Cold calling has been around since the advent of the telephone. It’s been hailed as one of the long-standing methods for growing businesses and developing a sizable customer base. But with the increased number of lead nurturing and qualified lead gathering methods out there, some wonder if cold calling is still a successful method for garnering qualified leads in the real estate business.
The answer is still yes, despite what some may claim. According to the Keller Research Center, 28 percent of cold calls result in conversations. Another source reported that qualified leads covert 20 percent of the time through cold calling, with referrals converting about 50 percent. While there are countless other strategies out there for lead generation, there’s still something magical in hearing a person’s voice and learning about them through good old-fashioned cold calling. The key to success, however, is to reimagine your cold calling tactics. You can’t continue to implement the same tactics year after year as the real estate industry continues to evolve (unless proven lucrative for you); you have to evolve with the times.
Here, we share why cold calling is still one of the most successful real estate methods, plus a few new tactics you can adopt today!
What Is Cold Calling?
In case you’re new to the real estate industry, or in need of a refresher, cold calling is the practice of calling people and businesses with whom you don’t have an existing relationship with the goal of discussing and selling a product or service. Think of it as a verbal door-to-door call, except with real estate, the goal is for the lead to work with you to buy or sell a property. Sending leads unprovoked emails are also considered a form of cold calling.
Although it yields some measured success, this method doesn’t always get the best reputation. Some people hate cold calling because they view it as intrusive. In this day and age, we get spammed with calls and emails, making leads less thrilled about yet another call. However, a bright spot is that when you use the right strategies and are thoughtful in your approach, you can still be successful through cold calling.
Why Cold Calling Is Still Effective
You may have heard that cold calling is dead. It’s a statement that’s been shouted from the rooftops for years as social media continues to grow in popularity as a lead gathering avenue. But despite these claims, cold calling is still alive and well. Even Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber, used cold calling to help get his now $70+ billion company off the ground. This traditional tool is still useful today because it allows you to connect directly with the lead’s needs while helping you, the agent, learn more about the market.
Cold calling is also measurable. Not only can you measure how many calls you’re making, but you can also track how many calls are converting to appointments. You can also use software to listen in on calls or record them to narrow down what lines work, which ones don’t, and even use the recordings for training purposes later.
More than anything, cold calling is still significant because it’s simple. In an age where so much of our processes and interactions are digital, hearing a human voice can be refreshing and make it easier to build a relationship with a company or individual. Some CEOs and other top executives have shared that they prefer phone calls to emails or any other means of communication during the early stages of planning a project. And we wager that other lead gathering and company growth driving methods like social media and content or email marketing are more successful when used in tandem with cold calling.
Cold Calling Strategies to Incorporate
Although cold calling is one of the tried and true methods for earning real estate leads, you have to evolve your techniques to find continued success. A few strategies to use in your process include:
Get Your Prospect’s Permission
This may seem like the opposite of cold calling, but we promise it will yield better results. One of the biggest reasons cold calling efforts fail is that you’re calling leads who don’t want to be bothered by phone calls. So, for better reception, we recommend asking for permission.
When a lead comes to your website and fills out the ‘contact us’ form, have a section asking for permission to send them helpful information and give them a call. Getting that permission is a win-win: your lead doesn’t receive unwanted phone calls, and you can talk to leads who want calls and more likely to answer your calls. This reduces countless hours of wasted calling efforts.
Learn the Right Time to Call Leads
Timing is everything, and in the real estate industry, timing can make all the difference in whether or not you make a sale. To increase your cold calling success rate, you need to consider your leads before you call. For example, opt for reaching on Thursdays instead of Mondays, as the start of the week is often the busiest day for your leads.
Meetings, playing catch up, and mapping out the rest of the week’s itinerary is likely to be more important than chatting with you. Switching to Wednesdays or Thursdays can give you a 46 percent greater chance of your lead answering your call. In turn, make sure you’re not calling after business hours. Ultimately, doing your research will lead you in the right direction.
Research Your Prospects
We understand that time is of the essence. According to experts, you have an hour from the time a lead submits an inquiry to answer. We recommend using that time wisely to researching the business or the person who submitted the inquiry and what their needs and pain points are so that you can speak to them during the call. This also helps establish rapport. Another way to further prepare yourself is by using your website forms to gather more information and inform your cold call. HubSpot reports that 74 percent of sales reps use this tactic, and you should, too.
Be Human
When you’re calling your leads, instead of interrupting your lead’s day with a 3-minute script delivered with robotic precision, trying to add some humanity to your delivery, be relatable and relevant in your calls. You have 10 seconds tops to win your qualified lead’s attention. Leads are interested in the benefits and how they’re presented, not you.
Conduct yourself as an actor. Even though they’re reading from a script, they’re full of human emotion, and the viewer never feels like the lines are scripted because they feel genuine. Care about your lead and their problems when you pick up the phone. We guarantee it will go a long way.
Call Motivated Sellers
Cold calling remains one of the go-to lead generation tools used by the real estate industry. And after sprucing up your tactics, you’ll be able to see the results and its value, too. However, if cold calling is the strategy for you, but you don’t have the time to dedicate to it, let us help! Our team of cold calling experts at Call Motivated Sellers can help you with cold calling and vetting your qualified leads and consult your agency on your strategies.
If you’re interested in using our services or learning how else we can help grow your real estate business, contact us today!