Morning all,
Back again today to continue our foray into the world of real estate cold calling –
How to work with a script
So when you’re putting together a script it’s important to define what your end goal with this script is.
In the case of what my team does – it’s technically a real estate appointment setting.
So we work with estate agents and help book appointments in their diaries with people looking to buy or sell real estate. This could be property investors or residential buyers
With this in mind – our GOAL with any script is to qualify someone as quickly as possible – and then get them to a place where they can then speak to one of the brokers that we work with.
So let’s go through some quick-fire important elements when you don’t YET have a script
- Put together a basic elevator pitch
- Make sure the elevator pitch also focuses on typical problems you can solve
- Make it snappy and short
- Be sure to make it specific to the person/their context
Let’s break each of these down in a little bit more detail:
A Basic Opening Elevator Pitch For Real Estate Cold Calling
When you put together a pitch – one that anyone can understand is ideal. So the premise is – is that you need to be able to make it simple enough so a 12-year-old can understand it.
But equally – if you talk to someone who is a part of that industry – then you need to be able to converse with them also (although if your appointment setting this part actually isn’t mission-critical).
So focusing on simplicity is the key element here.
This is where you want to avoid things such as:
- Jargon
- Industry lingo
- Any complicated words basically
These are the enemy of sales calls so keep them in mind
Moving further forward then – here are some important parameters of script building when it comes to calling folks who are part of a ‘for sale by owner list –
Opening –
Hi there am I speaking with ‘X’
This is an important opener – because even if you know this is the number for that person OR you the person mentions their name in the opening – don’t immediately open with –
‘Hi, Frank it’s X here….
The reason for this is – is that opening permissively and allowing time for the person on the other end to ‘calibrate’ the activity and understand what’s going on works much better than launching straight into a pitch.
You risk throwing the person off guard and that mostly hurts rather than helps the sale.
Furthermore – it allows the prospect to begin with the most powerful word which is ‘yes – speaking’.
Now, the prospect might say ‘Sorry, who is this?’ – in a particularly combative case – but depending upon the address you have (ie their old property listing) – you should have the 2nd part of the 1-2 punch ready.
‘Absolutely’
I use the word ‘absolutely’ as a transitional word to basically acknowledge the question they’ve asked about ‘who is this.
And then you can move into the 2nd stage of the pitch.
‘My name’s Deepak and I’m calling from a company called ‘Pearl Lemon Properties – and the reason for my call today is I understand you have a property that was perhaps recently listed for sale –
The property address is 123 Apple Avenue, Apt #302 – does this address mean anything to you?
Now – there’s ALOT going on here so let’s break it down step by step:
‘My name’s Deepak’ – I use this and NOT my full name because it’s a balance between giving clear information and also keeping the tone where possible – light and conversational.
In a social environment – you would stick with your first name – and so we do the same here.
‘Calling from a company called ‘Pearl Lemon Properties’ – is a sensible one – because it specifies what company you represent.
What I’d also do – is slow down specifically when going over your OWN name as well as your company name so it gives the listener time to register exactly who you are, and why you’re calling.
This stops the dreaded ‘sorry who is this and WHERE are you calling from?’.
This is the classic trap that sales folk fall into when speaking too quickly.
When you’re calling someone off-guard and they have no idea who you are – it’s important to take it slowly to ensure that they have time to cognitively register exactly what’s going on.
And then you launch into the central part of your script.