The two main ways to win business or listings in commercial real estate in any market are firstly in using the telephone to contact suspects and prospects, and secondly in ‘one on one’ contact. The ‘one on one’ contact ranks higher in success conversions, but the telephone can be used effectively to open the door to the meeting.

Unfortunately not enough agents and salespeople ever do a sufficient amount of either. This can be a massive opportunity for the disciplined salesperson that wants to win commissions and succeed.

So what do you need to develop here? You need great communication skills and unwavering focus on the prospecting task.

The simplest way to develop your communication skills for telephone prospecting is to read aloud each morning and evening for about 20 minutes (any book will do). The brain quickly adjusts to better words and more confidence in connecting with others. You will also like the sound of your own voice and this will help you with communication and conversation as a salesperson. Your voice will improve remarkably. Your telephone calls will improve and you will enjoy using that remarkable tool that you have called a voice.

Nothing in the real estate sales world today replaces the high value of personal contact. The more people you contact the more business you will win. Many if not most of the people you approach will reject your offer and you will hear the ‘No not today’ response at least 95% of the time. It is the 5% ‘Yes let’s talk’ response that makes you the money. This is what makes an average real estate agent astounding and a high achiever. You do have a choice here!

The telephone leads to the one on one contact or meeting that you want. So what should you do? Get really focused for every working day and make lots of calls and plenty of face to face meetings. Understand that this process really works if you can take ‘no thanks’ as a frequent response. Just say ‘thanks for chatting’ and move on.

Here are some telephone tactics to get you on the right track.

A set of cue cards in front of you with key questions or comments will keep you on track. Never ever use a fixed script as part of the call as prospects will hear it. Scripted salespeople are rank ‘beginners’ in the ears of a prospect. No one wants to do business with a ‘beginner’. Be yourself in the call. Develop your own personal telephone style and phrases that suit your character. When you are comfortable with what you are saying, the calls will start to convert to more meetings. People hear your ‘call comfort’ and will listen to you. Put listing details and market information in front of you so that you can give facts and figures over the telephone. Be prepared to tell a story or two about the market today. People always listen to stories with greater focus. Get a telephone head-set for use in all your calls. This frees up your hands for making notes but more importantly to gesture and move in the conversation. Movement creates better language (just ask a few people of Italian origin). Stand up during some or the majority of your calls. This helps the voice and the confidence. It has been said that this simple process activates the right side of the brain to be more creative and connecting in the conversation. I just know that it works. Personalise your work space where you make the calls so that your goals and targets surround you. Put a mirror in front of you so that you can see yourself smile as you speak. A simple process but very productive to communicating down the telephone. Use a ‘customer contact sheet’ to write key information as you go. This prevents any delay in moving to the next call. Process your ‘customer contact sheets’ at the end of the call time window, not during it. Remember to get the email detail for the person you speak to in case any future contact can be made. Ask permission to contact them again and record that fact on your database. Qualify a person and their needs if something is potentially active or of interest to them. Do not arrange meetings with everyone you speak to, as you will waste your precious time. Only meet with people that are genuine and have a need today or in the future. Keep in contact at least every 90 days. It has been proven by many high level salespeople that this system of contact with qualified prospects produces more business over time. You get more call conversions to meetings after the second or third contact call. How many prospecting calls should you make daily? About 50 on each and every day. This takes preparation the night before. Get this process sorted and you will win great amounts of opportunity.

Finally and in closing on this most important topic, give due regard to any laws and legislation that may impact on who you call and when you do it. Respect the laws and work within them.

To your prospecting success!

By: John Highman

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