speaking with your prospect, you should be able to identify their unique pain point by simply listening and asking the right questions.
Be ready to expect a lot of questions
After you share your well-written marketing plan with your prospects, it is customary practice to invite them to ask any questions they have on their mind. Make sure to have a FAQ sheet with ready-drafted answers that you can promptly pull up at any given moment. Make sure to note down any unusual questions they may throw at you so you can improve your responses for future calls.
Ask questions
A good sales call doesn’t just entail that you answer your prospect’s question but that you, as a cold caller, also ask the right questions. Thomas Freese, the author of Five Best Selling Sales Books on sales effectiveness, said that the questions you ask are more important than the things you could ever say.
You should always have a list of questions ready to go, but don’t make it obvious that you’re selling something. If the person on the other end of the line answers one of your questions by saying “yes,” don’t stop there! Ask them why they answered in that way and what kind of benefits they would get from working with you.
When you get into the mind of the prospect and find out what they are interested in, then you’ve ascertained to successfully hook your prospect in for possible conversion.
This practice allows them to speak which is good cold call practice as it follows the 80/20 rule in sales where real estate investors listen 80% of the time and only speak 20% of the time.
Be enthusiastic and bring your high energy into every call
A good real estate investor on a sales call is upbeat and shows enthusiasm about working with their prospects. The use of a positive tone allows for a positive response as people are more amenable to warmth, enthusiasm, and empathy.
When you go into a call with a personable quality, you’re sure to make a better first impression than when you go in hot and aggressive with your sales talk.
Use your time wisely
Your lead prospects won’t be answering your calls at an ungodly hour. They’re most likely to pick up the phone from 9 am to 5 am. That’s the time frame you should be focusing your effort on. This tip should be incorporated into your cold calling strategy as it is not only good phone manners but your chances of reaching them is much higher.
End your call in a memorable way
Starting calls strong is important but so is ending them strong. It can be said that your first impression can be as good as your last so make sure to use your creativity and professional prowess as a real estate investor to make your final pitch noteworthy.
“It was great talking to you. Let me know when you’re ready to start a bidding contest for your property and I can get started.”
Projecting a level of self-assurance and confidence to your lead at the end of the call will make you memorable. When they think about which investor to go with, they’re more likely to remember you by name.
Cold calling can be intimidating. With these tips, it will be easier than ever. But what if you don’t have the time to handle cold calls? Is there an affordable solution to handle this aspect of your business?
Virtual assistants (VAs) are a great solution for busy real estate investors. They can help you get more done in less time and free up your schedule for the things that matter most to you. VAs can be an excellent way to grow your business without adding staff or overhead costs.
WHAT IS A VA COLD CALLER?
A VA cold caller or virtual cold caller (VA cold caller) is a remote member of your team assigned the task to generate leads for your real estate business through an unsolicited call and eventually follow up with them if interest is expressed.
HOW A VA COLD CALLER CAN HELP REAL ESTATE INVESTORS
VAs can help real estate investors with a number of tasks. Here are just a few examples:
Find buyers for your properties.
VAs can help you find potential buyers for the properties you’ve listed for sale. This can include contacting title companies, real estate agents, and property management companies to get them interested in your listings. They can also keep track of any leads generated and follow up with them as needed.
Schedule appointments with contractors and vendors.
You might need contractors or vendors to come out to your property to repair damage or fix something broken, but it’s not always easy to find time in their schedule that works with yours. A virtual cold caller can act as a liaison between you and the contractor, scheduling an appointment at a time that works best for both of you.
Manage your calendar and schedule appointments.
Virtual cold callers can take over much of the busy work involved in managing an active real estate investment business, including making sure all appointments are scheduled correctly on your calendar and updating it when changes are made. This way, you don’t have to worry about forgetting something important or double-booking yourself at the last minute because you forgot about another meeting on your calendar that day
Compile research.
A virtual cold caller can organize the research for you, saving hours upon hours of time spent finding information on websites like Zillow and Redfin. Instead of spending your time searching for statistics on property values or rental rates in a specific area, take advantage of a virtual assistant cold callers skills by having them gather all the necessary information for you.
Virtual cold callers are great for real estate investors who are looking to build a team of experts. If you have your own business or are just starting out, this is a great way to get some help without having to make a hold on your finances.
If you are disorganized or you and your virtual cold caller are NOT following any proven cold calling scripts then you need to start.
10 PROVEN COLD CALLING SCRIPTS THAT VA’s CAN USE
1) “Hello, my name is __ with ____Real Estate Company and I’m calling to see if you’re interested in selling your house?”
2) “Hi there! My name is ___________ and I’m calling from ___ Real Property Company. We specialize in helping homeowners like yourself sell their properties quickly and at top dollar.”
3) “Hi! My name is ____ and I’m calling because your house caught my eye as one of the best homes on the market. I’d love to show it to you.”
4) “Hello Mr/Mrs ____? My name is ____ and I’m calling from __ Real Estate Company. We specialize in helping homeowners like yourself get top-dollar offers on their properties without any hassle or fees.”
5) “Hi Mr/Mrs _____? My name is _____ with _____ Real Estate Company. Our company has recently come across your home and we were wondering how much you are looking to sell it for?”
6) “Hi, this is [your name], [company name]. I’m calling because we’ve been helping investors buy homes like yours in [city]. We’re interested in representing your interests as well.”
7) “Hi, this is [your name], [company name]. We’ve been helping people like you buy properties for years, and we’d love to help you too.”
8) “Hi, this is ________ from _________ Real Estate Company. We’re offering free online real estate services for homeowners who are thinking about selling their homes soon – could we have 10 minutes of your time
9) “Hi <SELLER NAME>, we are cash buyers willing to give you a competitive cash offer for your home and I wanted to see if you would be receptive to selling?”
10) “My name is [name], and I’m with _________ Real Estate Company. We help homeowners sell their homes quickly, for the highest possible price. Would you be interested in hearing more about that?”
Virtual cold callers are a good asset for your real estate investing business. They not only possess the skills to complete successful cold calls, but they also have the ability to apply those skills in real-time conversations with potential clients to turn cold leads into warm leads. With virtual cold callers:
- you can generate real estate leads
- save a lot of effort for yourself
- deal with other facets of your real estate investing business that require your foreseeing.
Even in this day and age of email promotions and social media lead generation, cold calling, a traditional method of marketing, still works and is worth investing in especially with an affordable virtual expert on your team.
